PREDICTABLE THOUGHTS

PREDICTABLE THOUGHTS

Monday, January 16, 2017

  Our USA is divided in several ways at this time. “Not my president!” is one large looming division, including professing Christians of various religious factions.  The friction is generating continuing social heat.  I awoke this morning with several interconnected thoughts in mind. Now I work at confining them to one page or less:

  Paul wrote “Oh, how great are God’s riches and wisdom and knowledge! How impossible it is for us to understand his decisions and his ways! For who can know the Lord’s thoughts? Who knows enough to give him advice? And who has given him so much that he needs to pay it back? For everything comes from him and exists by his power and is intended for his glory. All glory to him forever! Amen. And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. Because of the privilege and authority God has given me, I give each of you this warning: Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us. “ (NLT Rom.11:33-12:3)

  Paul soon thereafter gives representative explanation of 12:1-3 in action; the Word that is just as applicable now as then was under Roman dominance.  “Everyone must submit to governing authorities. For all authority comes from God, and those in positions of authority have been placed there by God.  So anyone who rebels against authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and they will be punished. For the authorities do not strike fear in people who are doing right, but in those who are doing wrong. Would you like to live without fear of the authorities? Do what is right, and they will honor you. The authorities are God’s servants, sent for your good. But if you are doing wrong, of course you should be afraid, for they have the power to punish you. They are God’s servants, sent for the very purpose of punishing those who do what is wrong. So you must submit to them, not only to avoid punishment, but also to keep a clear conscience. Pay your taxes, too, for these same reasons. For government workers need to be paid. They are serving God in what they do. Give to everyone what you owe them: Pay your taxes and government fees to those who collect them, and give respect and honor to those who are in authority. Love Fulfills God’s Requirements. Owe nothing to anyone—except for your obligation to love one another. If you love your neighbor, you will fulfill the requirements of God’s law.” (13:1-8)

  Abraham Lincoln, 16^th president of these United States of America, lost the national popular vote, but gained the executive office by the Electoral College. And how did that turn out for a man considered a redneck rail-splitter buffoon by many? Isn’t he touted as one of these nation’s greatest leaders, the man that preserved our blessed Union? What would life be like today if then “Not my president!” faction had reversed the election and put Stephen Douglas in the oval office? (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_A._Douglas )

  For me as a Christian to allow personal angst and angry action over USA elections results would be the product of my not trusting God’s wisdom. God selects. I agree, or not. He has the master plan. I do not.

EBB4