Fear & the Coronavirus

Posted on March 12, 2020 by Steve Foster

On Tuesday night, Liz and I went to Sams for our typical grocery run. (When you have four young adult sons, you need to buy groceries in bulk supplies.) As we approached the sliding doors, we watched as case after case of water and large packages of toilet paper exited the store.

“Why do people need so much water and toilet paper?” was the first thought that went through my mind.

I know the coronavirus is spreading but I am not sure why I would need hundreds of bottles of water when I have very good tap water at home. I also don’t know why I would need hundreds of rolls of toilet paper. (Of course, after installing a bidet on our toilet after our trip to Argentina, I rarely need much toilet paper any way. It’s looking more and more like a good investment at this point.)

But after rationally assessing the fact that I didn’t need bottles of water or massive amounts of toilet paper, there was a second thought that quickly entered my mind, “But if everyone else is buying water and toilet paper, I guess we should pick up a few cases of them as well.”

In the end, my wife talked me out of it since we had enough else to buy.

But that is the nature of fear. It is often irrational…and highly contagious. Much more than the coronavirus.

Deep down we all struggle with fear…unless we live in a naive, self-imposed ignorance of our real situation.

Fear is a realization that we live in a dangerous world…and that we are not in control.

And both are undeniably true.

Technology has a way of creating an illusion that we are in control. There is a sense of power when you can tell Alexa something and she answers immediately to your request (and secretly sends targeted ads to your email account as well).

Remote controls. Smart phones. Even self-customized pizza and yogurt places all give us a sense of being the center of the universe.

But natural disasters and virus pandemics have a way of breaking our illusion that the universe answers to our beck and call.

We are not in control.

Go outside and push against the biggest tree you can find and you are not going to make an ounce of difference with the rotation of the earth…or the orbit of our planet…or the speed of our universe.

Tell viruses not to come into your city…or your house…or your body…and they are not going to listen. And once they are inside, they are not going to leave when you tell them to either.

We are weak, limited, mortal humans living in an immense universe, incomprehensibly bigger and more powerful than us, and operating totally without our assistance or advice.

When you come to grips with all of this, fear is a natural response.

Some respond to fear with the “flight impulse,” wanting to run, isolate, retreat, hide, escape to endless entertainment, or numb themselves with addictions.

Some respond with the “fight impulse,” getting angry with life, God, politicians, the media or whoever else seems appropriately blameworthy. Behind our anger is fear…we are afraid of losing something. We realize that we are not in control and rage feels like it makes us powerful…even if it doesn’t usually do anything except raise our blood pressure, harm our relationships, and make us unbearable to be around.

There is a third option to fear.

Faith.

Not the cliche word but the real thing.

Surrender to a greater power…the Greatest Power…the Sovereign King of the universe.

Faith is a simple recognition that I am not in control but Someone else is. I may not understand His ways…or His timing…but I can trust His heart…and His power.

He demonstrated it on the cross…and with an empty tomb.

So what does all that have to do with the coronavirus?

Well, it doesn’t mean that I should ignore warnings…or not take simple precautions…or  go around licking countertops to show that I am not worried about getting sick. That is not faith, that is foolishness masquerading as faith.

Faith is wise as well as calm.

Faith means that I can keep things in perspective. Watch the news…and pray for discernment. Take precautions…and realize that ultimately my future is in God’s hands.

Faith is not easy. I am not saying this because I have this faith thing figured out. I still regularly give in to anxious thoughts and irrational panic.

But faith in a sovereign, loving God is the only real pathway to calm in the midst of a storm…serenity in the midst of a difficulty…and peace in the midst of a pandemic.

God is our refuge and strength,
A very present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear,
Even though the earth be removed,
And though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea;
Though its waters roar and be troubled,
Though the mountains shake with its swelling. Selah (Psalm 46:1-3)

That same psalm ends with these verses:

Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth!

The Lord of hosts is with us;
The God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah (Psalm 46:10-11)

So take a deep breath…turn your eyes to your Creator…and rest in Him.

And don’t worry even if Sams runs out of toilet paper.

Posted in Coronavirus/COVID-19 | 2 Comments

The Body Keeps the Score

Posted on February 20, 2020 by Steve Foster

“The greatest sources of our suffering are the lies we tell ourselves” (11).

This quote alone made this book worth reading.

