A useful way to look at the life of the Statesman is through the perspective of relationships. There are several critical ones in the Statesman’s life.

First, there are the people served. Whatever the Statesman’s position, there is a population affected by each one’s decisions. Since the ultimate goal is that each member of society experience “a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity” (1 Timothy 2:2), each one must be viewed as having a human face, ultimately considered a friend.

Second, government is best viewed as an army serving the people. In each of our nations, a significant proportion of the population (typically 10-20%) is in the employ of government – a vast army charged with serving the people and making their lives better. The Statesman serving within that army cannot achieve his noble goals by himself. The effectiveness of that army is not determined by the Statesman alone but is determined by everyone serving in this vast army. The inter-personal connections of the Statesmen within that army are immense. Those who share service in this official capacity include superiors, colleagues, and subordinates.

Finally, there are the relationships in the Statesman’s personal life.

All of these relationships are a privilege and also a responsibility. Consider our Creator’s instructions regarding the relationships in our lives:

So then, we must pursue what promotes peace and what builds up one another (Romans 14:9).

Now we who are strong have an obligation to bear the weaknesses of those without strength, and not to please ourselves. Each one of us must please his neighbor for his good, to build him up (Roman 15:1-2).

No one should seek his own good, but the good of the other person (1 Corinthians 10:24).

Therefore encourage one another and build each other up (1 Thessalonians 5:11).

The principle here is that with everyone we interact, whether officially or personally, our goal should be to serve them and help them to have a better life.

This makes sense when one views the official as a shepherd of the sheep, protecting the sheep and making their lives the best possible. The Statesman is one committed to improving the quality of the people he serves so that they can experience all the benefits our Creator intends for them. This can only happen when those serving the people are committed to providing this quality of life. The more effective we can help our colleagues and subordinates to become, the more effective we can become as an army shepherding the people and meeting their needs.

The better my colleague can do, the better we can perform as a team. This is so logical that one might presume that it would be automatic that we should build up our teammates in order to be more effective as a team in building up the people whom we serve. And yet the perspective of the intended recipients – the people – is that this rarely happens.

You may ask “Where does one begin?” God begins with this practical step:

For you were called to be free, brothers; only don’t use this freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but serve one another through love (Galatians 5:13).

“Serve one another through love.” This leads us to one of the teachings from our Creator:

No one should seek his own good, but the good of the other person (1 Corinthians 10:24).

“No one should seek his own good.” What stands in the way is focusing on our “own good”. When one recognizes that immense authority is vested in government that the powerless are unable to exercise for themselves and which is to be used to specifically meet the needs of those who are otherwise powerless, it is hardly to be supposed that one holding that power would misuse it for himself. And yet, this is where we each need help to overcome our “own good”.

This is made even more challenging when we consider that within the government itself, there is the temptation to gain even greater amount of authority – more concerned about our own power than strengthening the team or building up our ultimate target, the people.

Before we can effectively help the people, we must effectively deal with our own aspirations. The solution is:

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me (Galatians 2:19-20).

Here, we need help that can only come from God:

For it is God who is working in you, enabling you both to desire and to work out His good purpose (Philippians 2:13).

We need God’s guidance and support to keep our responsibility as servant and shepherd in perspective. We need help from God, as He promises:

I am with you… I will strengthen you… I will help you. I will hold onto you with My righteous right hand (Isaiah 41:10).

We need confidence that our God, whom we are called to serve as His hands and feet in meeting the needs of the people, will reward us for that life of obedience – that we may hear at the end of our lives:

Well done, good and faithful servant (Matthew 25:21).

APPLICATION FOR THE STATESMAN:

1. Am I in government for the purpose of building people up, helping them to experience the full potential for which our Lord created them?
2. Does the civilian population recognize the government as an army working harmoniously to meet their needs?
3. Am I viewed among the civilian population, as well as my colleagues as one who builds them up and makes their lives better?
4. Can I accept my own promotion or advancement as dependent upon the hand of our Lord in response to my effectiveness as a servant?

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We all recognize that a major part of the genius of the Statesman is the ability to see into the future and to effectively plan for it – to make decisions that impact much longer than the term in office. As expressed by Edmund Burke in the eighteenth century:

The great difference between the real statesman and the pretender is that the one sees into the future, while the other regards only the present; the one lives by the day, and acts on expediency; the other acts on enduring principles and for immortality.

In other words, the Statesman does not simply plan to meet the needs of the people over the time in office and will not simply be driven by aspirations of reelection. Rather, the Statesman cares about needs that will improve the quality of life for the people long after leaving office. This represents sincere concern for the people that will make their lives truly better and not just meet needs that will briefly satisfy the people. I believe Burke’s key was when he used the phrase “for immortality”. Burke is suggesting that the Statesman operates with an eternal perspective. I want to explore with you the significance of Burke’s phrase “for immortality” as it applies to the making of Statesmen.

Let us begin by looking at the eternal perspective that can provide this foundation. When Jesus was about to have His life cut short, He encouraged His followers by helping them to see into the future:

Your heart must not be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if not, I would have told you. I am going away to prepare a place for you. If I go away and prepare a place for you, I will come back and receive you to Myself, so that where I am you may be also. You know the way to where I am going (John 14:2-4).

Jesus clearly described the reality of a future life of living in the presence of God that would be eternal in existence for those who would embrace it. We are told about our eternal body we will be robed in:

Jesus Christ … will transform the body of our humble condition into the likeness of His glorious body, by the power that enables Him to subject everything to Himself (Philippians 3:20-21).

