William Wilberforce est l’un des rares hommes que tout le monde considère comme un homme d’État en raison de sa vision et des sacrifices qu’il a consentis pour y parvenir. Il a écrit de son point de vue :

La majorité des chrétiens négligent, nient ou, à tout le moins, minimisent les problèmes liés à ce que signifie être un être humain déchu.

Je vous soumets que le problème est plus universel que ce que Wilberforce a écrit. Sa conclusion ne s’applique pas seulement aux chrétiens insincères. C’est un problème que chacun d’entre nous doit reconnaître, quel que soit son héritage religieux, et que nous devons résoudre si nous désirons être le type de dirigeant que notre Créateur a voulu. C’est ce problème qui représente un défi pour la gouvernance car il affecte à la fois les gouvernés et les gouvernants. Examinons spécifiquement comment ce problème s’applique à ceux qui gouvernent. Quelle est cette nature déchue et comment affecte-t-elle le processus de gouvernance ? Elle est exprimée de manière assez directe dans la Parole de Dieu :

Il n’y a pas un seul homme juste, pas même un seul homme intelligent, pas un seul homme qui cherche Dieu. Tous se sont détournés, tous sont devenus inutiles. Personne ne fait le bien, pas même un seul (Romains 3:10-12).

Notre Créateur, par amour, nous a donné la liberté de choisir d’obéir ou non à ses instructions claires dans nos décisions. Trop souvent, nous choisissons de suivre nos propres désirs au mépris de sa voie. Examinons l’impact que cela a sur le décideur gouvernemental qui veut être un homme d’État. En rappelant ce que signifie être un homme d’État, l’une des nombreuses voix nous a rappelé :

Un homme politique pense à la prochaine élection, un homme d’État à la prochaine génération. Un homme politique cherche le succès de son parti, un homme d’État celui de son pays. L’homme d’État souhaite diriger, tandis que l’homme politique se contente de dériver (James Freeman Clarke).

En étudiant ces paroles, ainsi que celles de Dieu, nous comprenons ce qui est essentiel dans notre effort pour agir en tant qu’homme d’État. Il y a deux natures qui se battent continuellement dans notre vie :

1. une nature altruiste et sensible à Dieu qui cherche à obéir à notre Créateur pour faire le bien qu’Il désire et qui se soucie des besoins des gens ;
2. une nature égoïste prête à récolter certains avantages personnels comme un avantage « raisonnable » de la fonction.

Dans la définition donnée par Clarke, nous voyons clairement ce qui constitue l’autopromotion et ce qui constitue la promotion des personnes dans la différence entre un homme d’État et un politicien.

Notre Créateur a décrit ainsi ce que Wilberforce appelle notre nature déchue ou pécheresse :

Le cœur est tortueux plus que toute autre chose, et incurable : qui peut le comprendre ? (Jérémie 17:9)

La bataille que cela provoque en nous est décrite par un serviteur de Dieu :

Car je ne sais pas ce que je fais, parce que je ne fais pas ce que je veux, mais je fais ce que je hais… Ainsi donc, ce n’est plus moi qui le fais, mais c’est le péché qui habite en moi. Car je sais que le bien n’habite pas en moi, c’est-à-dire dans ma chair. Car j’ai en moi le désir de faire le bien, mais je n’ai pas le pouvoir de le faire. Car je ne fais pas le bien que je voudrais, mais je fais le mal que je ne veux pas. Or, si je fais ce que je ne veux pas, ce n’est plus moi qui le fais, mais c’est le péché qui habite en moi. Je découvre ainsi ce principe : Quand je veux faire le bien, le mal est en moi (Romains 7:15-21).

Ce serviteur de Dieu est allé encore plus loin en décrivant la bataille intérieure :

Mais je vois dans mes membres une autre loi qui combat contre la loi de mon esprit et qui me tient prisonnier dans mes membres de la loi du péché (Romains 7:23).

Le résultat net est que ma nature pécheresse, ou égoïste, prend le pas sur tout bien que ma nature meilleure souhaiterait faire :

Car la chair désire ce qui est contraire à l’Esprit, et l’Esprit désire ce qui est contraire à la chair ; ils sont opposés entre eux, afin que vous ne fassiez pas ce que vous voudriez (Galates 5:17).

En conséquence, je suis rendu incapable de faire le bien que je désire faire. L’homme d’État doit reconnaître la solution que notre Créateur nous a fournie pour vaincre notre nature pécheresse :

J’ai été crucifié avec Christ et si je vis, ce n’est plus moi qui vis, c’est Christ qui vit en moi. Si je vis maintenant dans ce corps, je le vis dans la foi au Fils de Dieu, qui m’a aimé et qui s’est livré lui-même pour moi (Galates 2:19-20).