Dr. Bessel van der Kolk is the founder and medical director of the Trauma Center in Massachusetts and a professor of psychiatry at Boston University. He has spent numerous years working with Vietnam vets with PTSD as well as interacting and counseling countless other people who have experienced childhood abuse and trauma in their lives.

His book, The Body Keeps the Score, is a good read. Long in parts. Technical and hard to understand at times. But, overall, a good reminder of some key elements of true healing.

My takeaway from his book? Pain, suffering, abuse, and trauma impact our whole selves…brain, body, soul, and mind. To focus on only one part is to miss something fundamental in who we are and something vital in our healing.

The psychiatric community has turned to diagnosing symptom-based disorders and prescribing medications as the cure to trauma. “The brain-disease model takes control over people’s fate out of their own hands and puts doctors and insurance companies in charge of fixing their problems” (37).

Dr. van der Kolk is certainly not against medication. In many cases, it is the only thing that can help someone get back to some level of equilibrium where they can effectively address and deal with their pain. But to see medication as the solution is to ignore the other aspects of the person impacted by trauma, as well as the relational dynamics that often surround it. The very fact that prescriptions for depression have tripled over the past two decades with no noticeable dent in depression rates indicates that true healing must go deeper than mere chemistry.

“Medications, drugs, and alcohol can temporarily dull or obliterate unbearable sensations and feelings. But the body continues to keep the score” (46).

Trauma typically brings together two intense emotions…terror and helplessness. A traumatic event both grips us with fear and exposes our inability to stop it. We realize both the dangerousness of our world and our extreme vulnerability in the midst of it.

Trauma imprints itself deeply in our mind and body. A traumatic event has a way of taking on a life of its own. People who have suffered panic attacks or flashbacks to a traumatic event “often organize their lives around trying to protect against them” (67).

“…Panic symptoms are maintained largely because the individual develops a fear of the bodily sensations associated with panic attacks. The attack may be triggered by something he or she knows is irrational, but fear of the sensations keeps them escalating into a full-body emergency” (99).

The internal battle over past trauma eventually leads to a person feeling “unsafe in their own bodies.” “The past is alive in the form of gnawing interior discomfort” (98).

The battle within one’s own body often causes a person to disassociate from themselves… to depersonalize themselves… to numb themselves with drugs or alcohol… to cultivate an illusory sense of control in highly dangerous or destructive activities… or simply to shut down.

In van der Kolk’s experience, the healing of trauma involves at least four critical elements:

1. We need to tell the truth to ourselves.

Shame has a way of making us lie to ourselves. “As long as you keep secrets and suppress information, you are fundamentally at war with yourself. Hiding your core feelings takes an enormous amount of energy, it saps your motivation to pursue worthwhile goals, and it leaves you feeling bored and shut down” (235).

Writing about the trauma, and the emotions you feel, can be the first step in truly facing it.

2. We need to learn to be at home in our own bodies.

“Trauma makes people feel like either some body else, or like no body. In order to overcome trauma, you need help to get back in touch with your body, with your self” (249). “One of the clearest lessons from contemporary neuroscience is that our sense of ourselves is anchored in a vital connection with our bodies” (274).

Numbing our body, denying it, abusing it, or running to virtual escapes do not lead to healing. We are embodied creatures and we must come to know who we are in our bodies. Learning to breathe…learning to exercise…learning to understand and care for our bodies…all go a long way toward healing.

3. We need relationships.

“Study after study shows that having a good support network constitutes the single most powerful protection against becoming traumatized. …Traumatized human beings recover in the context of relationships” (212). The paradox is that often our trauma is caused by betrayed or dysfunctional relationships. The pain tends to cause us to withdraw…to isolate…to enter our own world. But only in relationships can healing be found.

“Being able to feel safe with other people is probably the single most important aspect of mental health; safe connections are fundamental to meaningful and satisfying lives. …[But] no doctor can write a prescription for friendship and love” (81).

4. We need to rescript our story.

“Isolating oneself into a narrowly defined victim group promotes a view of others as irrelevant at best and dangerous at worst, which eventually only leads to further alienation” (81).

“Trauma causes people to remain stuck in interpreting the present in light of an unchanging past” (307).

No one grows up under ideal circumstances. All of us carry the wounds and hurts of the past. But playing the victim only exacerbates the problem. We must learn to see our wounds from a bigger perspective and find a way to see a larger context for our lives.