One of God’s servants addressed the issue of looking forward to this privilege, compared to living in this earthly body:

For we know that if our temporary, earthly dwelling is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal dwelling in the heavens, not made with hands. Indeed, we groan in this body, desiring to put on our dwelling from heaven, since, when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. Indeed, we groan while we are in this tent, burdened as we are, because we do not want to be unclothed but clothed, so that mortality may be swallowed up by life. And the One who prepared us for this very purpose is God, who gave us the Spirit as a down payment (2 Corinthians 5:1-5).

We are admonished to remember that we have an eternal existence to look forward to as we live out these short years on this earth. Then, our Creator clarified through this servant that the body in which we currently live is temporary and we must look forward to the permanent body that we will become if we will allow our Creator to do His work on our behalf. God’s spokesman then addressed how we should live as we look forward to our heavenly existence, based upon our assurance that the promise of Jesus is certain:

So, we are always confident and know that while we are at home in the [earthly] body we are away from the Lord. For we walk by faith, not by sight, and we are confident and satisfied to be out of the body and at home with the Lord. Therefore, whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to be pleasing to Him. For we must all appear before the tribunal of Christ, so that each may be repaid for what he has done in the body, whether good or worthless (2 Corinthians. 5:6-10).

God summarizes our expected response to this truth:

We make it our aim to be pleasing to [God].

I submit to you that having such an eternal view on our own lives affects the way we live each day and the decisions we make, all as we look forward to eternity with our loving Creator. We recognize that we will be held accountable for those decisions. Then consider the impact upon our decisions when we recognize that the lives of those we serve are eternal beings. We recognize that we are stewards for the well-being of these eternal beings, all of whom, we are reminded are created in the image of God and have eternal significance.

According to Burke, the Statesman acts with the future in mind, including with immortality in mind. Hence, we must conclude that our own preparation for eternity, and our keeping our focus upon it, as we go about our daily lives can impact the Statesman’s decision-making. As a part of that stewardship, we must ensure that our decisions facilitate the journey of each person under our care toward the eternal life that awaits them. Applying this reality to the life of the governing official is what, Burke is convinced, contributes to the making of the Statesman.

With this in mind, what must we do, and everyone we are responsible for, to ensure that we each have this future to look forward to? Returning to Jesus’ words:

I am going away to prepare a place for you … I will come back and receive you to Myself, so that where I am you may be also (John 14:2-3).

We have the promise by Jesus, supported by the integrity of His character, which is clear to every thoughtful person. Then, Jesus assures us that He has clearly given us everything we need to know to receive this eternal life with Him:

You know the way to where I am going (John 14:4).

As Jesus continued this conversation with His followers, He reminded us of what that way is:

I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me (John 10:10).

Jesus referred to the one and only provision for our sin nature through His death and resurrection, which soon followed. As a result of embracing Jesus’ provision for what would otherwise lead to an eternity apart from Him in hell, we have assurance of an eternity with Him, with His Father, and with all those who have embraced this same provision.

APPLICATION FOR THE STATESMAN

As a private citizen, am I prepared for eternity, in the presence of God as opposed to away from Him in hell?

As a government decision-maker, do my decisions reflect recognition that those I am called to serve are eternal beings headed for heaven or hell and need to be treated as created in the image of God and with immense dignity?

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The question continues to be asked among philosophers, historians and politicians alike: What is it that makes one a Statesman? Let us continue to look at this issue. King David, perhaps more than any other leader, strives to be the kind of leader God desires, and is described by God as: 

A man after My own heart [conforming to My will and purposes], who will do all My will (Acts 13:22).

King David, after 40 years attempting to be God’s instrument, but with the flaws of humanity, described what he was convinced God’s instrument in office would be:

The one who rules the people with justice, who rules in the fear of God (2 Samuel 23:3).

This raises the question: “Does this mean that one cannot be a statesman without God?” I am not saying that every acknowledged statesman lived his life in dependence upon God. However, I am firmly convinced that the one who desires to serve as a statesman can best achieve that goal by living in dependence upon God and in obedience to Him. Nineteenth Century United Kingdom politician William Gladstone, who served as Prime Minister on four different occasions, shared with us his insights: 

During the many years in the Cabinet I was brought in contact with some sixty master minds, and not more than perhaps three or four of whom were in sympathy with the skeptical movements of the day.

His observation was that, although it may seem fashionable to express independence from God, the outstanding public servants were men of faith in God. 

Abraham Lincoln, while President, said: 

Faith in God is indispensable to successful statesmanship.

Abraham Kuyper, who served as Prime Minister of Netherlands, concluded: 

All Statecraft flows from Christ. 

An interesting case study is William Wilberforce. As he looked back on his career and motivation, he said: “The first years I was in Parliament, I did nothing ─ nothing that is to any purpose. My own distinction was my darling object.” These are the words of a politician. He then summarized his changed direction that allowed him to sacrifice everything politically to eradicate slavery with these words: “God Almighty has set before me two great objects — the suppression of the slave trade and the reformation of manners.” This is the Statesman speaking!

Let us consider two examples of God working in the hearts of public officials to make them better shepherds. Both governed as President of their nation two times with an interruption of years in between. In each case, the first period of governing was, by their admission, without God and the second was with God. I am sharing from public records so as not to impute something to them that is unwarranted.

