William Wilberforce is one of the few that everyone views as a Statesman for his vision and the sacrifices he made to achieve it. He wrote from his vantage point:

The majority of Christians overlook, deny or, at the very least, minimize the problems of what it means to be a fallen human being.

I submit to you that the problem is more universal than Wilberforce wrote. His conclusion applies not only to insincere Christians. It is an issue that everyone of us must recognize, regardless of our religious heritage, and we must deal with if we desire to be the kind of leader our Creator intended. It is this issue that presents a challenge to governance because it impacts both governed and governors. Let us specifically consider how this issue applies to those who govern. What is this fallen nature and how does it impact the governing process? It is expressed quite bluntly, in God’s Word:

There is no one righteous, not even one. There is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God. All have turned away; all alike have become useless. There is no one who does what is good, not even one (Romans 3:10-12).

Our Creator, out of His love, has given us the freedom to choose to obey His clear instructions, or not, in our decisions. All too often, we choose to follow our own desires in defiance of His way. Let us consider how this impacts the government decision-maker who would be a Statesman. Recalling what it means to be a Statesman, one of the many voices has reminded us:

A politician thinks of the next election, a statesman of the next generation. A politician looks for the success of his party; a statesman for that of his country. The statesman wishes to steer, while the politician is satisfied to drift (James Freeman Clarke).

In studying these words, as well as God’s words, we understand what is essential in our effort to operate as a Statesman. There are two natures that battle within our life continuously:

1. a God-sensitive, selfless nature that seeks to obey our Creator to do the good that He desires, and which cares about the needs of the people;
2. a selfish nature willing to collect some personal benefits as a “reasonable” perk of office.

In the definition provided by Clarke, we see clearly what is self-promoting and what is people-promoting in the difference between a Statesman and a politician.

Our Creator described what Wilberforce terms our fallen or sinful nature this way:

The heart is more deceitful than anything else, and incurable—who can understand it? (Jeremiah 17:9)

The battle that this causes within us is described by one servant of God:

For I do not understand what I am doing, because I do not practice what I want to do, but I do what I hate…. So now I am no longer the one doing it, but it is sin living in me. For I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my flesh. For the desire to do what is good is with me, but there is no ability to do it. For I do not do the good that I want to do, but I practice the evil that I do not want to do. Now if I do what I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but it is the sin that lives in me. So I discover this principle: When I want to do what is good, evil is with me (Romans 7:15-21).

This servant of God went even further in describing the battle within:

But I see a different law in the parts of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and taking me prisoner to the law of sin in the parts of my body (Romans 7:23).

The net effect is that my sinful, or selfish, nature overrides any good that my better nature would wish to do:

For the flesh desires what is against the Spirit, and the Spirit desires what is against the flesh; these are opposed to each other, so that you don’t do what you want (Galatians 5:17).

As a result, I am rendered unable to do the good I desire to do. The Statesman must recognize the solution our Creator has provided for us to overcome our sinful nature:

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

We must apply Jesus’ sacrificial work on the Cross on our behalf to the issue of the deeds of our sinful nature. This, we must actively and aggressively do. We must actively take advantage of the solution He has provided for us:

If by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live (Romans 8:13).

The key is the phrase “by the Spirit”. We must take advantage of the power of the Spirit of God within us to put to death the deeds of our sinful nature that would misuse the authority of office and deprive it from being used solely for the benefit of the people. It is only when we allow our Creator to put to death the desires of our human nature that literally God and Jesus and His Holy Spirit can operate through us.  This we must do with each and every decision we make – literally, multiple times per day. It is only then that we can operate as our Creator’s instrument, accomplishing what He desires. This is summarized in our Creator’s teaching through another servant:

His divine power has given us everything required for life and godliness through the knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness. By these He has given us very great and precious promises, so that through them you may share in the divine nature, escaping the corruption that is in the world because of evil desires (2 Peter 1:3-4).

It is only as the decision-maker relies on our Creator’s help that one can stop interfering with our Creator’s plan and operate as a Statesman. Of course, this solution can only work if the Spirit of the Living God is within us. This relies on making sure the channel between God and us has been opened by our taking advantage of Jesus’ death for our sinful nature and His resurrection. Jesus made this clear when He said:

I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through Me (John 14:6).

The reality is that Jesus’ crucifixion accomplished payment for our disobedience to God that blocked that access channel to God. And Jesus’ resurrection from death confirmed that He accomplished what He promised through His crucifixion. We must make sure we have taken this step in appropriating our Creator’s forgiveness as we seek His help and His power in overcoming our sinful nature in order to be His instrument in the lives we are called to serve. It is essential that we make sure the Spirit of God is within us in order to invoke His Spirit in putting to death our selfish interests.

CONSIDERATION FOR THE STATESMAN:

Have I taken the step to ensure that the Spirit of the Living God is within me in my desire to overcome my selfish nature and to govern as a Statesman?

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Alors que nous apprenons à travailler avec Dieu, qui est notre Seigneur, Celui qui règne sur nos nations, il est essentiel que nous Le comprenions pleinement. Un élément essentiel est de comprendre sa bonté générale envers l’humanité, non pas basée sur notre bonté particulière ou notre obéissance envers lui, mais à cause de son amour pour sa création. Cela a de grandes conséquences pour nos efforts dans l’administration de nos nations.

Jésus nous rappelle que notre Dieu répand généreusement et largement sa bonté sur sa création comme une manifestation de son amour, quelle que soit notre attitude envers lui :

Il fait lever son soleil sur les méchants et sur les bons, et il fait pleuvoir sur les justes et les injustes (Matthieu 5:45).

