July 17, 2024
Leadership Notes
What a weekend. Frightening. Tragic. Driving us closer to God in prayer and supplication. Assured that no matter what happens in life, all is well because God is sovereign. He is seated upon His heavenly throne. We have no king but Jesus.
There has been much introspection over inflammatory rhetoric and negative politics. Demonize your opponents. They all do it. It’s part-and-parcel of campaigning. It is nothing new. Only thing new is the means by which flames are fanned.
The truth is, all the badmouthing and negativity wouldn’t happen if it didn’t work. But politicians and their advisors know how effective it is. They wouldn’t do it if it didn’t work with most of the voters most of the time. Can we transcend lies, half-truths, and vitriol?
Here are some random thoughts and observations. Connect them as you will.
Viktor Frankl:
“Forces beyond your control can take away everything you
possess except one thing – your freedom to choose how you will
respond to the situation.”
Novelist Kurt Vonnegut:
“You meet saints everywhere. They can be anywhere. They are
people behaving decently in an indecent society.”
I am struck by those who, with Trump Derangement Syndrome, have posted all sorts of ugly, ghoulish comments about the shooting. Adding to what Vonnegut said, it costs $0.00 to be a decent human being. And you can quote me on that.
I hope you saw the statement by Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro. It was caring, compassionate, reasonable, and measured. A Democrat, Shapiro does not spend all his time speaking of the other side in apocalyptic terms. It’s always good to seek to lower the temperature.
God’s Word speaks:
> “Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins.”
{Ecclesiastes 7:20}
> “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?”
{Jeremiah 17:9}
> “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” {Romans 3:23}
However a secular worldview assigns fault, the Bible clearly addresses the matter by virtue of dealing with the sin that inspired the murderer and would-be assassin to do what he did. As one pastor observed, “Is not the incident itself sufficient enough to cause societal division that we need not use it to cause division in the church?” {Darrell B. Harrison}
Someone has written, “When politics is your idol, you find murder an acceptable means to an end. Never allow anger to take you to places like these.” Amen?
Pundit Jonah Goldberg adds this:
“The polarizing language used by both the left and the right has
fueled conspiracy theories and political tensions.”
Finally, in light of momentous times and far-reaching consequences, I love this observation by George MacDonald. MacDonald {1824-1905} was a Scottish pastor who had a huge influence on J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis:
“Something is wrong if the calm of the summer night does not
sink into the heart, for it embodies the peace of God. Something is
wrong in the man to whom the sunrise is not divine glory, for
therein is embodied the truth, the simplicity, and the might of the
Maker.”
With Much Love and Affection,
Richard
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