He has shown you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To do justice, love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.

Micah 6:8

Vengeance is Mine; I will repay, sayeth the Lord.

Romans 12:19

 

One of the most difficult things in life is to do the right thing for the right reason. So often when we have been wronged, we desire to "get back" at the other person. If they have caused us pain, then we want to cause them pain. It is human nature, but it is wrong, for vengeance is the sole realm of God because it involves judgment. Judgement has been set aside exclusively for God, and Jesus was very clear on this point: Judge not, that ye be not judged!

 

I think these things are important to keep in mind, given the events of recent days. Our politicians are masters at dividing people and goading them into getting back at the other side when a wrong has been committed against their side. Unless you have been living under a rock in the past few years, you have witnessed an unending series of attacks by one side against the other. A past President has been convicted on 34 felony charges, and now those on his side want to even the score. 

 

Again, this is human nature, but we must be cautious, for these types of back and forths can escalate to a degree where both sides are consumed. So, what is the solution? If we cannot get revenge on someone who has clearly done wrong does that mean they should just get to walk away Scot free? Of course, the answer to that is no, for if the wicked are allowed to continue their evil, then the innocent will continue to suffer. Then what is the answer?

 

This is where being familiar with God's Word is so important. The passage in Micah 6:8 gives the solution, for it is revealed in this passage that we are to do justice, but to have a love for others that allows us to be kind and merciful while doing so. That means we can stop the wicked from their evil and hold them accountable for their past acts of wickedness. Our founders understood that evil men had to be brought to account, otherwise there would be chaos, and they understood this because they were familiar with God's instructions in His Word. But they also knew from this same source that our remedies could not be done out of vengeance, so they had safeguards such as a prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment.

 

So, when a crime as serious as murder was committed, they would have swift and fair justice: They would hang the murderer! But they also understood that this was to be done in a way that was devoid of revenge, so they wouldn't torture the convicted prior to his punishment. That way the innocent would be protected, but without the righteous being brought down to their level. And they would always try to give the one who committed the crime, regardless of how heinous, a chance to make his peace with God. So their judgment was a matter of necessary physical justice, but not a matter of taking God's place in the eternal realm of spiritual judgment.

 

Why bring all of this up? It seems like our world has forgotten the difference between justice and revenge. And because of that, we have gotten to the point where we want people "ground under our heels" whenever they do something that outrages us. This attitude of revenge will end up consuming us, if we are not careful. You can see this is so, if you have been watching at all, and it is distressing to watch. There seems to be no more room for differing opinions. If someone thinks different than our side, then they must be taken care of. So, we have this downward spiral of you do me an injustice, and I will do you a bigger injustice right back... and that is the difference, isn't it?

 

For when we pay back wrong for wrong, we are wrong. There is no question that injustices seem to be done on a more and more frequent basis in the world in which we live, but the answer is not to repay injustice with injustice; rather, it is to bring to justice those who have been unjust. This is the way things used to be done in our nation when our nation was good. More important, it is the way in which God commands us to live. So, if you are wanting to get back at those who have done you wrong, you need to repent. But if you are wanting to bring injustice to an end by exercising justice tempered with mercy, then you will be going a long way into restoring some civility and love into a world that needs these virtues most desperately.

 

By the way, this type of humble walking before the LORD works just as well in the way that we deal with our family and friends, as it does in the way that we deal with our enemies.

 

Do we seek revenge? We must know that God will judge those who do! But if we seek justice motivated by a love that will allow us to do so in a kind way, we will be pleasing to God and will help to heal the rift that seems to define our modern day world. 

But this command I gave them: "Obey My voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be My people. And walk in all the way that I command you, that it may be well with you.

But they did not obey...

Jeremiah 7:23-24(a), ESV

 

In recent years, and even in recent days, we have seen what happens when the rule of law is not honored. In our nation, the law has become little more than a tool for the powerful and the wicked to manipulate in ways that serve their needs and desires. As a result of their manipulations, they have been able to avoid being held accountable when they have violated the law, and have been able to persecute and prosecute those whom they find a hinderance to their schemes. It seems to be working out for them, at least at the present time, for they are very, very adept at using the law to their own advantage.