Nous devons appliquer l’œuvre sacrificielle de Jésus sur la Croix en notre faveur à la question des actes de notre nature pécheresse. Nous devons le faire activement et avec agressivité. Nous devons profiter activement de la solution qu’Il ​​nous a fournie :

Si par l’Esprit vous faites mourir les actions du corps, vous vivrez (Romains 8:13).

La clé est l’expression « par l’Esprit ». Nous devons profiter de la puissance de l’Esprit de Dieu en nous pour mettre à mort les actes de notre nature pécheresse qui voudraient abuser de l’autorité de notre fonction et la priver d’être utilisée uniquement pour le bien des gens. Ce n’est que lorsque nous permettons à notre Créateur de mettre à mort les désirs de notre nature humaine que Dieu, Jésus et son Saint-Esprit peuvent littéralement opérer à travers nous. Nous devons le faire pour chacune de nos décisions – littéralement, plusieurs fois par jour. Ce n’est qu’à ce moment-là que nous pouvons agir comme l’instrument de notre Créateur, accomplissant ce qu’Il ​​désire. Ceci est résumé dans l’enseignement de notre Créateur par l’intermédiaire d’un autre serviteur :

Sa puissance divine nous a donné tout ce qui contribue à la vie et à la piété, au moyen de la connaissance de celui qui nous a appelés par sa propre gloire et par sa bonté. Par ces promesses, il nous a donné de très grandes et précieuses promesses, afin que par elles vous deveniez participants de la nature divine, en fuyant la corruption qui existe dans le monde par la convoitise (2 Pierre 1:3-4).

Ce n’est qu’en comptant sur l’aide de notre Créateur que le décideur peut cesser d’interférer avec le plan de notre Créateur et agir en homme d’État. Bien sûr, cette solution ne peut fonctionner que si l’Esprit du Dieu vivant est en nous. Cela repose sur le fait de s’assurer que le canal entre Dieu et nous a été ouvert en profitant de la mort de Jésus pour notre nature pécheresse et de sa résurrection. Jésus l’a clairement indiqué lorsqu’il a dit :

Je suis le chemin, la vérité et la vie. Nul ne vient au Père que par moi (Jean 14:6).

La réalité est que la crucifixion de Jésus a payé le prix de notre désobéissance à Dieu qui a bloqué ce canal d’accès à Dieu. Et la résurrection de Jésus d’entre les morts a confirmé qu’Il ​​a accompli ce qu’Il ​​avait promis par Sa crucifixion. Nous devons nous assurer que nous avons franchi cette étape en nous appropriant le pardon de notre Créateur alors que nous recherchons Son aide et Sa puissance pour vaincre notre nature pécheresse afin d’être Son instrument dans les vies que nous sommes appelés à servir. Il est essentiel que nous nous assurions que l’Esprit de Dieu est en nous afin d’invoquer Son Esprit pour mettre à mort nos intérêts égoïstes.

CONSIDÉRATION POUR L’HOMME D’ÉTAT :

Ai-je pris la mesure de m’assurer que l’Esprit du Dieu vivant est en moi dans mon désir de surmonter ma nature égoïste et de gouverner en homme d’État ?

The post L’homme d’État surmonte notre nature égoïste appeared first on CENTRE FOR STATECRAFT.

(NOTE: This statement was delivered to a group of diplomats at the United Nations, New York 19 June 1986.)

Every nation has its treasures – those things that it values from a cultural or material point of view. Typically, the national treasures are items that are an integral part of the national identity.

My experience is that most nations are not able to identify that which is truly their most important treasure and, through lack of understanding, largely waste this valuable resource. The most valuable treasure a nation has is those who are God’s people. My purpose is, first, to alert you to what God intends for the Christian community in your nation so that your nation can benefit maximally from their presence. It is not necessary for a government official to be a Christian in order to benefit from this analysis. Then, I will consider with you how other segments of society can participate in being this treasure.  Let me emphasize that the promises God makes to His people are not restricted to the so‑called Christians; they are available to others as well, but there are some essential conditions that must be met. In my initial analysis, I will use the terms true Christians and God’s people interchangeably and, then, indicate the conditions for broadening the latter.

God has made it very clear that He intends to bless any nation whose Christians, even if they are a small minority, are functioning properly with regard to God and the government. If a nation is not experiencing well‑being, much of the problem must be laid at the doorstep of the Christians, because they often do not know how to live as followers of Jesus Christ, acting on the privileges and responsibilities that are theirs. If they are living the lives God intends for them, then helping the government, no matter what the form, will be an exciting challenge.