The late Mathieu Kérékou governed Benin from 1972 to 1991 as a Marxist. With the close of the Cold War and the opening up of his country to free elections, he was soundly defeated in the first election and removed from office. In the process, God began to work in his life. He then withdrew from the public eye and focused his life on getting to know God. When the next elections were held in his country, he had so changed that he was elected by popular acclaim to head the nation again. One member of his cabinet told me that there is no comparison between the way he governed during this later period and the way he governed before. I am convinced that as a result of submitting his life to God as his Shepherd, he became more of a shepherd himself. We must conclude that this man governed more compassionately as God became the ruler in his personal life. 

Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria governed as Head of State during two periods, from 1976-79 as a military ruler and 1999-2007 as democratically-elected President. His earlier regime was reputed to be extremely corrupt. The second time, as President, his efforts to remove corruption in his country astounded friends and critics alike. What was the difference in his life between his two terms in office? Previous to his return to office, he was imprisoned on charges that were politically motivated. In the process, he submitted his life to God as his Lord. He described his years in prison as “God’s way of slowing me down to hear His message and His words.” Subsequently, he said “Without Jesus, as President I can do nothing. With Him, all things.” It appears that God humbled him in order to remake him into God’s instrument for the nation. 

I am fully convinced that as these leaders submitted their lives to God, they displayed more statesmanlike behavior, and became better shepherds of their people. Furthermore, these two cases provide as close to a control study as possible for the role of faith in God in producing statesmanlike behavior. In both cases, we can compare the leadership of specific individuals without faith in God and with faith. Obviously, this does not rule out any other factors that may have changed as well. However, this provides us with a strong argument for faith in God and gives us much to reflect upon.

Thus, when we ask the question “Can we be a Statesman without the help of God?”, I am convinced the answer is “No.” We may not recognize and express our dependence upon God, but, in fact, we do need God. God has more at stake than we do in providing the leadership He intends for those He loves so much. Hence, I believe He will even on occasion supernaturally intervene to cause us to provide the proper leadership even when we are not inclined and in a way that goes against our normal behaviour. Once we recognize this, I believe we will realize we should acknowledge our need for God and do everything we can to cooperate with Him.

FOR CONSIDERATION: Am I prepared to be a Statesman, in the sense of committed to obedience to God and seeking wisdom and direction from Him?

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I believe everyone is familiar with the encounter that David had with Goliath. David was a teenager. Goliath was a 9’9” tall, seasoned, powerful warrior. Everyone knows that David fearlessly felled this giant with a pebble employing a slingshot, perhaps the crudest of all instruments. However, I am convinced that there is more to the story. When David asked to be the one to fight the giant, he repeatedly referred to “the living God”. It is worth considering what David meant by his expression “the living God”. And I am convinced that it is this perspective that is the key to his miraculous success – one that we can appropriate for our own life and service.

The phrase “the living God” is a powerful expression. The addition of the word “living” implies active and involved. From this, we recognize that David viewed God as intimately involved in the lives of His children – involved in every aspect of our lives. We may interpret that David viewed God as hearing and responding, and with compassion and power in response to his needs. God demonstrated that David’s understanding and trust were not misplaced. There is no way we can explain in human terms what David accomplished during that encounter with Goliath.

We learn more about “the living God” and His interaction with fallen man as we watch David’s ensuing life unfold. David is an anomaly to us because when he was King, he allowed his view of God to lapse when he sinned with Bathsheba. And he paid dearly for that lapse. He was disciplined severely by his Lord for his disobedience, reminding him again that our Lord is “the living God”.

Even as David responded to God as he was confronted with his sin through God’s prophet, we see his view of our Master as the “living God”:

Be gracious to me, God, according to Your faithful love; according to Your abundant compassion, blot out my rebellion. Wash away my guilt and cleanse me from my sin. For I am conscious of my rebellion, and my sin is always before me…So You are right when You pass sentence; You are blameless when You judge…Surely You desire integrity in the inner self, and You teach me wisdom deep within. Purify me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones You have crushed rejoice. Turn Your face away from my sins and blot out all my guilt. God, create a clean heart for me and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not banish me from Your presence or take Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore the joy of Your salvation to me (Psalm 51:1-2,5-12).

When David pleaded with God “Do not banish me from Your presence or take Your Holy Spirit from me”, he recognized that he could not take God’s presence on his behalf for granted. He understood the need for God’s forgiveness and the fact that he could not automatically expect this as a part of His being “the living God” – and certainly not as a result of our Lord being an object of worship. When David pleaded “God, create in me a clean heart”, the word he chose for “create” means not to improve something blemished or imperfect but rather to “create out of nothing”, recognizing that God would have to produce something for which there was not the raw material or a starting point within David’s life. There is nothing David could provide out of which God could create a clean heart. This would have to be a work of God alone.

Possibly, Psalm 23 is one of the tenderest songs that David wrote to God, written years after David’s sin with Bathsheba. In it, David expressed “He restores my soul” (23:3). Again, we see the view of “the living God”.

Listen to David’s heart expressed years after sinning with Bathsheba:

The earth and everything in it, the world and its inhabitants, belong to the LORD; for He laid its foundation on the seas and established it on the rivers…. Who is this King of glory? The LORD, strong and mighty, the LORD, mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, you gates! Rise up, ancient doors! Then the King of glory will come in. Who is He, this King of glory? The LORD of Hosts, He is the King of glory. (Psalm 24:1-2,8-10)

Here, we see David expressing an intimate friendship, one that would reflect that God is “the living God”. Listen to the words of David later in his life:

A man’s steps are established by the LORD, and He takes pleasure in his way. Though he falls, he will not be overwhelmed, because the LORD holds his hand. I have been young and now I am old, yet I have not seen the righteous abandoned or his children begging for bread. He is always generous, always lending, and his children are a blessing. (Psalms 37:23-26)

These are the words of a man who experienced his Lord as “the living God” throughout a lifetime. We learn a lot from David’s life about this One who is “the living God”. He is intimately involved in our lives. He responds to our obedience to Him, and He disciplines us when we disobey Him. As “the living God”, He does not leave us to guess what He wants us to do. He makes it very clear as we call upon Him. In response, He promises to hold our hand. What more can a Statesman wish for?