As I reflected on van der Kolk’s thoughts, I began to filter them through a Christian worldview. Van der Kolk does not write from a Christian perspective. He acknowledges the importance of religion from time to time but this is not his paradigm. But what he discovered is not new.

1. We are embodied creatures, created by God with body, soul, and spirit.

Just as sin impacts all three aspects of our lives, healing must come to all three. We need a regenerated spirit, renewed mind, refreshed soul, and rested (and ultimately, resurrected) body.

2. We are created for relationships…but sin has brought pain, shame, betrayal, separation, and abuse into our relationships.

Our trauma is both caused by relationships and healed by them. Relationship with God…relationship with others…and peace within ourselves…are intricately tied together.

3. We need to see our lives as part of a bigger story.

Only the hope of redemption gives meaning to our trauma and suffering. No pain is wasted in the redemptive purposes of God. We can find a new identity outside of being a victim. We can find a new identity as a beloved, re-created, blessed child of God.

4. We need to tell the truth to ourselves.

Self-deception and self-medication offer only temporary relief from pain. We are broken people living in a broken world with other broken people. We all need grace. And true grace is only found in the One who suffered the most unspeakable trauma, injustice, betrayal, and abuse on the cross…for us.

“The greatest sources of our suffering are the lies we tell ourselves.”

Thus, the greatest source of freedom comes from hearing the truth from our Creator and the Redeemer of our souls.

“If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”

“Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.” (John 8:31-32, 34-36)

Posted in Recommended Books | 1 Comment

Self-Deceiver…Grace Receiver…Kingdom Seeker

Posted on January 30, 2020 by Steve Foster

I am a self deceiver
Blind to my own sin
Trapped in my own mind
Stuck in my own ways
Hungering for control
Craving for comfort
Coveting stuff
Wanting
Whining
Winning at any cost
Self-protecting
Self-promoting
Self-conscious
Self-centered
Self-justifying
Self-gratifying
Self-lying
Even self-hating
Because I realize
Something is wrong with me
Though I find a way to
Blame others
Blame my past
Blame the world
Blame God
Imprisoned inside myself
Starved for love
Acceptance
Security
But too afraid
Too stubborn
Too cynical
To open up…

I am a grace receiver
Pursued by my Creator
Overwhelmed by His holiness
Humbled by His love
Entering my world
Dying for my sin
Conquering my death
Loving
Giving
Sacrificing at any cost
Forgiving
Cleansing
Regenerating
Reconciling
Justifying
Sanctifying
Glorifying
Even uniting
Himself to me
An eternal union
A new creation
New love
New life
New hope
New family
Adopted in Christ
Indwelt by His Spirit
Accepted
Secure
Never alone
Always loved
My imprisoned heart
Opened up!

I am a kingdom seeker
Rescued from sin
Given new citizenship
Submitted to my King
Who conquered sin
Conquered death
Conquered Satan
Releasing me
Redeeming me
Transforming me at any cost
Coming again
Judging sin
Destroying the proud
Resurrecting the dead
Reversing the curse
Renewing the earth
Reigning in Jerusalem
Even wiping away tears
No more sorrow
No more death
No more war
The lion and the lamb
Joined in harmony
Led by a child
Because of a Child
Who died as a Lamb
And will reign as a Lion
Peace with God
Peace with others
Peace in me
Peace on earth
The gates of Eden
Opened up!

Posted in Confessions | Leave a comment

Understanding Pastoral Burnout

Posted on January 6, 2020 by Steve Foster

Recently I was asked again for our church’s sabbatical policy. It seems another pastor was nearing burnout at a church unaccustomed to handling it.

What is going on?

It seems that more and more pastors are facing burnout…dealing with mental health issues…stepping down from ministry…or falling into some type of serious moral failure. Several studies have indicated that 60-80% of pastors who enter ministry will not still be in ministry ten years later and only a fraction will stay in ministry for a lifetime.

Wow.

I can’t speak for all pastors but I can speak from my own experience. Exactly a year ago, I hit a major wall in ministry…feeling completely exhausted, stressed, anxious, and overwhelmed. Pressures, demands, and long hours piled up…and for years I made little time for days off or for true vacations.

I was doing good things…”God” things…so how could I stop?

I remember sharing my feeling of utter exhaustion with a retired pastor friend of mine. He listened and sympathized but couldn’t fully understand. He had served over forty years in ministry and had faced difficult, tiring, frustrating times…but never to the point of simply feeling like quitting…like stepping away from ministry.

