Someone once said, “We like to see politicians pray with uplifted hands. It keeps their hands where we can see them.” That is somewhat humorous but still a very telling statement. But also telling is this one, “If the statements of opposing political candidates are true, none of them is fit to hold public office.” I guess you could say that politicians, in general, do not have the greatest of reputations.
One of the definitions of a politician is this: “A person who acts in a manipulative and devious way, typically to gain advancement within an organization.” Based on that definition, we live in a politically charged nation and world. That fact is evidenced by a rejection of God’s authority and, as we well know, that rejection far predates our time today.
A good example of the manipulative nature of a politician is found in Genesis 3:1. “Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?” (Genesis 3:1). We know the serpent referred to here is the same one that the Apostle John in Revelation 20:2 referred to as “the serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan.” Under the influence of the devil, even a snake could slickly sell the forbidden fruit. Through his subtle manipulation, he changed the course of humanity. That is the power of selfish manipulation!
We know this bit of history well because politics and politicians have only increased on the earth with the passing of time. Thusly, all sorts of evil and danger have increased along with it. We should grieve over such things, without a doubt, but we should not be shaken by such things. Solomon wrote, “If thou seest the oppression of the poor, and violent perverting of judgment and justice in a province, marvel not at the matter: for he that is higher than the highest regardeth; and there be higher than they” (Ecclesiastes 5:8 KJV). Oppression and violently perverted judgment (calling evil, good and good, evil) are not just in isolated places today — they span the globe. None of that should startle us because we have long understood the political nature of the governments of man. There is nothing new under the sun.
Solomon, however, reminds us that God, who is higher than all, watches over us — as do the angels who serve Him. It is a comfort, given what we know of the future. We will undoubtedly experience persecution, just as Christ said we would, at the hands of those who have rejected God’s authority. We know the time quickly approaches when the leaders of this earth will take counsel among themselves, intending to destroy Christ at His promised return to rule this deviously manipulated planet. Even though we will have to endure, just as all the faithful before us, we know how it will end. “I will declare the decree: The Lord has said to Me, ‘You are My Son, today I have begotten You. Ask of Me, and I will give You the nations for Your inheritance, and the ends of the earth for Your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron; You shall dash them to pieces like a potter’s vessel.’” (Psalm 2:7-9).
In the end, Christ and those who qualify to assist Him will restore the nonpolitical benevolent government of God to this earth. That is something worth enduring for!
Marshall Stiver