David is considered to have been a good King, by God and man. He is representative of human beings with an imperfect nature desiring to do good for those he was called to serve. I propose for your consideration that his view of our Creator as “the living God” played a key part in his life and service. My challenge is for you to get to know God as David did and to have Him as your “living”, active partner throughout your life, guiding you and holding your hand.

The post The View of God Upon Which to Build Statesmanship appeared first on CENTRE FOR STATECRAFT.

The Statesman is first and foremost a leader drawn out of the community to serve the people in achieving the well-being our Creator designed for the people. The Statesman, remembering who he or she is, then identifies with those he or she is called to serve. Hence, what pains the people will pain the Statesman. God’s instruction manual reminds us what we are to do when we face challenges beyond our human ability, as we inevitably will:

So we called out to Yahweh, the God of our fathers, and the LORD heard our cry and saw our misery, hardship, and oppression (Deuteronomy 26:7).

With full confidence expressed to God:

If disaster comes on us—sword or judgment, pestilence or famine—we will stand before this temple and before You, for Your name is in this temple. We will cry out to You because of our distress, and You will hear and deliver (2 Chronicles 20:9).

How does this apply to Statesmen? Our Creator often employs the metaphor of the shepherd regarding the sheep to describe the governing process:

Wail, you shepherds, and cry out. Roll in the dust, you leaders of the flock (Jeremiah 25:34).

King David, at a time when his very survival was at stake:

The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears, and delivers them from all their troubles (Psalm 34:17).

David could testify that our Lord does hear “and deliver” when we cry out to Him.

One of God’s spokesmen promised:

At that time, when you call, the LORD will answer; when you cry out, He will say, ‘Here I am’ (Isaiah 58:9).

‘Here I am’ — as if He is just waiting to respond when we acknowledge our need, humble ourselves, say we cannot overcome the challenge by ourselves, and ask Him to rescue us.

Once the Statesman learns to be forthright with our Creator, he or she will certainly show tenderness and compassion toward those of the people crying out in turn to him or her. King Solomon, speaking in the third person, describes this corresponding tenderness when he said:

For he will rescue the poor who cry out and the afflicted who have no helper (Psalm 72:12).

King Solomon, elsewhere described the necessity for the Statesman to display the same compassion toward the hurting people as he expects his Creator to show toward him:

The one who shuts his ears to the cry of the poor will himself also call out and not be answered (Proverbs 21:13).

God instructs us that in especially challenging times, we must cry out to God as a nation:

Announce a sacred fast; proclaim an assembly! Gather the elders and all the residents of the land at the house of the LORD your God, and cry out to the LORD (Joel 1:14).

‘Elders’ refers to the societal leaders. There are times when the challenges become so great that the whole nation must stop what it is doing, come together, and cry out to our Lord for help together. When our human efforts are not achieving a solution, and when changing our approach to the problem is not gaining a solution, we reach a point where doubling our effort is nothing short of insanity and we must recognize our need for divine help.

All of this argues for Statesmen working as closely as possible with the One who ultimately reigns over our nations, operating as His human representative on behalf of the people.

We must talk with Him so closely and intimately that when crisis comes, we can immediately approach Him as close Friend, not stranger. Let us deepen our relationship each day, adding our ability to cry out to Him quickly and in expectation whenever challenge should come.

As we do cry out to God, let us be prepared for Him to respond in greater measure than we ask, for He also said:

Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know (Jeremiah 33:3).

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Regardless of the specific role we are called upon to play in our nations, whether in Government, Religious Institution or Family, we are called upon to be a manifestation of our Creator – our Heavenly Father. His intent is to live through us as His instruments to bring His goals to our societies.

When God created man, His declaration was:

Let us make man in Our image (Genesis 1:26).

As God continued, He said:

“They will rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the livestock, all the earth, and the creatures that crawl on the earth.” So God created man in His own image; He created him in the image of God; He created them male and female (Genesis 1:26-27).

Clearly, His intent was that we would be a reflection of Himself in every action and every decision. This is confirmed as God is speaking through King David to describe God’s intended behavior for the administrator of the nation after decades of his own seeking to be God’s instrument in his nation:

The one who rules the people with justice, who rules in the fear of God (2 Samuel 23:3).

Thoughtful reflection leads us to recognize that we need character values that are consistent with our Creator’s intent. As human beings, we recognize that we are easily distracted from our commitment to those values. It seems that whenever we focus our eyes on the practical problems before us, we tend to take our eyes off our Creator and rely on our own human wisdom. As such, we must continually re-focus on those values. The values necessary in our lives are the character qualities that result from the infusion of God’s Holy Spirit into our lives. In order for this to happen, our hearts must continually be returning to God. King David expressed both the need:

God, You are my God; I eagerly seek You. I thirst for You; my body faints for You in a land that is dry, desolate, and without water (Psalm 63:1).

and the solution:

They are filled from the abundance of Your house; You let them drink from Your refreshing stream, for with You is life’s fountain. In Your light we will see light (Psalms 36:8).

Our Creator, in His wisdom has created us with an empty spot within that needs to be filled precisely by Him. Blaise Pascal described it this way:

There is a God-shaped vacuum in the heart of each person which can only be satisfied by God the Creator made known by Jesus Christ.