To his credit…and to my benefit…he read up on pastoral burnout and became a needed advocate for me to take a sabbatical.

It probably saved my ministry…and my long-term health.

I have been in full-time pastoral ministry for thirty years. Over this time, I have seen and experienced the changes that are occurring in our culture and in the nature of ministry.

Here are five things that I think make pastoral ministry more challenging and more stress-producing than a generation or two ago.

Instant access.

A generation ago, if you wanted to get in touch with your pastor, you had to call the church office or perhaps even send a letter. Communication was slower. Access was more limited. Being out of town meant being out of touch. Now a quick text not only reaches a pastor instantly but also has a way of demanding an immediate response. After all, how can you simply ignore a text that says something like, “My marriage is falling apart. Can you please call me?” Add in the world of emails and social media and access is everywhere. A pastor can easily feel like he is always on call…never away…never truly “unplugged” from the demands of ministry.

Diminishing social supports.

Increased mobility and decreased family stability have left more and more people alone and without the typical social supports of a generation ago. Fifty years ago, a person in marriage crisis would often find practical counsel, support, and intervention from close-by family members or even long-time neighbors and friends. Social “capital” was more abundant. Today, as people become more and more isolated, they often turn to professional counselors or to pastors at the first sign of crisis. Thus, pastors are finding themselves encountering more people in crisis who lack social or family supports to provide immediate or long-term help. This tends to increase the burden and expectation upon the pastor.

Increased expectations.

Coupled with the lack of social support comes the high demand and expectation on the pastor and the church. I remember attending a pastor’s conference in the mid-1990’s when a Christian leader said that “discipleship in the 21st century will essentially be ‘re-parenting.'” His premise was simple: as the family breaks down, more and more people will come into the church without the basic skills of life that they should have learned in their family…skills like managing money, managing time, communicating, resolving conflict, even cleaning up after themselves. This prediction seems to be coming true as more and more people are looking to the church for financial counseling, marriage training, parenting help, conflict resolution, and life coaching. In many ways, it is a great opportunity for the church to touch people’s lives…but often all of that opportunity falls on the pastoral staff who have their own challenges and limitations in these areas.

Endless comparisons.

The internet has also increased expectations as more and more people are exposed to the gifts and strengths of more and more pastors and churches. People tend to take the best of everything they see and combine them into a composite picture of the “ideal church” and the “ideal pastor.” Thus, pastors today are often expected to be powerful preachers, motivational speakers, creative teachers, visionary leaders, cultural interpreters, political activists, marriage counselors, parenting experts, grief therapists, financial advisors, conflict mediators, life coaches, innovative evangelists, church growers, community engagers, administrative CEO’s, and loyal friends. It’s obviously an impossible task…but many pastors struggle to avoid the comparisons and often carry a nagging sense that they are always falling short.

Pervasive stresses, distractions, and temptations.

For every positive advance in technology, it seems like a hundred new stresses, distractions, and temptations come along with it. For instance, the smartphone has increased our ability to connect with each other, to get things done quicker and easier, to gain immediate access to information, and even to be better equipped with Bible study tools and devotionals. But at the same time, it has also made us more easily distracted, more isolated from face-to-face interaction, more prone to social media-induced anxiety and depression, and more tempted with online pornography. Pastors find themselves both ministering to people impacted by these pervasive stresses, distractions, and temptations as well as fighting their own battles against these things. And all of this is new territory…with every new piece of technology creating new challenges that are hard to immediately discern.

In reality, everyone is feeling the affects of our new age. As our culture rapidly changes, it is easy to feel like you are running on a treadmill that is constantly increasing in speed. You can try to keep up but eventually you will crash and burn. Instead you have to intentionally find a way to step off the treadmill.

You have to set apart the first part of your day to God.

You have to set weekly “fasts” from media.

You have to take care of your body.

You have to accept your limitations.

You have to cultivate your relationships.

You have to model Sabbath rest.

And as a pastor, you have to lead the way.

Posted in Random Thoughts | Leave a comment

A Few Thoughts on Christianity Today, Trump, and Jesus

Posted on January 4, 2020 by Steve Foster

I don’t like talking about politics…especially in our divided, angry, politicized culture.