 

In recent days, they have even been able to abandon the rule of law long enough to convict a former President of "crimes" of their own contrivance. 

 

The problem, of course, is that when you do not have equal application of the law, or when you misuse it for purposes for which it was never intended, that you no longer have a "rule of law." And as has been pointed out by wiser men than I, when you no longer have a rule of law in a nation, you no longer have a basis for remaining a nation.

 

This is what the people in Jeremiah's time were to learn. God had made a formal covenant with the nation of Israel that He would be their God and they would be His people. It was an incredible covenant indeed, for it gave the people all sorts of rights and protections that they could not have otherwise enjoyed. They were truly a blessed people. As Moses was to put it when addressing the nation, "What other nation is so great as to have such righteous decrees and laws as this body of laws I am setting before you today." (Deuteronomy 4:8)

 

However, as with all contracts, there was a condition to the promise of the people remaining one nation under God: They had to keep the laws! And as we see in Jeremiah's statement, the people did not obey. And eventually, because of their disobedience, the people fell out of the covenant and therefore the protections and privileges associated with that contract. So God no longer recognized them as His people because they had rejected Him as their God.

 

And an important lesson was learned: When you no longer obey the rule of law, you no longer have a rule of law. And when you no longer have a rule of law, you no longer have a basis for a nation.

 

I know that a lot of people do not like our former President. I have to admit that I do not like the set of morals by which he used to conduct himself, and I still do not like some of the immature ways in which he interacts with some people. Having said that, it is still no reason to abandon the rule of law and prosecute he and his followers with a perverse and unfair interpretation of that law. It is also no reason to completely abandon the rule of law in order to protect the people in power who oppose him. or even for those who could care less about him and just want to increase their own power by any means available.

 

So for those who are cheering recent events of the past few years, I have this observation: When you abandon the rule of law, you abandon the contract between government and the people. And when you do that you will eventually not only lose power, but you will lose the nation.

 

There is a major difference, of course, between what happened in Jeremiah's time and ours. In Jeremiah's time the people abandoned their rightful Authority. In our time, the rightful "authorities" have abandoned the people. In both instances the contract was broken. And in both instances the people no longer had a basis for being a nation anymore.

 

Why bring all of this up? First, because it is important for us to consider, and to take warning before it is too late. Second these things are happening because we the people, governing authorities included, have not been keeping God's laws. And third (and most important), because we still have time to repent and remain a people who are in a covenant relationship with God. I don't know if the nation of America can be saved or not, but I do know that we can remain a part of God's Kingdom if we will simply hear His voice and obey it. And maybe if we will do that, we might have a chance to restore America to where it can have a basis for continuing to be a nation.

 

It's something to seriously consider, don't you think?   

But wishing to justify himself, he said to Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?"

Luke 10:29, NASB

 

After establishing the fact that our two greatest duties involve loving God with all of our being and loving our neighbor as ourself, an expert in the Law of Moses decided to pin Jesus down as to exactly who his neighbor was. This scribe was doing a very human thing in the fact that he wanted to see just how much this would cost him, and he was likely trying to limit that cost in terms of time and effort. 

 

He was doubtlessly disappointed at Jesus' response, for the reply that Jesus gave to this scribe (and therefore to us today by His example) did not limit his responsibility at all. In fact, it seemed to vastly broaden our duty to our fellow man. In his parable of the good Samaritan, Jesus pointed out that our neighbor was not limited to those whom we have close relationships with, but also those who we have the opportunity to help - even if we don't particularly know or even like them!

 

I don't believe that Jesus was in any way indicating that we needed to enable others to sin by giving everybody everything they ask of us. I think that Jesus was simply pointing out that we see opportunities to help others all the time, and that we should do what we can to help when we can. 

 

But all too often, I am like the scribes and the pharisees in that I want to give ridiculous "what ifs" to limit my duty. "What if a bad looking man is hitchhiking? Are you saying that my wife or daughter needs to give them a ride?" Or, "What if it is an addict? Are you saying I have to give him money so he can go waste it on drugs?" We have thousands of "what ifs" and they usually are motivated by a desire to find loopholes in God's commandments, so we must understand this: God has never commanded us to recklessly endanger the innocent by making them interact with the wicked. Nor has God ever commanded us to help someone ruin their soul by bankrolling their sinful behavior.