If that vacuum is not filled by Him, we will each live dry, empty lives. Jesus said:

I came that they may have life and have it abundantly (John 10:10).

It is necessary for us to drink from His refreshing stream and to do so continually. This is the essence of what it means to be revived:

The instruction of the LORD is perfect, renewing one’s life. (Psalm 19:7)

Those who trust in the LORD will renew their strength; they will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary; they will walk and not faint (Isaiah 40:31).

He renews my life; He leads me along the right paths for His name’s sake (Psalm 23:3).

God’s solution for our need is expressed:

Set your minds on what is above, not on what is on the earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with the Messiah in God (Colossians 3:2-3).

We must be extremely careful not to take our Lord’s patience with our humanity for granted. Paul describes this danger when he says:

Demas has deserted me, because he loved this present world, and has gone to Thessalonica (2 Timothy 4:10).

This servant of God to whom Paul refers, after risking his life in His Father’s service, apparently allowed himself to take a small step of disobedience that led to a wasted life.
Let us do every moment as our loving Father implores us:

Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you (James 4:8).

Let us do this so that we may also say:

It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me (Galatians 2:20).

Let us do this so faithfully that when people look at our lives, they will conclude that we have been created in God’s image and that we reflect His character in everything we do. Let us live in such a way as to see our Creator’s character and purpose filled through us.

The post The Continuous Awakening That Must Sustain the Statesman appeared first on CENTRE FOR STATECRAFT.

The foundational truth is that there is one God who created the universe, every person within it, and every nation, that He is moral and He intends to bestow His love on humanity. Since God revealed Himself to mankind, we as a human race have been asking “What would a nation that is obedient to God look like?” We have promises for national blessing in response to obedience to Him:

Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people He chose for His inheritance (Psalms 33:12).

Now if you faithfully obey the LORD your God and are careful to follow all His commands I am giving you today, the LORD your God … All these blessings will come and overtake you, because you obey the LORD your God … But if you do not obey the LORD your God by carefully following all His commands and statutes I am giving you today, all these curses will come and overtake you … (Deuteronomy 28:1-2,15).

These promises were initially made to a single nation. However, the character of God makes clear that He loves all peoples and intended for that original nation to be a visible model of His intended blessings for every nation that would obey Him. Thus, He has also promised:

Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people (Proverbs 14:34).

Righteous exalts any ꟷ and every ꟷ nation. Hence, we know that these promises for national blessing are available to any and every nation that would place their trust in Him.

Realistically, no nation has received the full blessings God has promised to the nation that would fully depend upon Him. While we strive to be that nation, what would that nation look like?

1. 1. It would consist of every member striving to live in dependence upon Him from the lowliest to the greatest.
2. It would serve as a visible model for all the other nations of the blessings a nation would experience that would depend upon Him.

I submit to you that the leader who desires the best for his/her people wrestles with how that nation can experience God’s blessings. That leader understands that the challenge is greater than his/her own ability to trust God. There is also the challenge of motivating the whole population to live in dependence upon, and obedience to, God. Even if that leader does the best to live in obedience to God and His instructions, there is still the remainder of the population.

What would that obedience look like as a nation? Although we must depend upon God’s complete instruction book, the Bible, there is one instruction that give us rich insight into what is necessary:

Mankind, He has told you what is good and what it is the LORD requires of you: to act justly, to love faithfulness, and to walk humbly with your God (Micah 6:8).

In reflecting on what our Creator expects of us, we seem to have a good portion of our answer.

“To walk humbly with your God.” This means to submit to His will in every issue we face as human beings. In every decision we make, we must ask “How would God have us make this decision according to His will?” It would be reflected by every action taken within society, including every decision made within Government.

“To love faithfulness.” I suggest that this means to be faithful to God, not to betray Him or misrepresent Him by our actions.

“To act justly.” Every human interaction would manifest justice, fairness, kindness. It is as if this is an external measuring stick of how effectively we as a society are satisfying our Lord’s requirements. This defines the way every human interaction, including how we relate to each other within our families and within society, would manifest justice, fairness, kindness.

Fulfilling this condition “to act justly, to love faithfulness, and to walk humbly with your God” would impact every aspect of our society. This would impact every member of our society from the lowest to the highest.

The obvious question arises of how much of the society must make this commitment to our Lord God. I cannot be certain. The only safe approach is to attempt to gain 100% cooperation on the part of the members of our nation.

How does this awareness impact the leader? Those who are leaders must realize that if we attempt to lift our people while ignoring the need for our Creator’s desired blessing upon our nations, we are wasting much of our effort. Also, “to act justly, to love faithfulness, and to walk humbly with your God” cannot be accomplished by increasing the efforts of our police force. It must become internalized in the heart of each member of society. Realistically, the fulfillment of the condition for obedience is not primarily the responsibility for the Government leader. There are three institutions that our Creator has ordained in the building of a healthy society: Family, Religious Institution, and Government. Moving our society toward one that is in obedience to our Creator requires the agreement and participation of those within all three institutions. Clearly, the Religious Institution must be the driving force to achieve this goal. Furthermore, Family plays a critical role in passing to the next generation the underlying values essential for sustaining the blessing. Thus, it seems that the correct view is of the head of nation is as visionary and a cheerleader. The Government leader must encourage and support everyone in working to establish a nation in obedience to God. Such a leader must work harmoniously with the influencers of every segment of society ꟷ that is, not just the Government, but also the Family and the Religious Institution. In fact, the latter two must be considered the significant sources that feed individuals committed to obedience to our Lord into the service of Government.