One, it is not my calling or expertise. Yes, as I teach through Scripture verse-by-verse, I often encounter biblical principles that apply to our political world. I seek to highlight these principles and apply them wisely. But, at the same time, I am not a political pundit or commentator who can address or exegete the endless stream of headlines from our politicized media…nor do I think it would be wise to try.

Two, I have found that many people who ask me to comment more on politics usually want me to do so from a particular partisan viewpoint. Let’s be honest…most people in our culture are not looking to be challenged in their political leanings, rather they are looking for confirmation and affirmation of the viewpoint that they already hold. I quite simply do not want to add to the echo chamber of politics in our culture. Instead I want to try to encourage people to look above the fray and see things from a bigger, eternal perspective.

So why comment now?

A few weeks ago, Mark Galli wrote an editorial in Christianity Today that sent shockwaves through the evangelical world. It set off a host of comments, rebuttals, accolades, and attacks. I have been a long-time subscriber of Christianity Today. I have generally been informed, encouraged, and challenged by their articles. I have also enjoyed many of Galli’s articles in the past. This one was obviously different…as Galli noted at the beginning of his editorial.

Now that the dust has settled a little bit, it seems like a good time to make a few comments for hopefully thoughtful consideration. I may end up regretting it anyway.

First, about the article.

I have two problems with Galli’s article. One, it was very strange timing. Galli wrote the article on his way out the door of Christianity Today (CT). He recently retired as the magazine’s editor. It seems like his final act was to throw a grenade in the middle of his readership and essentially leave it for his successors to clean it all up. It is sort of like the pastor getting up for his final sermon in a church and saying, “And now let me tell you what I really think….” Wisdom would seem to say that either you speak your mind earlier…or you go ahead and leave and save your comments for later.

Two, Galli tries to take a moral position on a highly partisan political issue. Yes, some political issues are moral but I am not sure you can place impeachment in that category. It is a political, legal decision based on an interpretation of “high crimes and misdemeanors” in the Constitution. Perhaps Trump’s phone call violated the Constitution (that is the question) but I am not sure a Christian writer of a Christian magazine is in the best position to make that decision. Galli would have been better served to make a moral case and leave the impeachment decision alone. After all, the decision that was made in the House of Representatives was so politically divided…and so blatantly partisan…that to pick a side on the issue immediately threw him (and CT) in the midst of the partisan rancor. Apparently Galli felt the need to take a clear position because CT took a clear position on President Clinton’s impeachment twenty years ago. But the wisdom of CT‘s decision twenty years ago could also be debated. Unless Galli is speaking as a lawyer or Constitutional expert, then I would suggest that he leave the decision up to Congress and instead focus on the biblical or moral principles that may apply in the situation.

And here is where Galli’s article does have some merit.

He brings up a compelling point: “Remember who you are and whom you serve. Consider how your justification of Mr. Trump influences your witness to your Lord and Savior. Consider what an unbelieving world will say if you continue to brush off Mr. Trump’s immoral words and behavior in the cause of political expediency.”

Whether you agree with Galli or not, it is a point worth considering. Is it possible to be so intertwined with a particular political leader that you somehow weaken the gospel or at least confuse it with political overtones? Or asked in a more specific way…is it possible to support Trump as president and not be stained with his moral failures, his narcissistic tendencies, or his angry, profane verbal barrages?

It is a question that I have wrestled with often.

Now, about Trump.

Trump is a conundrum, a mixed bag, a lightning rod.

He has garnered more division than any other president in recent history. There are “Trump lovers” and “Trump haters”…and presumably no one in between.

But I am one of those “in between,” trying to sort it all out, trying to find balance.

I see Trump for who he is: a flawed man in the office of the presidency…as every president has been to some degree. The tendency to see him as “all hero” or “all villain” is neither realistic nor helpful and it feeds into the melodramatic, crisis-creating, news-selling narrative of our media-saturated world.

There are at least three aspects to consider in a president…personality, morality, and policy.

When it comes to personality, Trump is unconventional to say the least. He is a businessman not a politician. Diplomacy is not his style. He was shaped in the cutthroat, competitive, get-it-done-despite-the-costs business world. He is used to being a boss who gets his way. He is the antithesis to the typical, dignified, diplomatic, compromise-seeking politician. His personality has a way of forcing you to either love him or hate him…and he seems to like it that way. It has made him a successful businessman but a very contentious president.

