A Meditation on Presidential Discourse


Writing for the Church, and not for the public at large…

kevingdrendel

“You must not blaspheme God or curse the ruler of your people.”

Exodus 22:28 NET

These words from Moses were quoted by Paul when he was accused of insulting the high priest, Ananias. (See Acts 23:12-35) Paul had been hauled in front of the high priest when a mob of Asian Jews saw Paul in Jerusalem and sought to kill him for the things he was saying.

The Roman authorities had to employ an army of soldiers to save Paul from the mob, and the Romans gave him his day in court with the Jewish council and high priest. When Paul got a chance to speak, he said, “Brothers, I have lived my life with a clear conscience before God to this day.”

Paul barely spoke the words of introduction before the high priest ordered Paul to be struck on the mouth. Paul responded, saying, “God is going to strike you, you whitewashed wall! Do you sit there judging me according to law, and in violation of the law you order me to be struck?”

That is when the mob accused him of insulting “God’s high priest”, and Paul acknowledged, “You must not speak evil about a ruler of your people.”

Some commentators have suggested that Paul really didn’t know he was in front of the high priest. When he found out, he apologized immediately.

Other speculate that Paul’s remarks were sarcastic. Maybe this was a backhanded compliment, false deference, a subtle challenge to the high priest’s authority, suggesting that he was not really God’s ruler.

In the Greek, the word translated “know” can also mean appreciate. So perhaps, Paul was saying he didn’t appreciate the fact that he was in front of the high priest when he said what he said. Perhaps, his outburst was a momentary lapse, and his response was an apology.

Whatever the actual nuance of the situation was, I take Paul at his word that he respected the words of Moses about respecting authority and God’s sovereignty that allowed rulers to rule. Paul would later write:

“Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.”

Romans 13:1

This is all by way of introduction to the things I want to write about today: the politics of the Church and of people who call themselves by the name of Christ. The disrespectful and polarizing political rhetoric of our times is understandable, given the tensions, emotions and level of disagreement in our country, but I maintain that the rhetoric of the Church and the people of God should be different.

To examine this, let’s go back to the verse Paul quoted: “Do not blaspheme God or curse the ruler of your people.” Ex. 22:28 The Hebrew word translated as blaspheme is “qalal”, meaning to be slight, swift or trifling.

The word was a colloquialism used of being contemptuous by treating a God as if He is insignificant. Treating God with superficiality and to make light of God was equivalent to blasphemy.

A person might as well curse God as to make light of Him. To respond “swiftly”, without due consideration, is to treat God without appropriate deference. To treat God dismissively is to blaspheme Him!

The second half of the verse uses the Hebrew word, “arar”, which means literally “to curse”. Thus, Exodus 22:28 parallels the command not to blaspheme God (by treating Him as insignificant, making light of Him, and brushing him off} with the literal statement not to curse the ruler of your people.

The combination of these ideas (the parallelism) highlights a connection between them. I am reminded of the positive command: to love God and love your neighbor. These things are parallel; they go together; they are somehow related.

In Acts 23:5, Paul only quoted the second half of Exodus 22:28 in Greek, saying that we are not to “ereó kakós” a ruler. This is translated into English as “speak evil”. These Greek words that are translated as “speak evil” mean to speak “badly, evilly, or wrongly” of.

The same word, kakós, is used to describe the physical characteristics of a person who is sick (Matt. 4:24; 8:16; 9:12; 14:35), demon-possessed (Matt. 15:22), epileptic (Matt. 17:15), and diseased (Mk.1:32). Strong’s Concordance differentiates the use of the word to describe people physically from use of the word to describe people morally (i.e., to speak ill of, to revile, or speak with bad intent).

Paul only quotes the second half of Exodus 22:28 (that we are not to speak badly, or to revile, or to speak evil of) a ruler, but Paul certainly would have known the full verse. He would have been very familiar with the parallel first part, which is not to make light of God, to treat Him as insignificant, and so to blaspheme God.

When I read what Paul said in Acts 23:5, I was reminded of American politics, particularly as the presidential election is winding into gear for the fall. I have also been thinking about a question someone asked in relation to the last article I wrote about Donald Trump: “what would you and others like to see from Donald Trump?”

These words from Paul shine a light on what I and many people find so troubling about Donald Trump, and (I am afraid) what so many other people find attractive about him: it is the way he talks about people, and particularly other leaders. It isn’t simply that he is crass, like a surly teenager; he is demeaning, belittling, and disrespectful in spades.

In Trump’s recent acceptance speech for the Republican nomination, he began with his personal account of the assassination attempt, and he urged that political differences do not need to divide the country. For a half hour, he talked about how Americans are bound together in a “shared destiny”.