The first step in our analysis is to understand who the Christians are. It is worth taking the time to define our terms. One problem lies with the meaning of the word Christian. Contrary to common usage, being born into a certain family, social group or ethnic group does not make one a Christian, nor does going to church. A person is not a true Christian by virtue of any of these reasons. I will refer to the person who considers himself a Christian based on any of these criteria as a cultural Christian. Rather, the word Christian means a “follower of Jesus Christ”.¹  The true Christian is one who has recognized the existence of the all‑powerful, all‑loving God who has created this world and everything in it. He is one who recognizes that God created him in love and that he can only fulfill the purpose for which God created him by being in harmony with God. He is one who has recognized that God is perfectly holy and that we as humans are not holy and, as a result, are separated from God. The true Christian is one who recognizes that this alienation between man and God cannot be corrected by anything that man can do, that in fact only God could do it Himself by coming in human form as Jesus. He is one who has recognized that he must claim Jesus’ death as the basis for God’s forgiveness of his sins so that he may be in harmony with God.

The Bible teaches that the true follower of Jesus Christ is one who, as the result of a willful decision, has all of God dwelling within him, giving him the capacity to live his life in reliance upon God’s wisdom and strength. Because of God’s presence within his life, he has the capacity to change to become more like Jesus as he follows his Lord in obedience. He has the capacity to love others without regard to personal gain, which will make him a useful citizen. On the other hand, the cultural Christian has none of these resources, but rather is living his life in his own strength. It is important for government officials to distinguish between those who are cultural Christians and those who are true Christians.

The second step is to understand the attitude toward government which God expects of all true Christians. The follower of Jesus Christ realizes that government officials are God’s servants, placed in office by Him, and that it is God who determines when individual officials or the government itself will be changed.² A Christian should support the government, rather than undermine it. He must support the government even if he finds the government not properly applying God’s principles and he must tell it so. It would be the rare instance when he would find that obedience to government would conflict with obedience to God. Obedient Christians pray for wisdom for government officials. The government does not need to fear true Christians. Contrary to some rumours, God does not specify the form a government should take. God does care about justice, and points out that the purpose of government is to serve the people. It is important to note that sometimes the Christian community, often comprised mainly of cultural Christians, consists of minority ethnic or cultural groups and that their differences with the government may be based less upon spiritual considerations than upon ethnic or political motivations. Government officials can expect a higher standard for behaviour from true Christians.³

The third step is to understand what makes the Christians such a valuable resource and what the Christians must be doing to contribute to national strength, stability and prosperity. God makes it clear that the well‑being of a nation is dependent upon the obedience of His followers within that nation. The Christians are to intercede with God for the nation. God has told us through His servant:

First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in authority, in order that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity.⁴

The Christians are to pray for the nation. The goal is the well‑being of society. This purpose is stated with these words: “in order that we may lead a tranquil and quiet (or peaceful) life in all godliness and dignity.” Our world, by and large, does not know this quality of life. But it is God’s intention that we have it. It is the Christians’ responsibility through faithfully interceding with God on behalf of the nation to bring about well‑being.

They are the ones who must pray. They are the only ones who can pray and be heard. God tells us:

The arm of the Lord is not too short to save, nor His ear too dull to hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear.⁵

Thus, the prayers of others will be ineffective.

The Christians must pray on behalf of all men and women, not just themselves. They are to represent the nation at large, as a steward holding a prized possession. Notice that they are to pray for leaders, presumably that leaders will make the kinds of decisions that will allow us to live a “tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity.” The problems in our world are so complex that, apart from God supplying wisdom, leaders cannot make the kinds of decisions that will allow us to live a “tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity.” God’s people have the power to change their nation and they must unleash that power through diligent prayer, as a faithful steward.

The Christian who is trusting God has great power at his disposal, power that is to be used for good. Listen to these words from one of God’s servants: “I can do everything through God who gives me strength.”⁶ However, it is important to realize that the Christian must learn to use this resource: Christians are admonished:

I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know…His incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of His mighty strength, which He exerted in Christ when He raised Him from the dead. ⁷

Amazingly, followers of Jesus Christ have at their disposal the same power that God exerted when He raised Jesus from the dead. It is not automatic that the Christian will have this power. If he refuses to trust God, he will not experience this power. Thus, they are told “You do not have because you do not ask God.”⁸ The Christian has the power at his disposal to change his nation for the better, if he will use it!

Another way that the Christians must serve the well‑being of the nation is through being a righteous group standing between God and the nation He will deal with. Listen to these words from God as He dealt with one nation:

The people of the land practice extortion and commit robbery, they oppress the poor and needy and mistreat the alien, denying them justice. I looked for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand before Me in the gap on behalf of the land, so I would not have to destroy it; but I found none. So I will pour out My wrath on them and consume them with My fiery anger, bringing down on their own heads all they have done.⁹

God is speaking here about a wall of righteousness. God deals with nations based upon justice and righteousness. According to this criterion, He blesses or punishes nations. However, the presence of a righteous group will cause God to deal positively with that nation.