Let us encourage every resource within our society to help each member grow in trust and obedience of our Creator and Master. Let us as a society learn to grow in knowledge, confidence and trust in our unseen Master. Let us cooperate in re-directing the hearts of our people to worship the God of the Universe who desires to bestow His love and fullest blessing upon them. And let us who are aspiring to serve our people as Statesmen grow in our knowledge of Him so that we can lead as He intended. As one wise head of nation taught us:

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding (Proverbs 9:10).

With so much at stake, why would the leader who cares about the well-being of the people not want the nation to operate in obedience to God and experience His promised blessings? Is this not the very essence of leadership?

Food for Thought: What steps would I be willing to take as God seeks to move my nation closer to being obedient to Him and experiencing His full blessings?

The post The Statesman and National Obedience to Our Creator appeared first on CENTRE FOR STATECRAFT.

Returning to the foundational truth:

God is King of all the earth. God reigns over the nations; God is seated on His holy throne (Psalms 47:7-8).

There is a special benefit for the Statesman that results from faith in the One who designed the system in which they serve. Therefore, it is beneficial to look at the implications of that faith. The Apostle Paul discussed giants of the faith in an interesting passage:

These all died in faith without having received the promises, but they saw them from a distance, greeted them, and confessed that they were foreigners and temporary residents on the earth. Now those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they were thinking about where they came from, they would have had an opportunity to return. But they now desire a better place—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them (Hebrews 11:13-16).

God was referring to the giants of the faith as being “foreigners and temporary residents” within nations upon the earth while living as a part of a greater kingdom and while looking forward to that greater kingdom. God, speaking to His obedient servants, tells us “our citizenship is in heaven” (Philippians 3:20).

What difference can this make for the Statesman?

While discussing this issue with a small group of U.N. Ambassadors in a Bible study, one Ambassador explained that his foreign ministry, while briefing him before his assignment, cautioned him not to allow himself to become attracted by the allures of the culture where he would serve, rather always keeping his eye on his own country until he could return. Our God reminds us to take the same approach as we serve in His creation: not to allow ourselves to become attracted by the allures of the culture where we serve, but rather always keeping our eye on our ultimate home as we await our return.

The Statesman faces the allure of many challenges due to the authority he or she wields. There is the accumulation of power. Jesus’s warning addresses the issue of our ultimate citizenship:

What will it benefit a man if he gains the whole world yet loses his life? Or what will a man give in exchange for his life? (Matthew 16:26)

While serving, we must resist the temptation to accrue the benefits of exercising power.

Then, there is the issue of material possessions. As civilization began to move toward centralized governments, God provided the following guidelines:

The king, moreover, must not acquire great numbers of horses for himself … He must not take many wives, or his heart will be led astray. He must not accumulate large amounts of silver and gold (Deuteronomy 17:16-17).

– his heart will be led astray from the ultimate kingdom to which he will return.

This proceeds to instruct how the leader is to protect him- or herself:

When he takes the throne of his kingdom, he is to write for himself on a scroll a copy of this law, taken from that of the Levitical priests. It is to be with him, and he is to read it all the days of his life so that he may learn to revere the Lord his God and follow carefully all the words of this law and these decrees and not consider himself better than his fellow [citizens] and turn from the law to the right or to the left (Deuteronomy 17:18-20).

It involves continually focusing one’s mind on and focusing our heart on our citizenship in our ultimate Kingdom and our accountability to our Master at its head. This does so by focusing on the Law of that Kingdom which supersedes our earthly kingdom.

The application here seems relevant. While serving in an earthly kingdom, there seems a certain irony in a Government leader being a citizen of a kingdom other than his/her own nation.

I would submit to you that because of being a citizen of that higher kingdom – God’s Kingdom, I believe God is telling us that one can better serve the nation’s interests. God contrasts those whose ultimate citizenship is not in heaven:

Their end is destruction; their god is their stomach; their glory is in their shame. They are focused on earthly things, but our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. He will transform the body of our humble condition into the likeness of His glorious body, by the power that enables Him to subject everything to Himself (Philippians 3:19-21).

The Statesman who knows his or her citizenship is in heaven has the valuable resource that keeps him or her from giving into the temptations faced by one who holds power in our world system. Hence, we are admonished:

Set your minds on what is above, not on what is on the earth (Colossians 3:2).

We are admonished to continually focus our minds on the eternal Kingdom to which we will ultimately return after our brief service on this earth is completed.

Set your minds on what is above, not on what is on the earth.

Let us keep our minds focused on that Kingdom within which we look forward to spending eternity with our ultimate Master and Saviour. And may this help us to make our maximum contribution while on this earth!

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God made an astounding promise to Abraham, the father of ancient Israel:

all the peoples on earth will be blessed through you (Genesis 12:3).

This promise is repeated numerous times. Let us seek to understand what it was that made this promise applicable to other nations:

Abraham is to become a great and powerful nation, and all the nations of the earth will be blessed through him. For I have chosen him so that he will command his children and his house after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right and just. This is how the Lord will fulfill to Abraham what He promised him (Genesis 18:18-19).

What was it that God asked of Abraham as the basis of installing His blessing upon the nations? Simply stated, it was:

to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right and just.

We learn more as God repeated His promise to Abraham’s son Isaac:

I will be with you and bless you.… I will confirm the oath that I swore to your father Abraham…. all the nations of the earth will be blessed by your offspring… 

As God proceeded with Isaac, He provided more insight into the key to that blessing:

… because Abraham listened to My voice and kept My mandate, My commands, My statutes, and My instructions (Genesis 26:3-5).