His morality is another issue to consider. Generally we want a leader who exhibits strong character traits such as loyalty, honesty, integrity, dignity, and faithfulness, most notably to his wife and family. Trump’s past failed marriages and sexual misconduct, braggadocio, narcissistic tendencies, and constant verbal barrages have all put a stain on his character. Many past presidents have had their serious moral issues but Trump’s flaws seem to be more open and on full display. It is true that a president is not a Sunday School teacher but character matters and cannot be quickly dismissed or overlooked. If one can’t be trusted in one area, then it can be assumed that he can’t be trusted in other areas as well. On the other side of the coin, he seems to be faithful to his current wife and devoted to his family and so perhaps he is becoming better along the way but he still leaves much to be desired, particularly when measured against such spiritual virtues as love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23).

The third leg of the stool are a president’s policies…and this is usually where the rubber meets the road. Turn the clock back twenty years to Bill Clinton…and Democrats were defending Clinton’s morality and actions primarily because they liked his policies…while Republicans were saying Clinton’s morality and actions disqualified him from office generally because they disliked his policies. You can almost flip the script in what Democrats and Republicans are saying today (even some of the same people!).

So how can an evangelical support Trump today?

Some may like his rough and tumble, no holds barred, in your face personality…and overlook his most obvious faults…primarily because they like his policies. Others may shake their head at his divisive words, inability to admit a mistake, and questionable morality but, in the absence of a credible, electable alternative, hesitantly prefer him over someone with polar opposite views and policies. Either way, his support ultimately comes down to his platform, his policies. He is strongly pro-life…protects religious liberty…supports Israel…appoints conservative judges…and seems to have a genuine love for our nation (whether you agree with the way he expresses it or not)…issues important to many evangelicals.

Trump still presents a conundrum…but not necessarily an unusual one in politics. Politics is messy…and no candidate is perfect. Thus, both sides of the aisle, at some point, have supported questionable candidates with stained resumes because ultimately they agree with the majority of that politician’s policies not his lifestyle.

The challenge for the Christian citizen is to support good governmental policies while still maintaining a prophetic voice that speaks out against the bad character and actions of political leaders. Something that Christians have often failed to do. Consider the example of Daniel who served, prayed for, and respected the narcissistic, volatile Babylonian leader, Nebuchadnezzar, while at the same time calling him out for his foolish pride.

Even better, consider Jesus.

Jesus was born into a politicized, divided, angry culture very much like our own. You can almost see modern political groups represented in the political groups of Jesus’ day…the Pharisees (social conservatives)…the Sadducees (elite progressives)…the Zealots (right-wing or left-wing revolutionaries)…the Hellenists (cultural adopters)…the Essenes (cultural rejecters)…and the Herodians (the political poll-watchers and do whatever it takes to stay in power people).

In such a politically divided world, everyone wanted to know who Jesus was. Whose side was He on? In what political category did He fit? What label could describe Him?

Jesus rose above all the political rancor.

He didn’t play the political game.

He couldn’t be plugged into any political category.

In fact, He made everyone with a political mindset mad.

Jesus put His finger on the bigger problem…the condition of our own heart.

Because ultimately our biggest problem is not political…it is spiritual.

Will I bow my knee to the God who made me?

Will I humbly acknowledge my limitations…my weakness…my need?

Will I stop pointing the finger at others and see my own selfishness and sin?

Will I receive grace…and then give it to others?

The follower of Jesus has to keep politics in perspective. Yes, we are called to be involved…to be participants in society…to honor and pray for our leaders…to pray and work for the peace and prosperity of the nation in which we live…to be ready for every good work…to speak evil of no one…to be peaceable and gentle…to do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with our God.

In short, we are to be concerned with politics but not consumed with it.

Politics is just the imperfect attempts of imperfect leaders to govern imperfect people for a limited amount of time. It won’t solve humanity’s biggest problems. It can’t change hearts. It can’t defeat death. It can’t bring new life to a disaster-filled, decaying planet. Thus, putting your trust in any political leader is short-sighted, disappointing, and foolish.

God is sovereign.

The nations are a drop in the bucket.

God can turn a leader’s heart like channels of water.

The Most High rules in the kingdom of men and gives it to whomever He chooses.

And ultimately our fate is not in the hands of donkeys and elephants but in the One who is the Lion and the Lamb.

Posted in Government/Politics | Comments Off on A Few Thoughts on Christianity Today, Trump, and Jesus