Nous le savons instinctivement dans nos cœurs. Il nous a déjà donné la preuve de Son existence et de Son caractère à travers Sa création :

Ce qu’on peut connaître de Dieu est évident pour eux, puisque Dieu le leur a fait connaître.  En effet, les perfections invisibles de Dieu, sa puissance éternelle et sa divinité, se voient depuis la création du monde, elles se comprennent par ce qu’il a fait. Ils sont donc inexcusables. (Romains 1 :18-20).

Même sans que personne ne nous enseigne au nom de Dieu, nous avons tout ce dont nous avons besoin pour savoir qu’il existe et quel est son caractère. Mais ensuite, Il a ajouté la preuve de Sa bonté. On nous rappelle :

Sa lumière ne brille-t-elle pas sur tout le monde ? (Job 25:3)

Quoiqu’il n’ait cessé de rendre témoignage de ce qu’il est, en faisant du bien, en vous dispensant du ciel les pluies et les saisons fertiles, en vous donnant la nourriture avec abondance et en remplissant vos cœurs de joie.(Actes 14:17).

Toute grâce excellente et tout don parfait descendent d’en haut, du Père des lumières, chez lequel il n’y a ni changement ni ombre de variation.(Jacques 1:17).

La vision correcte est que Dieu, notre Créateur, prend soin de nous. S’il n’avait pas posé une ligne de base de sa bonté, nous serions confrontés à des défis impossibles. Le soleil que nous tenons pour acquis constitue un socle pour la vie, tout comme la pluie et l’eau. Ensuite, lorsque nous commençons à penser au caractère unique de l’air que nous respirons pour maintenir la vie, nous nous souvenons du merveilleux Créateur que nous avons et qui a créé précisément ce dont nous avons besoin.

Souvent, le mot « grâce » est utilisé pour décrire ces dons spontanés de Dieu à sa création, se référant à un don qui n’est pas mérité.

Tout cela fait partie de Son amour immérité envers nous :

Nous n’avons pas à craindre quelqu’un qui nous aime parfaitement ; Son amour parfait pour nous élimine toute crainte de ce qu’il pourrait nous faire. Si nous avons peur, c’est par peur de ce qu’il pourrait nous faire et montre que nous ne sommes pas pleinement convaincus qu’il nous aime vraiment (1 Jean 4:18).

Alors que nous sommes étonnés de la bonté de Dieu envers nous qui n’est pas méritée, il y a des questions que nous devons considérer : Dieu refuse-t-il cette grâce lorsque nous désobéissons à ses instructions claires ? Pouvons-nous pousser Dieu à refuser cette grâce en ne la reconnaissant pas correctement ? On nous rappelle :

Ne méprise pas l’instruction de l’Éternel, mon fils, et ne déteste pas sa discipline; car l’Éternel châtie celui qu’il aime, comme un père châtie le fils qu’il aime (Proverbes 3:11-12).

Nous savons que Dieu inflige un jugement pour la désobéissance. Nous savons aussi que ceux qui apprécient sa bonté n’abusent pas de sa grâce – sa bonté, son amour. Nous pouvons avoir une idée de ce que nous tenons pour acquis chaque fois que nous subissons une catastrophe naturelle qui perturbe ce fondement de sa bonté. Dans chaque cas, nous demanderons : est-ce Dieu qui refuse sa bonté et ses bénédictions que nous tenons souvent pour acquises ? Ou, est-ce l’œuvre de notre adversaire maléfique, le diable ?

Cela a d’immenses conséquences pour l’individu mais surtout pour le gouvernant qui tente de faire du bien au peuple. S’il n’avait pas posé une ligne de base de sa bonté, nous serions confrontés à des défis insurmontables. Les perturbations causées lors de catastrophes naturelles ont un impact sur nos priorités gouvernementales et nous empêchent de mettre en œuvre le bien que nous avions prévu. Les gouvernants dépendent de son amour et de sa bonté selon lesquels nous nous efforçons d’améliorer la vie de notre peuple. Nous savons que son objectif pour notre peuple est «que nous menions une vie paisible et tranquille, en toute piété et honnêteté.» (1 Timothée 2 : 2).

Nous devons maximiser ses bénédictions ajoutées à cette ligne base de sa bonté et ne pas le défier de retenir cette bonté dans un effort pour attirer notre attention. Nous devons nous assurer que notre Seigneur sait que nous sommes reconnaissants pour sa bonté que nous ne méritons pas et faisons de notre mieux pour devenir dignes de son amour par notre obéissance et en recherchant son pardon.

CONSIDÉRATIONS POUR L’HOMME D’ÉTAT

Il y a la question de l’appréciation individuelle et nationale de son amour et de sa bonté. Par exemple,

Comment est-ce que je montre mon appréciation pour l’amour et la bonté de mon Seigneur pour moi-même d’abord et aussi pour mon peuple ?

Comment est-ce que j’inspire tous ceux qui servent avec moi à reconnaître et à montrer leur appréciation pour l’amour et la bonté de notre Seigneur?

Comment est-ce que j’inspire mon peuple, qui est le bénéficiaire de la bonté de notre Seigneur, à lui montrer son appréciation pour son amour et sa bonté ?

On nous rappelle ceci :

Louez l’Eternel, car il est bon, Car sa miséricorde dure à toujours (Psaume 118:1).

De toute évidence, notre Seigneur souhaite que nous, en tant que communauté, lui manifestions notre reconnaissance pour sa bonté. Ensuite, Il souhaite que nous prenions des décisions qui soutiennent Ses efforts et soient conformes à Ses objectifs.

Efforçons-nous de devenir des hommes d’État qui sont ses instruments pour démontrer et promouvoir son caractère pour la vie du peuple.

The post L’homme d’État bénéficie de la bonté imméritée de Dieu appeared first on CENTRE FOR STATECRAFT.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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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