For almost two decades I have been trying to understand the “liberal” or progressive mindset. These labels encompass most twentieth century Democrats, and today’s Democrats are more puzzling than ever. When I was on the road, I spent hours listening to the BBC and Air America and the mainstream media on satellite radio trying to understand where the liberals were coming from. I think I finally have the answer.
My Bible reading today was in 2 Thessalonians where Paul
describes the workings of the “man
of lawlessness.” It is not lost on me that the most radical progressives
are exactly that: lawless. Anarchists who call for defunding of police are the essence
of lawlessness. Many of the political left’s other policies follow the same
idea. They remove the law against murder by giving women the right to kill
their unborn children. They remove the laws governing immigration so that the
country may be overrun and the economy destroyed by illegal aliens. They remove
the law against homosexual marriage, destroying the traditional meaning and purpose
of marriage in the process. They despise the laws of free-market economies that
have allowed America to flourish and prefer to redistribute all wealth in a
socialist/communist pattern.
Virtually all the planks of the progressive platform would
upend society as we know it and replace it with a socialist vision that would
be anathema to the Christians who founded this country. Recent experience, history and logic
itself demonstrate that their policies don’t work – never have. This makes me
ask why they are so adamant about their revolutionary ideas. Paul tells the
Thessalonians why:
“God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie.” The
Apostle said much the same thing about homosexuality in Romans: “God
gave them over to a debased mind.” Similarly, he cautioned
the Ephesians, “that you no
longer walk as the Gentiles walk: in the futility of their mind, being darkened
in understanding, alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness
of their heart, who, becoming callous, gave themselves over to licentiousness,
for the pursuit of all uncleanness in greediness.”
There is something else at play here that motivates people
to remain “ignorant” as Paul calls them in Romans and Ephesians: lust. Lust for
power and all that it provides is the primary motivator of many politicians in
both parties. I wrote before about the corrupting influence of power (“The
Uncorrupted Life”). This helps to explain why so many laudable campaign
promises are abandoned once the statehouse or Capitol Hill are gained. The
levers of power are controlled by a small oligarchy in this country, and for
better or worse, that elite band must either be mollified or manipulated to get
anything done.
Where does this leave Christians who want to see the Kingdom
come? On our knees where we rightfully belong. I cannot find anyplace in the
New Testament that encourages us to take over secular government to accomplish
God’s will. We are commanded to pray
for our leaders so that things will go well. We are also promised that God
remains in control despite the hubris of ignorant people (Paul’s description)
who think they run the show.
I am writing this between election night 2020 and inauguration day 2021 with no certainty who will be making the speech in January. I have decided to stop debating and redouble my praying. Paul’s characterization of the people with whom I would disagree tends to make me think I am wasting my words on them. I am not being arrogant or dismissive; I am being confident that God’s will is going to be done on earth as it is in heaven, and the final outcome will be for the good of those who love the Lord and are called according to His purpose. I think I am on pretty solid ground there.
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