In one case, God said with regard to a city‑state He intended to punish, “If I find…fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare the whole place on their account.”¹⁰ The Christians must be the righteous group standing in the gap between God and the nation that He will deal with.

This is a serious responsibility, again a stewardship. The Christians must purify themselves in holiness for this task. We must encourage the Christians in this. Because of the seriousness of this responsibility, we must do everything we can to help the Christians to be this holy, righteous people on behalf of our nations. Consider the benefits God promised as He spoke to one nation:

If My people, who are called by My name, will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.¹¹

Notice that the requirement is for God’s people to repent. He does not expect or require 100% of the population to participate. However, He does require His people to repent. Presumably, they are to repent of their own sins but also for the sins of their nation. They are to intercede before God for the sins of the nation – sins that would otherwise cause Him to discipline that nation. But note well: The result is God’s blessing, not just on the few who prayed, but on the whole nation. You must be aware of that. The Christians’ sincere, united prayers of repentance on behalf of the nation can affect the well‑being of the whole nation. We must help the Christians to be a responsible group, who take the well‑being of their nation seriously.

Another way we can expect the Christians to contribute to the well‑being of our nations is through functioning, as God intended, as a righteous salt, working to bring justice and righteousness, as much as possible, to an imperfect world. Jesus said to His followers: “You are the salt of the earth….”¹² At the time Jesus made this statement, what was the primary function of salt? Obviously, it was as a preservative.  In Jesus’ day, the common way to preserve meat and other perishable foods was with salt. Jesus was telling His followers that they were to be a preservative to society. It is interesting to recall that the recipe for preserving a certain quantity of meat requires using an amount of salt that is considerably less than that of the meat being preserved. The lesson is this: Jesus was saying that it is not necessary for everyone in society to be a follower of His before His followers can exert a salting influence upon society as a moral preservative; a small committed group can exert a salting influence upon society.

As Jesus’ followers exert this salting influence upon society, there will be a wave of spiritual renewal that will spread throughout society and will cause many others to be changed into salt as well. This wave of spiritual renewal leads to the well‑being of a nation in two ways. First of all, it affects the way man responds to man. Man whose heart has been changed by God is capable of sincerely caring about his fellow man. This can lead to a dramatic, positive change within society. There have been many beautiful examples of this throughout history.

More importantly, this wave of spiritual renewal affects the way God responds to society. It affects whether God will respond with blessing or with discipline. This is the forgotten component of national well‑being – the overlooked ingredient in national development. God instructed one nation:

Test Me now in this, and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing, that you will not have room enough for it. I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in the field will not cast their fruit. Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land.¹³

Spiritual renewal within a society causes God to pour out His rich blessing upon a nation. When a nation is not allowing God’s people to follow His blueprint for their lives, no amount of human effort, no amount of money can overcome the suffering that will be experienced by all the people. Therefore, it is essential that we encourage this salt to have its greatest possible effect upon our nations.

While God loves all people, He has a special relationship with His people and they are the ones who must be the intercessors between the nation and the God who would judge that nation. They must take that special responsibility upon themselves. They must pray for the well‑being of the nation and remain a righteous yeast in order for the nation to prosper. Knowing what I do, if I were a government official, even if I did not acknowledge the God of the Bible, I would encourage the Christians in my nation to get to know their God, to obey Him and to pray for the well‑being of the nation. Darius, King of Persia, in 520 B.C. provided a clear example for us when he directed his governors to help God’s followers who had lived as foreigners in his nation:

Do not interfere with the work on this temple of God….Whatever is needed…must be given them daily without fail, so that they may offer sacrifices pleasing to the God of heaven and pray for the well-being of the king and his sons.¹⁴

The King understood that these servants of God were the most important resource he had, even though he did not worship their God. He realized that his own well-being was dependent upon God’s servants being obedient to God.

It is important to note that every contribution that the Christians can make to the well‑being of a nation requires that they be living to their fullest potential as followers of Jesus. Because of the heavy responsibility that the Christians have before God for their nation, it is essential for the government leadership to help them walk with God to the fullest.

There are no secret, mystical instructions for the Christians. All are clearly laid out in the Bible for all to read. The Bible makes it clear there are no new divine revelations that overrule, outdate or contradict God’s clear instructions in the Bible. Therefore, you can know what to expect of the Christians and you can help them live up to those standards, even if those standards are not your own.