Clearly, the uniqueness of Israel may only partly be understood by the human mind. It was the people through whom His Saviour for mankind would come. Israel was also to be a visible teaching lesson to all the nations. God’s interaction with Israel would be a visible demonstration of God’s character as it applies to nations. Israel would be an object lesson for every other nation of the blessings God desires to bestow upon every nation, with the clear understanding that each nation would listen to His voice and obey His instructions.

God provided a clear measuring stick for Israel which we must understand applies to our nations as well in evaluating whether our nations are experiencing God’s intended blessings:

Now if you faithfully obey the Lord your God and are careful to follow all His commands I am giving you today… All these blessings will come and overtake you, because you obey the Lord your God: You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the country. Your descendants will be blessed, and your land’s produce, and the offspring of your livestock, including the young of your herds and the newborn of your flocks. Your basket and kneading bowl will be blessed. You will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out… The Lord will make you prosper abundantly with children, the offspring of your livestock, and your land’s produce in the land the Lord swore to your fathers to give you. The Lord will open for you His abundant storehouse, the sky, to give your land rain in its season and to bless all the work of your hands … you will only move upward and never downward if you listen to the Lord your God’s commands I am giving you today and are careful to follow them. Do not turn aside to the right or the left from all the things I am commanding you today, and do not go after other gods to worship them (Deuteronomy 28:1-14).

Can our vision for our nations be any greater than this? Let us continue with God’s clarification:

But if you do not obey the Lord your God by carefully following all His commands and statutes I am giving you today, all these curses will come and overtake you: You will be cursed in the city and cursed in the country. Your basket and kneading bowl will be cursed. Your descendants will be cursed, and your land’s produce, the young of your herds, and the newborn of your flocks. You will be cursed when you come in and cursed when you go out…because of the wickedness of your actions in abandoning Me…. You will sow much seed in the field but harvest little, because locusts will devour it… All these curses will come, pursue, and overtake you until you are destroyed, since you did not obey the Lord your God and keep the commands and statutes He gave you. These curses will be a sign and a wonder against you and your descendants forever. Because you didn’t serve the Lord your God with joy and a cheerful heart, even though you had an abundance of everything,… If you are not careful to obey all the words of this law, which are written in this scroll, by fearing this glorious and awesome name—Yahweh, your God— He will bring extraordinary plagues on you and your descendants, severe and lasting plagues, and terrible and chronic sicknesses (Deuteronomy 28:15-59).

As we get to know the character of our God, we recognize that He desires to show love and bestow His blessings upon every human being. His desire is to bless and not to harm. His character is expressed:

“For I know the plans I have for you”—this is the Lord’s declaration— “plans for your welfare, not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope” (Jeremiah 29:11).

However, He only asks that we give Him His proper place in our lives individually and as nations. Israel was intended to be a visible demonstration of what our Creator would do for the nation that would obey Him.

As we evaluate our nations using the measuring stick of blessing and withholding of intended blessing from our Heavenly Father, where does my nation lie? If I perceive that my nation is not receiving the blessing He intends, what steps can I and my people take? God gave this prescription to the God-fearing people in ancient Israel:

If I close the sky so there is no rain, or if I command the grasshopper to consume the land, or if I send pestilence on My people, and My people who are called by My name humble themselves, pray and seek My face, and turn from their evil ways, then I will hear from heaven, forgive their sin, and heal their land (2 Chronicles 7:13-14).

This must also be considered the prescribed course of action for those of every nation.

The post The Statesman Considers Our Creator’s Hand upon the Nation appeared first on CENTRE FOR STATECRAFT.

I would like to present for your consideration a challenge that the Late-Prime Minister Dame Eugenia Charles of Dominica gave to her political party during the celebration of the party’s twenty-fifth anniversary. I consider it one of the most courageous and honest acts by a leader.

Calling the Nation Back to God in Unity

Fellow Dominicans:

The constitution of the Commonwealth of Dominica begins by declaring that “the people of Dominica have affirmed that the Commonwealth of Dominica is founded upon principles that acknowledge the supremacy of God . . . . . .” This in effect means that in all our institutions and in every aspect of our life in Dominica, all our activities, and all our policies are subject to the sovereign will of God and should reflect that will. It means that we must also acknowledge that we cannot reject God, despise His will, and get away with it. When we reject God, or simply pay him lip service as we so often do, we must expect to pay the price.

If we are honest with ourselves, we will admit that in practice, we as a people have not given God the place which our constitution says we must give Him. We have not been living as though God is supreme over us. Whether it be in our politics, our culture, our family life, our education, we have had very little room for God. Some of us have no room for Him at all. Is it any wonder that there has been such widespread breakdown in family life? Is it any surprise that we have so many formidable social problems ‒ drugs, violence, unwanted children, abortion, child abuse, AIDS, division, hatred, greed and selfishness? Is it any wonder that witchcraft is so widespread in our society? Is it any wonder that there is such lack of respect for one another? We are paying the price for failing to make God supreme, and for exalting ourselves and our own selfish ends instead. That is why the theme for this occasion is of such great importance ‒

Calling the People Back to God in Unity.

I am not taking on the role of the churches. I am not trying to play the role of preacher, priest or pastor. We are Christians and take lessons from our Bibles, and therefore know that I, as leader of the government of this nation, am on solid ground in playing my part in calling our people back to God and uniting our people under God. I am doing this in all sincerity, because I believe it is what God wants me to do.

