Il y a un siècle et demi, un responsable au pouvoir a déclaré “que cette nation, sous Dieu, connaîtra une nouvelle naissance de liberté et que le gouvernement du peuple, par le peuple, pour le peuple, ne périra pas de la terre”. Dans cette déclaration, il a décrit un type particulier de gouvernement et un type particulier de personnes. Le désir que ce type de gouvernement « ne périsse pas de la terre » semble être un rêve lointain. Certes, avant qu’un tel gouvernement puisse disparaître de la terre, il doit d’abord exister. Commençons par considérer : peut-il exister ? Et, comment pourrions-nous le faire exister?

Considérons, à titre d’étude de cas, le gouvernement auquel ce fonctionnaire faisait référence. De toute évidence, il rêvait qu’une telle approche envers le gouvernement puisse exister et qu’elle devienne tellement ancrée dans les esprits humains qu’elle ne cesserait jamais d’exister. Et c’était certainement le rêve des fondateurs de la république que cet homme menait. Cet homme, bien sûr, était Abraham Lincoln.

Réfléchissons à ces mots décrivant ce rêve de gouvernement : « du peuple, par le peuple, pour le peuple ».

« du peuple » parle de l’autorité émanant du peuple. Cela commence à définir une alliance entre Dieu et une nation, reconnaissant que l’autorité du gouvernement vient en fin de compte de Dieu, mais à travers le peuple. Lorsque Jésus a été défié par le fonctionnaire qui avait le droit de donner la vie ou de la retirer, il a dit : « Vous n’auriez aucun pouvoir sur moi si cela ne vous avait été donné d’en haut » (Jean 19 : 11). – de Dieu lui-même. Ainsi, l’autorité d’administrer le gouvernement vient de Dieu, mais en partenariat avec le peuple, agissant en son nom. Cela nous introduit au concept d’une alliance entre Dieu et un peuple.

« par le peuple » fait référence au fait d’être administré par le peuple. Concrètement, cela signifie être administré par ceux qui sont issus du peuple, vraisemblablement qui sont si en contact avec le peuple qu’ils peuvent agir au nom du peuple. Cela signifie être administré par ceux qui ont le cœur du peuple. Certes, ils doivent venir du peuple mais conserver le cœur du peuple. Cela signifie également ne pas être si isolé du peuple qu’il perde le cœur du peuple et ne reflète pas ce cœur dans son administration du gouvernement.

« pour le peuple » signifie administrer de manière à répondre aux besoins du peuple. Cela signifie répondre aux besoins, y compris les besoins profonds du peuple, que le peuple puisse identifier ses besoins les plus importants ou non, par opposition à ce qui va apaiser le peuple, voire le rendre heureux ou voter pour ces fonctionnaires lors de la prochaine élection.

Tout cela parle d’un accord sous-jacent à la nation, qui est correctement reconnu comme une alliance. Cette alliance a été définie comme un contrat entre un peuple et Dieu où Dieu sert de garant.

Que voulait dire Lincoln par l’expression « le peuple » ? Remarquez qu’il a préfacé ses mots célèbres par les mots “que cette nation, sous Dieu, aura une nouvelle naissance de liberté”. Par conséquent, lorsque Lincoln se réfère au « people » – « de, par, pour … le people », je ne crois pas qu’il voulait dire n’importe quel peuple, mais plutôt un peuple prêt à être dans un partenariat basé sur Dieu et prêt à recevoir et accepter la gouvernance qui serait assurée par des dirigeants opérant dans l’obéissance à Dieu comme Ses instruments. C’est un peuple prêt à s’engager dans une alliance avec Dieu. Cela signifie un peuple obéissant à Dieu.

La base de l’attente de Lincoln peut être mieux comprise en considérant l’origine de sa déclaration. Trente ans avant que Lincoln ne parle, le traducteur de la Bible John Wycliff a inclus dans l’introduction de sa traduction de la Bible la phrase « La Bible est pour le gouvernement du peuple, par le peuple et pour le peuple ». La perspective exprimée par Lincoln provenait de la compréhension de la Bible.

L’expression de Lincoln «sous Dieu» exprime l’alliance entre Dieu et un groupe de personnes par laquelle si le peuple obéit à Dieu, il interviendra et bénira de manière surnaturelle. Cette vérité a été exprimée à un roi au IXe siècle av. J.-C. :

• Car les yeux de l’Éternel s’étendent sur toute la terre pour fortifier ceux dont le cœur lui est pleinement dévoué (2 Chroniques 16:9).

La réalité est qu’un tel engagement s’affaiblit et l’engagement doit être renouvelé continuellement. Non seulement nous déclinons dans notre propre engagement envers Dieu, mais il y a de nouveaux membres ajoutés à notre nation qui doivent être assimilés à notre engagement d’alliance avec Dieu : la prochaine génération ; et ceux qui immigrent. Ces nouveaux arrivants doivent embrasser l’alliance, mais, plus important encore, les principes qui sous-tendent cette alliance. Par conséquent, nous devons reconnaître chaque nouvelle génération comme des nouveaux venus qui n’ont aucune connaissance de l’alliance et des principes fondateurs. Tous entrent dans notre société pleins d’espoir mais sans connaissance intime de la fondation. Si nous voulons survivre dans notre alliance dont Dieu est le garant, ils doivent acquérir une connaissance intime de l’alliance. De la même manière, nous devons chacun renouveler continuellement notre engagement envers l’alliance qui sous-tend une telle nation. Nous devons également éduquer et encourager tous ceux qui sont à notre portée – anciens et nouveaux – à prendre le même engagement. Il doit y avoir un renouvellement continu de l’engagement envers l’alliance et envers le garant de l’alliance en commençant par les nouveaux venus.