For remaining next hour and a half, however, The Donald slipped back into his usual rambling diatribe. He made fun of Biden. He called Nancy Pelosi crazy, and he fanned the flames of partisan division with the usual schoolyard rhetoric we have come to expect from him

Donald Trump speaks incessantly ill of his rivals – other leaders. He reviles and wrongs other leaders verbally. These are things Moses (and Paul) says we shouldn’t do. And why not?

If we consider the verse Paul is quoting, we see that speaking of rulers that way is parallel to blaspheming God. It is similar in nature to treating God as if He is insignificant, slighting God, and being dismissive of Him. In short, we are to respect authorities (even if we disagree with them).

We don’t have to think very hard about why these things are parallel: God made human beings in His image. To speak that way of people is to belittle God’s image.

This verse is not qualified. It doesn’t say that we should not curse (or belittle) the rulers of the people, but only if we agree with them. It doesn’t say we should not curse the rulers of the people if they are good, or competent, or anything else. It says do not do it! Period.

Elsewhere, Paul makes the point that no person rules without God’s consent:

“Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.”

Romans 13:1

If we are going to take this seriously, cursing a ruler means cursing someone God has established in a position of leadership. Belittling a leader, means belittling the authority God has put in place.

I am reminded also about what James, the brother of Jesus, said in his one epistle (letter) in the New Testament:

When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.

James 3:3-6

I grew up with the schoolyard adage that “sticks and stones may break my bones but words can never hurt me.” Schoolyards were pretty brutal when I was growing up (and probably still are, despite our efforts to tame them). This was probably good advice for a grade school child in my time trying to deal with the mean things kids said.

At the same time, we know that words do lasting damage. We know the lifelong effects of a verbally abusive parent on a child. We know the poison of verbal abuse in a marriage. Most young men and boys who pick up guns to shoot up schools were victims of bullying. Words may actually do more damage than sticks and stones.

If we are going to take James seriously, we must admit that a lack of control over the tongue is akin to setting forests on fire, an evil that “corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.”

These are not insignificant things that James says in his letter. We are dismissive of them to our spiritual detriment. I wonder, as I write this, to what extent our fight (that Paul says is not against flesh and blood) is affected by our lack of concern and lack of discipline about the words we speak. James says further:

“With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be. Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring?

James 3:9-11

Do we take God’s Word seriously? Or do we not?

Trump’s rhetoric is nothing new, of course. The presidential museum for Abraham Lincoln in Springfield, Illinois, has a room devoted to political cartooning from his day. A quick trip around the room reveals political polarization and unkind rhetoric that will make your hair curl.

I am writing for the church, however. Not for the public at large

Christians should be salt and light. We should be different then our neighbors who do not believe in God or claim to be followers of Jesus. Our rhetoric and behavior should be noticeably different – if indeed the Spirit of God resides in us.

Do we defend the things Donald Trump says? Are we so desperate (and have so little trust in the sovereignty of God) that we stand idly by while forests are set ablaze? Do we look the other way, saying, “There’s nothing to see here?” Is doing that any different than us speaking in the same vein?

I am not going to presume to know Trump’s relationship with God, though Jesus did say we would know people by their fruit. I am not even going to fault people for voting for him, considering the choices that have been put before us.

Yes, we have to acknowledge that no authority is established that was not established by God. The authority of the office of President and of any office having any authority, is established by God.

The Emperor of Rome in office when Paul wrote Romans 13:1 was Nero, who was vicious, vindictive, and downright evil. He killed multiple wives and his own children. He burned Christians as street lights in Rome, and he put Paul to death.

Yet, the words of Moses echoed by Paul bid us to respect the office and the person anyway. We must not belittle and dismiss people made in the image of God who sit in seats of authority established by God. God is their judge, and we are not God (or even gods).

We must not celebrate an unbridled tongue. Salt water and fresh water do not come from the same spring. When someone like Donald Trump talks the way they do, we need to take notice. Bad fruit does not come from a good tree.

Christians do not cease being salt and light in a presidential election year (or any other time). If, indeed, we have not lost our flavor, we are God’s ambassadors, and the company we keep, the things we say, and leaders we champion and defend, are part of our witness to the world.

The world Jesus came and laid down his life to save is watching. They can see the fruit also.

This is not about who to vote for. I am not comparing one candidate to another hear. Vote your conscience, but do not remain silent when your candidate is dismissive, disrespectful, and demeaning to other leaders, and do not be that way yourself.