God has provided a standard for evaluating Christians. He said “By their fruit you will recognize them.”¹⁵ Government officials must apply this criterion. Christians, like all people, have the capacity to be deceived by self‑motivation. One Bible writer, in addressing Christians distracted from God’s purposes, said “You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarrelling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere men?”¹⁶ Notice that last statement: “Are you not acting like mere men?” The Christian is given the capacity to live on a different plane than natural man. He has the capacity to live with God’s wisdom and God’s power at his disposal, and to see results that can only be explained on the supernatural plane. Sadly though, the Christian, with this special privilege, also has the capacity to live on the human plane – to rely on himself rather than God. A significant fraction of Christians are living on the human plane, wasting the resource God has placed at their disposal and living for themselves rather than for God. Elsewhere, it is said more strongly: “They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny Him. They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good.”¹⁷ This is a personal and a national tragedy. My advice is to evaluate the actions of the Christians in your nation. Furthermore, I encourage you to admonish the Christians, for the sake of your nation, to live faithful lives as good stewards of the precious resource He has made them. Then, I encourage you to do everything you can do to help the Christians to live their lives before God in complete obedience to Him. It is essential for the sake of your nation that you spare no effort in helping them.

The crucial question is this: How can we increase the size of this national treasure? If this treasure is so important to the well‑being of our nations, then we should protect it with everything we have and we should do whatever we can to increase the size of it.

The true Christian will automatically do this. The true Christian will want to help others embrace his faith. In fact, this is one test of the true Christian. The true Christian realizes he has been given a gift he doesn’t deserve as a human being and that he has no right to keep it to himself. He is compelled to help others enjoy it. He cannot do otherwise. Jesus said “He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water.’”¹⁸ We must encourage our Christians to help others find this living water.

A strategic part of increasing the national treasure involves helping everyone to realize that the special privilege of being God’s people is not limited to those who wear the label Christian, but is available to all. The religious or cultural label a person wears is not so important. Rather, what is important is the basis a person claims for that friendship with God. God is holy in every way. Sadly, we are not. As it is written:

There is no one righteous, not even one….All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one….All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.¹⁹.

Because of our unholiness, we are excluded from God’s presence. There is no way we can overcome this and compensate for our offense. The only one who could adequately pay the penalty for our offense is God Himself who came in human form – as Jesus – to die on our behalf as a substitute for us. Jesus made statements such as: “I and the Father are one”²⁰ and “Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father.”²¹ He also said that He “came to seek and to save what was lost”²² and “to give His life as a ransom for many.”²³ Jesus went on to say: “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”²⁴ Jesus said “He who receives Me receives the One who sent Me.”²⁵

God came as Jesus to earth and died, then conquered death and came alive again, to bring to God not only those who were cultural Christians but peoples of all cultures. I am convinced this is what Mahatma Gandhi meant when he said:

Because the life of Jesus has the significance and the transcendency to which I have alluded, I believe that he belongs not solely to Christianity, but to the entire world; to all races and people, it matters little under what flag, name or doctrine they may work, profess a faith or worship a God inherited from their ancestors.²⁶

Similarly, Rabindrinath Tagore is purported to have said “Jesus of Galilee is the only universal saviour among the founders of the religions of the world.” To truly be one of God’s people does not mean to wear the label Christian or any other label. Rather, it means to be a person of any culture who humbly embraces Jesus and His death as the only provision God has made available for the forgiveness of our sins and for establishing friendship between us and God. Neither God nor Jesus ever used the word Christian. Rather, God used the expression My people. Anyone of any culture can experience the privileges and responsibilities I have described for God’s people and can participate uniquely in bringing blessing to his nation.

The role that God’s people can play is so crucial that we should do everything we can to increase the size of that group.  We should encourage true Christians to live faithfully with their God. We should encourage cultural Christians and those of other religious and cultural groups to become God’s people as He has defined this group.

Finally, let me close with this thought: If the most important national treasure my country has is God’s people, shouldn’t I make sure that I am part of this group? How do we place our faith in Jesus for the forgiveness of our sins, so we can enter into an intimate relationship with God that lasts forever and allows us to play this strategic role in our nations? The illustration that communicates best to me relates to the region where I grew up – near Niagara Falls. The water flows over Niagara Falls so violently that if anyone falls into the water, it is certain death. Many people do risky things over Niagara Falls to gain attention. One of these was a tightrope walker. He had a wire strung over the Falls, from one side to the other. This man first walked along this wire from one side of the Falls to the other, and back. Then, as the crowd grew, he repeated his walk but this time he pushed a wheelbarrow in front of him as he walked over to the other side and back. Then, he boldly filled the wheelbarrow with bricks and guided it along the wire to the other side of the Falls and back. By this time, the crowd had grown very large and was cheering loudly for him. He then asked the crowd “How many of you believe I can take this wheelbarrow to the other side of the Falls and back s people is not limited to those who wear the label Christian, but is available to all. The religious or cultural label a person wears is not so important. Rather, what is important is the basis a person claims for that friendship with God. God is holy in every way. Sadly, we are not. As it is written:

carrying a person inside instead of these bricks?” The crowd cheered wildly. Then, he asked the crowd “Who is willing to get into the wheelbarrow?” The crowd became silent. Their belief lacked 100% confidence. To place our faith in Jesus Christ means to get into the wheelbarrow with Him, making ourselves completely dependent upon Him. Our sole basis for having our sins forgiven and for entering a close relationship with God is Jesus’ death on our behalf.