Une personne réfléchie pensera que la nation à laquelle Lincoln fait référence a bénéficié de l’alliance avec Dieu qu’il a proposée. La nation a atteint des réalisations incroyables.Cependant, une telle personne reflétera également que ce même peuple n’a pas fidèlement renouvelé cette alliance et que la nation montre des signes de perte de cette bénédiction. Nous apprenons cette leçon de la première nation que Dieu Tout-Puissant a choisie pour faire une démonstration visible de bénédiction par l’engagement à une alliance avec Dieu – l’ancien Israël, qu’Il a défié :

Revenez à moi, et je reviendrai à vous (Malachie 3 : 7).

Cela ne devrait servir qu’à renforcer la compréhension de notre besoin de faire l’expérience de la bénédiction de Dieu à travers notre engagement envers l’alliance qu’il désire avec nous.

Questions pour l’homme d’État :

Que puis-je faire pour renforcer cette alliance dans notre nation avec notre bienfaiteur le plus important, à savoir Dieu ?

Comment mon engagement envers cette alliance affecte-t-il ma propre vie ?

The post Le Rêve d’un homme d’État : « Du peuple, par le peuple, pour le peuple » 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.

The post The Most Important National Treasure appeared first on CENTRE FOR STATECRAFT.

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.

A former President of Columbia University commented:

Our world is made up of three kinds of people: the few who make things happen, the many who watch things happen, and the great majority who have no idea what is happening. ¹

We cannot rely on the latter to improve the health of our societies. Hence, we should not place the reins of leadership into their hands. King Solomon said it bluntly:

“Where there is no vision, the people perish” (Proverbs 29:18).

Jesus warned us against the danger of allowing the ignorant to lead:

“They are blind guides. And if the blind guide the blind, both will fall into a pit” (Matthew 15:14).

We cannot afford leadership that lacks vision. But where does vision come from? Here, I believe the genius of the statesman is to understand that there is a God who has established a plan for mankind that is unchanging and that we as human beings can participate in. God gives us insights into His plan:

[God:] I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and no one is like Me. I declare the end from the beginning, and from long ago what is not yet done, saying: My plan will take place, and I will do all My will. I will call a bird of prey from the east, a man for My purpose from a far country. Yes, I have spoken; so I will also bring it about. I have planned it; I will also do it. (Isaiah 46:9-11)

[God:] I have loved you with an everlasting love… (Jeremiah 31:3)

[God:] For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. (Jeremiah 29:11)

The goal of the Statesman is to move us closer to the picture that our Creator paints of His intended plan for His creation.

God describes several distinct aspects of His planning and implementation: (1) God has designed a plan.

1. His plan is for well-being.
2. He makes known His plan.
3. He implements His plan.
4. His plan allows us the privilege of being His hands and feet in implementing His purposes.

It is God’s everlasting plan that is the basis for the direction for the nation ― a plan that God desires to make known to willing leaders. How do we gain access to this plan? Can we know it by ourselves? As God has told us:

“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, and your ways are not My ways.” This is the LORD’s declaration. “For as heaven is higher than earth, so My ways are higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:8-9).

Our own ingenuity will not reveal to us God’s plan. We cannot intuitively know His mind or His plans. He must reveal them to us. And we must allow Him to do so.

[God] guides the humble in what is right and teaches them His way…. Who, then, is the man that fears the LORD? He (God) will instruct him in the way chosen for him…. The LORD confides in those who fear Him; He makes His covenant known to them. (Psalms 25:9,12,14)

The genius of the true leader is that he/she has the capacity to think long-range based upon the knowledge that God has a long-range plan that He gladly reveals to those who seek Him.

[God] reveals mysteries from the darkness and brings the deepest darkness into the light. (Job 12:22)

Daniel explained to one of the most powerful rulers of all time God’s revelation to man:

He (God) reveals the deep and hidden things; … there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and He has let King Nebuchadnezzar know what will happen in the last days. Your dream and the visions that came into your mind as you lay in bed were these:…(Daniel 2:22-28)

[Of God:] He is here: the One who forms the mountains, creates the wind, and reveals His thoughts to man, the One who makes the dawn out of darkness and strides on the heights of the earth. Yahweh, the God of Hosts, is His name. (Amos 4:13)

[God:] I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them… (Isaiah 42:16)

A corollary of this is that the Statesman sees possibility where the politician sees only impossibility. All things are possible when we operate according to His plan:

[Jesus:] With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible. (Matthew 19:26)

I am able to do all things through Him who strengthens me. (Philippians 4:13)

Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass. (1 Thessalonians 5:24)

Hence, the individual who would be God’s instrument in the life of a nation and its people must aggressively seek to understand God’s plan. As King Solomon concluded:

The fear of God is the beginning of (literally, the basis for) wisdom. (Psalms 111:10).

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