12 thoughts on “A Meditation on Presidential Discourse”

  1. Amen! Amen!! Amen!!!

    for the church, not the public at large…

    I hear ya. That is the phrase that drew me to read your post through.

    Thanx for this.

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  2. “THOSE WHO CANNOT REPAY…” – JESUS
    Posted on1 Day Ago by Agent X

    When you throw a party, don’t invite all your rich friends and family who return the favor inviting you to their parties too. Instead, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind WHO CANNOT REPAY you the favor, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just! (See Luke 14:12-14)

    Those who cannot repay.

    Have you ever preached this?

    Have you ever heard it preached?

    Have you ever lived it?

    This is the word of God. It will edify you, teach you, build you up, rebuke you, and correct you. It will prepare you for THE RESURRECTION. This isn’t fake news; this is news you can use. This is Good News.

    The resurrection is a good time to get repaid. That money you make, save, and invest now? Well… you can’t take it with you. But Luke 14 tells you where/how to pick up a paycheck at the resurrection. So, there is an important financial incentive here!

    What if your pastor preached this too you next Sunday. What if every pastor across the land preached this message next Sunday. What if every Christian in America took it to heart and heeded it come next Monday?

    Do you think the presidential race would be the headline by Saturday?

    Think about it.

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  3. 4 comments

    Agent X · 1 Day Ago
    There are a number of things which come to mind (for me, at least) when contemplating this passage (which rarely comes up for review, in my experience). I might point out one or two in my own comments section.

    For starts, this passage almost – ALMOST – pulls the rug out from under the whole thesis of When Helping Hurts by Corbett and Fikkert and Toxic Charity by Lupton. It certainly puts our nose on a completely DIFFERENT scent!

    For another thing, it makes me think that according to Jesus, those who cannot repay your favor are guests of HONOR in the Age to Come. I almost want to run out and get tee shirts made up with I CANNOT REPAY scrawled across the chest. You have to make a couple theological connections to “get it,” but once you do, you realize it means “I’m Special” in the love language of Jesus. (Probably not a good shirt to wear to the bank or the finance office, but…)

    Thirdly, I am thinking… hmmm… these people, in this passage, are NOT singled out for some charitable endeavor – not one I ever hear of. The thing they will receive from any disciple willing to follow Jesus at his word is NOT money, NOT directions to a soup kitchen, NOT even a sandwich instead of the money, NOT a bag of hygienes, NOT a “gently used” coat, and NOT a ride across town. Instead, they will get an invitation TO A PARTY.

    I sense there is something … hmmm… should we say “therapeutic”? about a party. How about REDEMPTIVE?

    This is a really important insight. We need to explore this carefully. Redemption is our Father’s business, and we, like Jesus, want to be about it.

    But who is being redeemed? The poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind? Are the poor going to cease being poor because they come to your party? Will the crippled, lame, and blind all walk out healed from your party?

    I mean… maybe. Maybe God has that in mind. And it certainly is well within his prerogative to do that. So, don’t discount it out of hand. Okay?

    But the passage gives not indication THAT will be the straightforward result of your invitation. Rather, it says YOU will be repaid the favor. You WILL be repaid the favor AT THE RESURRECTION. That is redemptive! and it’s YOU being redeemed! (A twist you have to look at carefully to see here!)

    I mean, when Jesus goes to Naz in chapter 4 and preaches his campaign kickoff speech to the hometown church as he makes a bid to be King of the Jews, he proclaims the year of the Lord’s welcome, and among the things he points out is how the poor get the gospel preached to them. This is sorta odd sounding IF YOU REALLY THINK about it because the poor and their blessed benefit come in a list of others which seem more straightforwardly helped. The captives get released, the blind get to see, and oppressed get free.

    As a modern American, I wonder if the poor aren’t shortchanged there. They get a good sermon! And we watch Jesus all through the gospels give sight to the blind, cleanse leprosy, make the lame walk, and even raise the dead to life! But the poor get a good sermon. The poor get the good news preached to them.

    Except here in chapter 14, they get invited to your party – ASSUMING YOU HEED Jesus! and then it’s YOU getting repaid the favor BY GOD at the resurrection!

    So, I am sent back looking for the therapeutic impact of party invitations FOR THE POOR here. What exactly is going on when the poor hear the good news AND get invited to a party?

    JUBILEE.

    Can you say JUBILEE?

    What is the goal of your church? Is it to “go to heaven when you die”? Is it to get a candidate elected? Is it to end abortion? Is it a ski trip for your kids??? Is your church a political/social club for people LIKE YOU?

    Or are you working on party plans for JUBILEE?

