Two Days After the Election

             Come now, let us settle the matter,” says the Lord. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool. If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the good things of the land; but if you resist and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword.” For the mouth of the Lord has spoken. (Isaiah 1:18-20)

 

               Do you hear the echoes of “if My people, who are called by My name…”? Yes, I’m still harping about politics two days after the election. Political elections didn’t happen in Biblical times, so you’re not going to find any passages that say, “If your party wins the election, you will eat the good things of the land.” Some like to think that having the government in their hands means everything will be all better soon. Both passages tell us that if we are right with God, things will improve.

            The problem is that “right with God” isn’t really a national thing. It’s not something the nation can do while we’re out doing our own things. Even if we elected spiritual giants as our representatives, that wouldn’t make things OK between you and God. Obviously, the decisions our political leaders make influence the moral condition of our nation, but they are not enough. Unless your life and my life are not right, we have no right to expect a blessing. We will get blessings because God is a blessing god, but they won’t be equal to the blessing we will get if we get our lives right. And if we are only getting our lives right to get the blessing, we aren’t getting out lives right at all.

            And the only way we’re going to get out lives right is if we are 1) looking to Scripture, and 2) getting a clearer vision of who God is, and 3) actively pursuing righteousness. As I look at that list, I find myself a little discouraged because when I look at Scripture, I don’t seem to get a clearer vision of who God is. Intellectually, I can tell you about God, and I probably experience Him much more than I think I do. Still, I have a problem with seeing myself as the woman at the well, Daniel, or Deborah, and seeing God being with me like He was with them. Either they are exceptional in some positive way, or I’m exceptional in some negative way.

            But if we are going to eat the good things of the land, we have to start where we are and make the changes we need to make. And to stop being rebellious and resistant, we need to recognize when and how we are being those things. You can’t stop doing something you don’t know you’re doing.