Therefore, if you are serious about becoming a part of the most important resource your nation has, I challenge you to come to Him. Jesus invites us:

If any man is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, “From his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water.”²⁷

As we come to Jesus and drink, He will satisfy us and this will spill over to others in our societies, causing them to come to Jesus and drink. As others around us drink, the greatest treasure our nation has will grow and grow.

For this reason, I can invite you to come to Jesus and drink. Let me encourage you to embrace the Master Designer of our world and your life. I encourage you to invite Jesus into your life by praying to God:

Holy God, please forgive me for sinning against You. Thank You for loving me enough that You came to this earth as Jesus and died on my behalf so that I could have real life with You. I ask You to come into my life to give me unbroken friendship with You forever. I ask You to change me and, with me, the world. Thank You. Amen.

Not only will this start you on the most exciting journey known to mankind, but it is the most significant thing each of us can do to increase our nation’s most important treasure.

References

NOTE: All Bible references are from the New International Version unless otherwise indicated.

1. James Strong, “A Concise Dictionary of the Words in the Greek Testament”, p. 78, in The Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (New York: Abingdon, 1890).
2. Bible, Daniel 2:21.
3. Ibid., Romans 13:1‑7.
4. Bible, New American Standard Version (NASV), I Timothy 2:1‑2.
5. Bible, Isaiah 59:1‑2.
6. Bible, Philippians 4:13, paraphrased.
7. Bible, Ephesians 1:18‑20.
8. Ibid., James 4:2.
9. Ibid., Ezekiel 22:29‑31.
10. Bible, NASV, Genesis 18:26.
11. Bible, II Chronicles 7:14.
12. Ibid., Matthew 5:13.
13. Ibid., Malachi 3:10‑12.
14. , Ezra 6:7,9-10.
15. Ibid., Matthew 7:16,20.
16. Ibid., I Corinthians 3:3.
17. Ibid., Titus 1:16.
18. Bible, NASV, John 7:38.
19. Bible, Romans 3:10,12,23.
20. Ibid., John 10:30.
21. Ibid., John 14:9.
22. Ibid., Luke 19:10.
23. Ibid., Matthew 20:28.
24. Ibid., John 14:6.
25. Ibid., Matthew 10:40.
26. Mohandas K. Gandhi, in The Modern Review, October 1941, quoted in Mohandas K. Gandhi (Anand T. Hingorani, ed.), The Message of Jesus Christ (Bombay: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan,             1971), p. 111.
27. Bible, NASV, John 7:37‑38.

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We have recently been looking at the roles of Government, Religious Institution and Family in bringing God’s promised blessings to a nation. Before we move on, let us consider the concept known as “separation of Church and State”.

King Jehoshaphat, of Judah, reigned 873-949 B.C. His reign is described as follows:

Jehoshaphat his son succeeded him as king… The Lord was with Jehoshaphat because in his early years he walked in the ways his father David had followed. He … sought the God of his father and followed His commands rather than the practices of Israel. The Lord established the kingdom under his control…His heart was devoted to the ways of the Lord… In the third year of his reign he sent his officials… to teach in the towns of Judah. With them were certain Levites… and the priests… They taught throughout Judah, taking with them the Book of the Law of the Lord; they went around to all the towns of Judah and taught the people (2 Chronicles 17:1, 3-10; 19:8-10).

We are told that:

His heart was devoted to the ways of the Lord.

But then, we are told that he sent his officials and, together with religious officials and publicly taught from the precursor to the Bible:

He sent his officials… to teach in the towns of Judah. With them were certain Levites… and the priests… They taught throughout Judah, taking with them the Book of the Law of the Lord.

His officials, and certain religious leaders accompanying them, were teaching the people from the Book of the Law of the Lord.  By today’s standards in many so-called “advanced” nations, Jehoshaphat went too far.  However, is such a supposition really true? The concept of “separation of Church and State” is frequently appealed to. When done so, it is often done so with the weight of being considered a part of the United States Constitution. Actually, that is NOT CORRECT. The term “separation of Church and State” occurs nowhere in the U.S. Constitution. Rather, the term “separation of Church and State” was first used in 1801 by President Thomas Jefferson in a letter to a church congregation assuring them that the Government would not interfere with their worship of God. Hence, this first use of the term was not about protecting the State from the Church, but rather to protect the Church from the State. Church and State do represent two institutions, both accountable to the same Master, God Himself. Government and Religious Institution and Family are three clear institutions that our Creator has established to move a nation toward the blessing our Designer intends: all working in partnership to fulfill the promise:

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

Since that same Creator is the Master over all three of those institutions, we must allow Him to reign through each institution without human constraint.

