Last December at the National Association of Christian Lawmakers, Mike Johnson (Speaker of the House) spoke of his journey to that position. This is part of what he said. “The Lord told me very clearly to prepare, be ready. Be ready for what? Ok, I don’t know. We’re coming to a Red Sea moment. What does that mean, Lord?” Johnson said. “And then when the Speaker’s race happened and Kevin McCarthy, who is a dear friend of mine was deposed, vacated from the chair. Oh wow, well this is what the Lord may have been preparing us for. And so, I started praying more about that and the Lord began to wake me up through this three-week process … now at the time, I assumed the Lord is going to choose a new Moses and, Oh, thank you, Lord you’re gonna allow me to be Aaron to Moses.”
This thought is not about his politics or his theology; this thought is about Mr. Johnson – and so many other people – using God’s name in vain. I was raised to think that breaking the 3rd Commandment was about cussing, which it is not. And I don’t cuss or approve of it – not the point. Taking God’s name – misusing the name of God – closely follows Commandments 1 and 2 – You will have no other gods before me, and you will not worship idols. These first 3 Commandments tell us to take God seriously and to be faithful to God alone. The last part is very clear – don’t use God’s name in inappropriate ways. This, unfortunately, is done all the time. Mr. Johnson, like so many Christians like him, believes that God decides who runs our government and they do this based on the Apostle Paul’s words in Romans 13: “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities; for there is no authority except from God, and those authorities that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore, whoever resists authority resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment.” The passage goes on to tell the church to pay their taxes for the same reason. That, somehow, is often missed. Curious.
This idea is, of course, foolishness. If you buy into this, you have to include every leader. You have to include Hitler, Mao, Stalin, Amin, Caligula, Attila – if it means all, then it means ALL. Again, foolishness. And please understand – it isn’t wrong to believe that God has called you to serve humanity in some way. I believe I was called by God to serve the church as an ordained clergyperson, so I have chosen that life. You may believe you have God-given gifts that allow you to be a plumber or teacher or dog-walker. All work is good work, and God blesses it. But to believe that God has chosen you and only you – to say you are the new Moses – to believe it is subverting God’s needs to not be in that position – this is taking God’s name in vain. And it is dangerous.
News flash – we the people elect other people based on votes, and if the votes don’t go our way, we have to accept the results and not deny them. My thought? If someone says they believe God has called them to serve the public in politics, believe them. If someone says they are the new Moses – or Messiah – or God’s chosen – do not believe them. Free will means that God is not, in fact, in control. God is not forcing America to do anything. God is hoping against all hope, I think, that we do the right thing. God hopes that for a lot of nations. God hopes that for each one of us. But we get to choose, so choose wisely.
Prayer – We seek Your guidance to serve, O God. We pray that we choose wisely. Amen.
Today’s art is “God with us” by Mekbib Geberstadik.