I've been meditating on Psalm 21 this afternoon and I'm no longer as disgusted with the results of the election. And I stumbled across some great thoughts that I wanted to share with you from John Ortberg:
Imagine that we elected all the right people to all the right offices. President, Congress, governors, right down to the school board, city council members, and dog catcher. Let's imagine that all of these ideal office holders instituted all the right policies. Every piece of legislation—from zoning laws, to tax codes, to immigration policy, to crime bills—is just exactly the way you know it ought to be.
Would that usher in the kingdom of God?
Would the hearts of the parents be turned toward their children?
Would all marriages be models of faithful love?
Would greed and pride be legislated out of existence?
Would assistant pastors find senior pastors to be models of harmony and delight?
Would human beings now at last be able to master our impulses in the areas of sexuality, and anger, and narcissism?
Would you finally become the woman or man you know you ought to be?
In the words of theologian Macaulay Culkin: "I don't think so." Because no human system has the ability to change the human heart. Not even democracy, or capitalism, or post-modern-emergent-ancient-future-missionalism.
So although I voted and I'm disappointed with the result, I know the sky won't fall or it will only fall if God allows it to, and even then He has a plan for its renewal. And I don't look to my political leaders or our government to accomplish what only God can do - though I do want the best leaders possible and I care deeply about our country.
And I am commited to praying for our leaders, whether I agree with their policies or not. Why? Because God has commanded me to and I want to teach my children to respect those in authority as the Bible teaches whether we agree with their rule or not. Afterall, President-elect Obama has the weight of the world on his shoulders now and needs all of the prayer that he can get!
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