Our Master’s intent is better served by us adhering to two words: REMEMBER and OBEY:

Remember and do not forget how you provoked the Lord your God …. (Deuteronomy 9:1).

Therefore, love the Lord your God and always keep His mandate and His statutes, ordinances, and commands (Deuteronomy 11:1).

Thus, we have the successor to Moses:

Afterward, Joshua read aloud all the words of the law—the blessings as well as the curses—according to all that is written in the book of the law. There was not a word of all that Moses had commanded that Joshua did not read before the entire assembly of Israel, including the women, the little children, and the foreigners who were with them (Joshua 8:34-35).

When parents truly love their children, they are not afraid to give them their best advice, even if it is unpopular at the time. Because of the similar role that the Head of State plays in the larger, national ‘family’, he/she must do the same without concern for negative reaction. Likewise, we are admonished by our Master:

If anyone speaks, it should be as one who speaks God’s words (1 Peter 4:11).

Hence, as those in each institution speak God’s words to each other, it brings us closer to His blessing as promised to one specific nation:

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 (Deuteronomy 28:1-2).

Through that lens, as we return to the original account of Jehoshaphat’s actions, we learn of the result of Jehoshaphat’s actions—blessing:

The fear of God came upon all the kingdoms of the countries when they heard how the Lord had fought against the enemies of Israel. And the kingdom of Jehoshaphat was at peace, for his God had given him rest on every side (2 Chronicles 20:29-30).

Hence, we have President Lincoln making the following proclamation during an extremely difficult time for his nation:

Insomuch as we know that, by His divine law, nations like individuals are subjected to punishments and chastisements in this world… We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of Heaven.… But we have forgotten God… Whereas it is the duty of nations as well as of men, to own their dependence upon the overruling power of God, to confess their sins and transgressions, in humble sorrow, yet with assured hope that genuine repentance will lead to mercy and pardon; and to recognize the sublime truth, announced in the Holy Scriptures and proven by all history, that those nations only are blessed whose God is the Lord… It behooves us then, to humble ourselves before the offended Power, to confess our national sins, and to pray for clemency and forgiveness.

Let us not allow an erroneous understanding of “separation of Church and State” to separate us from the love and blessings of our Creator and Benefactor.

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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.

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

We recognize that the Religious Institution must play the leading role in achieving this goal. My intention is for Statesmen to clearly understand the role that the Family is designed by our Creator to play in building an optimal society cooperatively in partnership with Religion and Government.

As a brief overview, the Religious Institution, the Family and the Government each play essential and unique roles in building the society and nation intended by our Heavenly Father with the aim of untold blessing for everyone. Obviously, we have not reached this yet, which causes us to take a hard look to see what we can collectively do better. To show you where we are going, let me summarize roughly the roles to be played by each:

The Religious Institution is the channel of truth from God and what He requires.
The Government is the protector of the right of that truth.
The Family is the purveyor of the truths and values undergirding obedience to God.

Let us consider. As God was laying down the ground rules for His children, He set the stage with this guidance for how transmission of the truths necessary for national blessing should proceed:

When your son asks you in the future, ‘What is the meaning of the decrees, statutes, and ordinances, which the LORD our God has commanded you?’ (Deuteronomy 6:20)

… it is in the intimacy of the Family that the rich truths of life, originating through God’s hand, whether seen or unseen, are to be conveyed to the next generation in an unbroken chain. The mechanism for conveying this truth was clearly laid out:

These words that I am giving you today are to be in your heart. Repeat them to your children. Talk about them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Bind them as a sign on your hand and let them be a symbol on your forehead. Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates (Deuteronomy 6:6-9).

Look at the settings for this conveyance of these truths:

Talk about them,
when you sit in your house,
when you walk along the road,
when you lie down,
when you get up,
bound as a sign on your hand,
a symbol on your forehead,
written on the doorposts of your house,
written on your gates.

There is scarcely an area of life that is left out. Thus, it is in the normal activities of life that these values are to be transmitted. The truths are to be embraced from the source of truth ꟷ God. But then, they are to be passed on from generation to generation, person to person, in an unbroken chain. You can see how easy it would be to break that chain. All one father or a mother needs to do is carelessly ignore the seriousness of this responsibility. As we have proceeded through the pain of the current pandemic, what has been as painful as the disease has been the increasing violence within the Family. For example, a father who physically or emotionally abuses the Family members within his care WILL NOT be able to impart the truths from God intended to be passed in the context of trust and tenderness in the crucible of life. It would be nearly impossible to take seriously any words expressed under these conditions.