Let me begin with the home.  Perhaps the greatest disaster that has taken place in Dominica over the years is the breakdown of the family. The root of all our problems lies here.  The family is the cradle of the nation, and the nation cannot be better than the homes which make it up. Today, everyone is doing what is right in his own eyes, not what is right in the sight of God.  Parents seem to think they can turn out good children by living loose and immoral lives.  Parents, let us bring God back into our homes!  Let God be supreme in our homes! Make prayer and the words of God in our Bible central in our homes.  Let us train our children as God wants them to be trained.  Parents, let us turn back to God, and let us begin to rebuild sound family life in Dominica.

I turn now to the schools.  I think we must take a close look at what is happening in our schools.  Let me quote from a letter of Principals of Secondary Schools to the Minister for Education dated 14th May 1993:

In our schools there has been increasing evidence of unusually serious misconduct which warrants an urgent examination of the entire socio- economic and moral atmosphere existing in and out of schools in order to arrive at possible solutions.

Among the problem identified by the Principals are: pregnancy, abortion, pornography, perverse sexual practices, theft, violence, drug abuse, and vandalism. These are problems in the schools. Some of the possible reasons identified are: child abuse, parental neglect, television, and a general moral decadence in the society. Why? We have almost completely thrown the study of religion out of our schools. Churches no longer have a close relationship with schools as they used to. Many teachers are no longer role models for our children. The supremacy of God which our constitution speaks of is not generally demonstrated in our schools. I am calling on Principals and teachers in all schools to correct this. Christian teachers must play a significant role in molding the lives of our children. We need to exercise greater care in appointing people to be teachers in our schools. We cannot simply look for people to teach subjects. We must have in our school’s teachers whose lives are a pattern for children to emulate. Prayer and the study of our religious faiths must once again have an important place in our schools, as ways of teaching our children what God requires of them, and how to live with one another. I know that there is a danger of religious education being misused in schools. I know this can be a touchy subject. But it still remains true that we require this study as a Guidebook for living. It is the best guidebook there is. If we lived our lives according to our religious beliefs we would not be having the problems that plague our society today.

There has been almost complete reversal of values in our Dominican society.  Most of us seem to call good evil, and evil good.  The Preamble to our Constitution says that the people of Dominica

“… recognize that men and institutions remain free only when freedom is founded on respect for moral and spiritual values and the rule of Law.”

We are in danger of losing our freedom in Dominica. Our society is threatened with widespread anarchy because we no longer base our life-style on Christian values. Our life-style is increasingly fashioned by television, by the styles imported from industrialized countries. It is reported that even in our preschools little children are practicing the sexual patterns which they see on televisions. Such things as honesty, truthfulness, hard work, self-control, respect for people, courtesy, gratitude, service to others ‒ these things are now foreign to us. Instead, most people seem to be motivated by selfishness and greed, and from these follows all the evils which are destroying our society. As a people, then, we must return truly to God, [and to] Christian values. We must reject the evil trends in our society. We must develop a Christian conscience which cries out loudly against every manifestation of evil; and we must preach and teach, and live those traditional values found in our religious faith and teachings which shape sound character and build stable societies.

But I would be failing if I did not acknowledge that it is in the area of politics and government more than in any other that we in Dominica need to acknowledge and demonstrate our acknowledgment of the supremacy of God.  We have seen how in the past bad politics and bad government have brought this country near disaster.  We have seen how greed and corruption; lack of honesty and lack of integrity have marred our political life. We have seen how godless politics has brought hatred and disunity among our people.  We have seen how some politicians in their greed for power resort to witchcraft and satanic devices.  And we know that for the same reason many will encourage violence and threats of violence to hinder the people from exercising and enjoying the freedom which is theirs under our constitution.  All of this is the price we pay when we throw God out of politics and out of government.

If this nation is to prosper, if we are to have a stable society, we must as a people turn back to God.  Politicians must turn to God.  I do not mean by this only that politicians must go to church.  We all know that politicians can go to church when it suits them ‒ as a vote-catching gimmick.  Nor does it mean merely being a member of a church or holding office in a church.  What is all that if you leave church and go out spreading hatred and telling lies, and buying votes.  What I mean is that our politicians must be people who are god-fearing and who practice godliness.  I am challenging you, my fellow Dominicans, to look for god-fearing people when you are looking for politicians.  If the leadership of the nation is ungodly, the nation is heading for disaster.

I happen to be the leader of a political party, and the leader of the government.  Let me take this opportunity to make a strong call to the party which I lead to make God supreme in all our doings.  Let us celebrate this anniversary occasion with a general and sincere turning to God, and with a determination to order our affairs according to His will.  I am pleased to have in my government a number of men who truly fear God.  I would like to see this become the normal and acceptable thing in government.  Let me urge my colleagues in government to do their part in making God supreme in all aspects of the governing of our beloved people and country.  This is the only way we can guarantee good government in Dominica.

The theme of this service is “Calling the People in Unity Back to God.”  However, not much will be accomplished if we simply sound the call at this service and leave it there.  We must all make a commitment to submit ourselves to the sovereignty of God.  There must also be a pledge to continue what is begun here today.  For this reason, I am making a strong appeal to the churches to plan and carry out an ongoing campaign to lead our people in unity back to God.  I am sure this is a goal you all share.  Therefore, let me ask you to muster all the resources you can, and to work together as far as you are able with this single purpose in mind, to make the people of Dominica a people who fear God and practice righteousness.  Bring our people back to God.

May God bless you in this effort so that Dominica may truly become the land of the Lord, and Dominicans, the people of the Lord.

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