 

But what God does want us to do is to truly help others when we have the ability to do so. We will see plenty of people who are in genuine need in our lives and we need to help them when we can. God is not asking us to bankrupt ourselves and make our families go hungry while we help everyone else, so we need to stop acting as if this is what He or Jesus are commanding. They are just saying that we need to do our part to assist people when it is in our power to do so. And there are so many occasions each day that we will allow us to safely and reasonably help one another with the loads that are too much for a person to bear on their own.

 

And there is something else that is critical to this idea of helping our neighbor: It is motivated by love! So, if we truly do love God with all of our hearts and souls and minds and strength, and if we truly do love our neighbors as ourself, then we won't be worried about trying to limit these times of assistance because we are acting out of love, not convenience.

 

And when our service to God shifts from a mindset of "What's it going to cost me?" to an attitude of the heart that prompts us to ask, "What can I do to help this person who genuinely needs it?" then we can start to become the types of men and women that God desires us to be. And just remember, it all begins with love. Do you love your neighbor as God wants you to? Then do what you can to help them, when you are able to do so. And you will be doing that because you really do love your neighbor as yourself. And by doing so, the world is going to become a much better place, don't you think?

 

 

 

 

In Swisher County, Texas, took place one of the most unusual elections I have ever seen. Yet, it is the way all elections should be conducted. It started off as five candidates vying for the County Commissioner's seat that was open because of the retirement of one of the nicest men I know. The two top vote getters would compete in a runoff. As it turned out, the top three vote getters were all friends that I have known and admired for many years. I'm sure that the other two are also fine men, I just have not had the same privilege of getting to know them that I have had with Trey, Chad, and Mike.

 

Anyway, the top two guys (Chad and Mike) went about their runoff in as fine a way as I have ever witnessed. They went around from house to house, getting to know people better and finding out about what they needed in a county commissioner. They are both humble men who had a great deal of respect for each other, as well as for the people they desired to represent. I never heard of them uttering one unkind word about the other. In fact, they conducted themselves so well that there were numerous people who had both candidate's signs out in their front yards.

 

At the same time! For the same election! I wonder if this was the first election in recent history that actually had two men that people wanted to vote for - where all the voters were actually voting for a man, instead of against anyone.

 

So how did the runoff election turn out? It ended up in a tie! So they had to wait for the mail in ballots so they could discover who the winner was. But they got the same amount of votes in those ballots as well. So they had to roll the dice to see who won. They both rolled a six! So they asked the Judge who was officiating the election what to do, and he said to keep rolling until someone had a higher number. So my friend Mike ended up going on to the general election over my friend Chad. 

 

I asked Mike how Chad took it. After all, he had spent months of his life in preparation, months campaigning (the right way, as did Mike), and had spent all of the money associated with running for office. And Mike indicated that Chad took it fine, just as I had expected he would. And since Chad is the younger of the two, I can easily see him running for and winning this position when Mike is through.

 

So, what's the point? It's just that it is so refreshing to see good men running for office in this day and age. It's that it does the heart good to have someone to vote for every once and a while, instead of voting against someone all of the time. It's that it is good to see honor and integrity and courtesy between competitors. We haven't seen that in a political race in a long, long time, and it is a shame. 

 

We are currently in a political season once again. On a national basis, we are witnessing liars and cheaters on a level rarely seen outside of a communist nation. We have people in power abusing the law, breaking the law, and making up new laws to try and keep power. They may win, but the American people have already lost, for the country that my generation grew up loving is no longer the country we have. It is a discouragement to me to see such criminal conduct amongst those who refer to themselves as "lawmakers" and "judges". The corruption has ruined our land and it is depressing to watch...

 

but then there are moments like this. Taking place in a small county far from the eyes of most, where a political race between men of honor has occurred. And though it may be a small and laughable thing to the type of men and women who are in power today, it is a big thing to me. So to Mike and Chad (and my other friend, Trey) I thank you for showing how elections ought to be done. And maybe it can give us a glimmer of hope for what might be, should men and women of honor decide that this is a trend worth joining.