Those who are parents must engage in continual self-examination, continual regeneration to maintain purity of life and message. This is no small task when, for the time being, the Family is often challenged in attempting to meet the basic survival needs of it members.

This is where we must seek to fulfill our challenging responsibility as God would have us. We have the amazing guidance from God in the person of Jesus. Hence, if in each action or decision we take within the Family, we asked these questions: “What would Jesus do? How would Jesus make this decision?”, if we did this with every action we take, we would be operating as Jesus does.

Our responsibility within the Family is not performed for our personal comfort – to ensure that we always experience being surrounded by a loving family. It must be done out of obedience to God in recognition of the Family’s role in national blessing. It is essential that the Family understand clearly its role in advancing national blessing and not allow this perspective to become lost. It is so serious, with implications for our whole society, that Jesus warned us:

But whoever causes the downfall of one of these little ones who believe in Me—it would be better for him if a heavy millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea. (Mark 9:42)

This is one of the harshest – if not the harshest – warning Jesus gave on any subject. In my experience, Family members respond to Jesus’ approach more than an authoritarian approach. Jesus’ approach is really a servant approach within the Family. The responsibility to Family, as clarified by our Creator, conflicts with personal goals continually. The promise of blessing to the children is powerful:

Children, obey your parents as you would the Lord, because this is right. Honor your father and mother, which is the first commandment with a promise, so that it may go well with you and that you may have a long life in the land (Ephesians 6:1-3).

… so that it may go well with you and that you may have a long life. Described here is blessing – blessing upon the next generation of children resulting from their obedience to God. We, as parents, want this blessing for our children. Furthermore, there is blessing upon the parents for their obedience:

Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it (Proverbs 22:6).

Then all your children will be taught by the LORD, their prosperity will be great (Isaiah 54:13)

Not surprisingly, we need to ensure displaying tenderness in dealing with children. There is a certain fragility that we must be sensitive to:

Then Jesus said, “Leave the children alone, and don’t try to keep them from coming to Me, because the kingdom of heaven is made up of people like this” (Matthew 19:14).

Perhaps we should pause to reflect whether we might, in fact, have it backwards? By this, I mean that we must realize that there may be elements in the hearts of children that allow them to see more clearly God’s hand.

The reality of the modern culture is that much of a child’s education is currently performed through a formal process conducted by ‘professional’ educators. It can be tempting for those who participate in the process to view their roles incorrectly. These important servants must see themselves as servants of the Family, under whose authority they serve. Professional educators must support the Family in transmitting the truths and values our Creator requires primarily of the Family. A challenge is that if a professional educator did desire to convey content supporting the truths required by our Creator, what obstacles might they face by those who argue for separation of Church and State?

What are dangers, hindrances, obstacles to Family fulfilling this responsibility that Government must protect?

Education: Diluting the value-passing, truth-passing process. We must be extremely careful not to allow the formal or informal educational process to undercut the basic responsibility of the Family to convey God’s truth and God’s values to the next generation. Education must cautiously avoid values contradictions and protect the parents’ efforts at conveying God’s truths. This requires extreme restraint and an increase in trust that the Family will fulfill its God-given responsibility.

Media: has an amazing influence in conveying detrimental values. It is essential to exercise due diligence to avoid those detrimental values.

Government: has a huge responsibility to protect this obligation and right of parents to convey the required truth and values necessary to support obedience to God and contribute to God’s response of blessing upon the nation. This is necessary, as God has said:

Do what is right and good in the LORD’s sight, so that you may prosper and so that you may enter and possess the good land the LORD your God swore to give your fathers (Deuteronomy 6:18).

Approaches on the Part of Statesmen and Governments

If Government feels that the Family is too weak to properly fulfill its responsibility, then it would be better for Government to work to strengthen the institution of Family rather than attempting to take over its responsibilities, potentially leaving the Family even weaker than we found it. If Government does have responsibility for a specific area, then the following questions must be asked of the proposed decision:

Does the proposed decision on the part of Government contribute toward, or at least not detract from, the Family functioning as the fundamental unit of society in which individual character and values are nourished and which provides the model for all other relationships?

If Family has responsibility for the specific area, then the following questions must be asked:

Is there anything Government should do to make it possible for Family to better accept this responsibility or meet this need?

Must Government work to produce a better environment, e.g., economically, within which the Family can be stronger and better play its God-given role?

This becomes an essential ingredient in receiving for our nations the promise from God:

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

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