Truth or not?

1 Samuel 13; Psalms 28–29; Jeremiah 50; Romans 11

The nation to the south is heading into an election. Last night ended the convention of one political party. I didn’t watch any of it but instead am praying for the will of God to be done.

At the same time, reading 1 Samuel gives me much to think about. Saul was Israel’s king at the time, but he was not making wise choices based on God’s instructions. The current prophet, Samuel, said to him:

“You have done foolishly. You have not kept the command of the Lord your God, with which he commanded you. For then the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. But now your kingdom shall not continue. The Lord has sought out a man after his own heart, and the Lord has commanded him to be prince over his people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you.” (1 Samuel 13:13–14)

These words motivate my prayers for good leaders but also found a prayer on my computer while purging a few files. It was given in 1996 by a pastor invited to pray in the state senate. He was specific about national sin and many in attendance were extremely upset. One reporter explained why: “The easy answer is that he read a prayer about sin. The complicated answer is that Wright jumped into America’s tense debate about whether some things are always right and some things are always wrong.”

The pastor later explained: “I thought I might get a call from an angry congressman or two, but I was talking to God, not them. The whole point was to say that we all have sins that we need to repent — all of us … The problem, I guess, is that you’re not supposed to get too specific when you’re talking about sin.”

This happened more than thirty years ago. Has the general attitude toward public prayer about specific sin changed? It seems not, even though Samuel’s words to Saul could be said to many politicians in many countries of the world. God looks for those who will follow His guidance and will bless them in their leadership yet most of the people on this planet do not want that sort of leader. Are there any leaders who would tell their people what things are always right and what things are always wrong? Maybe not.

King David prayed in a way that would upset many people too. He said:

To you, O Lord, I call; my rock, be not deaf to me, lest, if you be silent to me, I become like those who go down to the pit. Hear the voice of my pleas for mercy, when I cry to you for help, when I lift up my hands toward your most holy sanctuary. Do not drag me off with the wicked, with the workers of evil, who speak peace with their neighbors while evil is in their hearts. Give to them according to their work and according to the evil of their deeds; give to them according to the work of their hands; render them their due reward. Because they do not regard the works of the Lord or the work of his hands, he will tear them down and build them up no more. (Psalm 28:1–5)

This prayer would be considered judgmental and harsh, far too vindictive for anyone to pray these days. So would the words of Jeremiah, the Old Testament prophet who declared what God had planned for those who opposed His people, and the words of the New Testament that say all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Have people changed?

Christians in almost every country in the world are persecuted for declaring what God says. This reveals a current attitude toward God. Like the comments made in the OT book of Judges, it indicates that today people are the same and “everyone is doing what is right in their own eyes.” Truth has become relative and the One who said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6) would be crucified again — if that were possible.

APPLY: Can I say that if I were running for office I would listen to Samuel’s words or to that Kansas prayer? Would I have the courage to stand for truth, even die for truth as many are in other parts of the world? Hypothetical questions are best reserved for actual situations. In the meantime, today has choices of its own. God urges me to be true to Him, regardless of how that could be challenged. My life is in His hands.