Hi Friend,

It was a Friday afternoon in late November and the Geometry teacher was explaining the logic of mathematics to a class of fifteen-year-old students when there was a knock on the classroom door.  It opened slowly, revealing an ashen faced office worker who made an announcement of a world altering catastrophe that had occurred only minutes before. The President of the United States had been assassinated. We sat in stunned silence—Mrs. Maddox, our teacher, could not speak.  Her attempt to instill logic had been hijacked by an act of insanity that rocked the foundation of our young lives.

It has been over fifty years since President John F. Kennedy was killed.  Despite numerous investigations and a Warren Commission Report, most Americans still believe that Lee Harvey Oswald did not act alone.  It is reported that even Jackie Kennedy, widow of the President, believed the attack was orchestrated by Lyndon B. Johnson, the Vice President.

Why don’t we believe the official reports?  The simple reason is that we don’t trust our leaders.  They are dishonest.  Politicians are blatantly corrupt.  The news media are all liars.  And our judges are too weak-willed or otherwise compromised to bring the criminals to justice.

Have I overstated the case?  Listen to the letter written by the Apostle Paul to the Church at Rome describing the people of his day.  He said,

“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,
they have together become worthless;
there is no one who does good,
not even one.”
“Their throats are open graves;
their tongues practice deceit.”
“The poison of vipers is on their lips.”
“Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.”
“Their feet are swift to shed blood;
ruin and misery mark their ways,
and the way of peace they do not know.”
“There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

(Romans 3:11-18)

Paul was describing the world that existed during his lifetime, two thousand years ago.  Now, here’s the kicker—he was quoting Isaiah the Prophet who lived seven hundred years prior to Paul—and King David who lived three hundred years before Isaiah!

What can we learn from the revelations of these great men of God?  A central point is that human beings are not naturally good.

It’s evident from a cursory study of history that the world has always been corrupt.  That is the point Paul was making to the Church at Rome.  Isaiah went a step further than Paul.  He singled out the leaders as especially immoral. Isaiah said,

Your rulers are rebels,
partners with thieves;
they all love bribes
and chase after gifts.

Isaiah 1:23

We live in a day of extreme hubris. One could conclude from reading Facebook and listening to the virtue signally public that people are good—or at least that people who agree with them are good. Yet, the words of Paul and the Prophets of God describe the 21st Century world.  We are the people they talked about.

What can be done?  Are we just to throw up our hands and quit?

There is one great asset that could save America—and the world.  In a word, it is humility.  It takes humility to admit that there is a God who is good!  It takes humility to admit that a good God created the world and gave life to humans.  It takes humility to recognize that there is virtue in the values taught in the Bible.  It takes humility to submit to the commandments of God.  It takes humility to respect the God who possesses the wisdom and knowledge—and yes, the love, that was required to design human life.

Leaders invariably succumb to the canard that they are good because they have power.  Maybe because, as Lord Acton said, power is such a delusional influence. What is needed is leaders with sufficient humility to judge according to the law.

Ironically, that is what God is building. One of the most overlooked prophecies of the Bible was penned by the Apostle John in the last book of the Bible.  John writes that Jesus has “made us unto our God, kings and priests; and we shall reign on the earth.”  (Revelation 5:10 KJV)  In the common vernacular the words “kings and priests” are rendered, “judges and teachers.”

When we pray, “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven,” we are expressing our faith that such leaders are being developed now for a kingdom yet in the future.

Until next time,

Jim O’Brien