    Care to talk about it???

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    revmatthewbest · 1 Day Ago
    Instead of this, we end up hearing from one candidate for office “blessed are the rich and smart.” Doesn’t sound much like Jesus to me.

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    Agent X · 22 Hours Ago
    Fo Rio!

    Candidates for office…. Hmmm…

    While I am sure there are complexities my response will not reflect, there are some well-accepted simplicities which it does. So please bear in mind, I understand that.

    Jubilee is not on the ballot. It’s not a “platform” or policy. (Even Israel doesn’t actually observe it. So…)

    As you know, I don’t vote. I pray instead. But that does not mean I am somehow disengaged or have my head in the sand. It means I aim to be humble and trust God.

    Still, like the vast majority of Americans (in fact probably every single one of voting age), I am distressed about the politics. I think our politics stink. I get upset about all of that too.

    Also, like the vast majority of Americans, I have my own ideas about it all.

    I find it particularly grating where one (again, I am oversimplifying) candidate gets the major Jesus endorsement (not actually Jesus himself, but most of the church leaders I otherwise know/respect). Let’s call that the “church” candidate.

    The other is decidedly NOT the “church” candidate (even if Christian and espousing Christian ethics/principles). The other candidate is far more “inclusive” of Buddha, Wicca, Islam, and whoever else to be strictly “Christian.” And I won’t lie, that is troubling to me too, though not as a voter really.

    Keep in mind, despite all the complexities I just pointed out, I still am oversimplifying!

    So, when the oversimplified “Church” candidate behaves in ways, espouses principles which, are OVERTLY contradictory to Christ, I get upset. And the lip service has become astonishingly CHEAP. And when the not-so-church candidate behaves in ways that accord with Christ, especially in some demonstrably deep ways, I am troubled by that too, but excited a little too.

    Keep in mind, NEITHER of these candidates OR the parties they represent come anywhere near the TRUTH of Christ. (More complexity I am oversimplifying.) But I can’t help thinking of Jesus’s parable in Matt 21:28-32 about the two brothers called to the vineyard to work. They neither do as they say, but the one makes claims (lip service) and fails.

    Honestly, I am toying with some new thinking about politics. Convoluted new thoughts, but I am testing them out. I also keep remembering when the GOP skewered John Kerry as a “flip flopper” back in 04. Yet, I watch the GOP flip flop on Trump like nobody’s business. Spineless! Come on Nikki! You coulda had me! Come on Vance! You coulda had me. I’ve listened to what these people said when they were laying out logical statements of principle, and while I never was in lockstep with them, they gained my simpathy.

    But now those who used to bash flip floppers are flipping and flopping like fish out of water on the deck! I am embarrased for them.

    But that’s still not my REAL rub here.

    Caesars come and Caesars go. Neither Peter, Paul, nor Bartholomew make a case for this one or that. They make a case for King Jesus instead. Their religion IS their politic, and they aren’t poling and looking for a vote but for disciples called to the light. They are working for THE CHURCH.

    I go to church today, and I find us all divided, mostly for Trump and getting very flip floppy and spineless to do it.

    That’s not all. Getting back to the strain of the original post, let me say that 20 years ago, I saw this coming. Well, not ALL of this, but a good deal of it. I was naive and hoped God would somehow guide us despite ourselves. If he is doing that, I can’t see it yet.

    But the poor.

    We always have them with us. We were doing good for them too. But I sensed in my bones 20 years ago that my church was watching too much Fox News and chafing at all the good we were doing for the poor. I could plainly see the divide between GOP politics and Jesus ON THIS FRONT. And I danced around this elephant in the room very carefully and quietly trying not to call it out for fear once I did we would all break for FOX NEWS and leave Jesus in a heartbeat.

    Then Corbett and Fikkert wrote their book When Helping Hurts which blew up enough smoke for the church to try and have it BOTH WAYS – God AND Mammon.

    I’ve been standing by THAT exit for 20 years now dreading what Ted Cruz would do to us only to be met by TRUMP who insulted him into the ground and yet made a sycophant of him in the process. (And I was really – REALLY – NOT a Hillary guy either!)

    Just saying.

    At the end of the day, I still want to talk about Jesus AND the poor and find a spine. Caesars come and Caesars go. I don’t have too much to actually say about them. I will try to respect which ever Caesar we get. I will pray for them, whichever. Like anyone else, I prefer one to another, but… that’s above my pay grade sorta.

    The church though… I can speak to THEM, and I can say PULL OUT OF THAT WHORE!

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    revmatthewbest · 22 Hours Ago
    I don’t have much to add. As you know I have a long background in politics. And maybe it’s because I’ve been in the belly of the beast, but ever since then, I haven’t gotten excited about any candidate for office. Maybe because I’ve seen their humanity all too clearly – every candidate’s brokenness, fear, insecurity, and more. And at the same time, I watch the constant drum beat of equating candidates and elected officials as somehow more special than the rest of the population – a type of superhero. The expectation for this bound to fail. No one can live up to it.

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  4. You have some very good insights… “These words from Paul shine a light on what I and many people find so troubling about Donald Trump, and (I am afraid) what so many other people find attractive about him:“

    There are some people that supposedly dreamed God sent Trump. I too believe this… but NOT for the reason these people believe. I believe God DID send Trump… as a test to reveal our true character.. Do we unconditionally love ALL of God’s people… or do we have a cold uncaring heart for our fellow man… conditionally loving only those who we judge as being “worthy”?

    Much of the so-called “bad” things in our lives are really a test… how will each of us respond. God is very much in the “testing” business.

    I think back at the time when I got baptized as an adult. Afterward, my friends threw me a HUGE party… to celebrate. Now consider what happened after Jesus was baptized… a “celebration”?… God, the father, has Satan TEST Jesus. It is even worse then that. I can imagine the conversation God had with Satan. “I want you to test my son… I’ll tell you what.. I don’t want you to have to go out of your way… so I’ll bring him to you. (via the Holy Spirit)”

    Paul says when bad things happen in our lives, we should view this as a GOOD thing…. for we are WORTHY of being tested… just like His son…. This “testing” is really about testing our character. Jesus tells us to “love our enemy… and pray for them”. It is EASY to “love” someone that is “lovable”… but can we TRUELY “love and pray” for our enemy? Sooo what is the hoped-for outcome of this testing?… an opportunity to GROW IN LOVE… which I believe is our primary purpose why God created us. To grow in ANYTHING requires “going through pain’. Think of working out at a gym. After going through the “pain” of the workout, we come out physically stronger.

    So what is our “reward” for going through such pain? To paraphrase the Beatitudes… the “blessed” people are those who get the snot kicked out of them… in this life…. They will be rewarded… either later is this life or in the next life… for the “last shall be first and first shall be last”.

    Our society tends to view those who are rich, successful, great spouse, great home, etc… as being “blessed”… the COMPLETE opposite of who Jesus says are blessed. In our society, we hear we need to pray for the poor. I say we need to PRAY for “the rich” and HELP the poor. Reading Luke 7, we hear the rich are “screwed” in the big picture. We should pray for the rich that God would melt their heart and they would give to the poor.

    Our “test” in today’s troubling times… can we truly “love and pray” for those who have a cold uncaring heart for their fellow man? Can we love and pray for Trump?

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    1. I never prayed for a president more than I did President Trump.

      Hmmm… prayers compelled from within almost twice or three times daily.

      When we finally got President Milquetoast in office, I prayed then too, but with a lot more of a sense of… “Okay, Thanx God. We got this now… Whew!”

      Amen?

      Yeah. Life dripping with irony. Mord drip than life.

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    2. Yes Tom! I agree with you. The test of Trump is whether we would run after him. God gives people over to their desires. If we desire to retain power, influence, and privilege in our society, Trump is our guy. If we want to make America great, Trump is our guy. If we want to take up our crosses and follow Jesus, the way is different. If we want to seek first the kingdom of God (which is NOT of this world), the way is different. I am probably overstating the point here because I leave open the POSSIBILITY that God might use Trump in ways that surprise me. Whether God uses Trump in unexpected ways, I am convinced that the right WAY for Christians is to live our lives as salt and light, being faithful to cultivate the fruits of the spirit in ourselves and our churches (not to engage in the kind of boasting and political rhetoric that we hear from Donald Trump) (Love is kind, and love does not boast.) We are to keep our eyes on Christ as our king, and focus on his instruction to us, which is to spread the good news of the kingdom of God and make disciples to the ends of the earth (not to control earthly kingdoms and not to cling to the power and privilege they promise).

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    1. I think one of the reasons why so many people who call themselves Christian are uncritically supporting and following Trump is precisely because politics in this country has become religious, and it has commanded the affections and loyalties of Americans in place of their First Love. I have been trying to be careful to qualify my criticisms toward people who are uncritical in their support of Trump. I can understand someone who thinks they have no better option than to vote for Trump. (I also understand people who, in good conscience, cannot vote for Trump.) People can vote for him and call him to account at the same time. We can cast our ballot for him and call him out for the destructive and foolish things that he says.

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