Bombing For Jesus

I’m sorting through a large stack of old magazines I’ve saved. I’ve obviously picked out an article in each one that is supposed to end up in the cobwebs of my mind, to be used as a reference point some time later in life. God bless my children who may be faced with the task of cleaning out my library. But here it is…staring at me like a thorn in my heal. It has come back to haunt my enraged senses.

Some of my fellow clergy would seek me out and hang me out to dry if I were to utter such nonsense, and no doubt so would parishioners, friends, and acquaintances too. So, George Bush believes that God told him to invade Afghanistan and Iraq. 'Amen!' cry the flag-wavers. 'Heaven help us!' sigh the secularists. 'Hell's Bells' mutter many of the Christians around the world who don't have access to the Whitehouse hotline to Heaven.

Whatever we think of President Bush's words, uttered in private to Palestinian leaders last June and reported in papers and magazines around the world, we dismiss them carelessly at our peril. For they're not just the deluded rantings of a religious nutter, or even the insincere burblings of a silver-tongued con-man.

The Commander in Chief calmly and (in one sense) rationally believes what he says to be true, what he hears to be right, and what he does to be justified. In fact, there are millions of people across the world who claim that God speaks to them - whether they're scientists, artists, politicians, or priests.

But the problem comes, perhaps, when we appropriate God for our own cause. It's easier, on one level, to hear God say 'Treat yourself to a new car' than 'Sell your second car and give the cash to the poor.' That's why anything we feel we hear from above, or inside, or wherever it comes from, should be treated humbly and measured carefully against the broad and sound sweep of the Bible's teaching.

In the case of George Bush, alarm bells ring when he takes the words of Jesus - 'If you are not for me, you are against me' - and applies them to himself and his 'war' on terror. A little theology is a dangerous thing. He's turned the battle between good and evil into one between 'US and them.' Yet, to paraphrase Alexander Solzhenitsyn, 'The Gospel teaches that the line separating good and evil runs not between nations, but inside every human heart.' Including the heart of the president. There is no more 'us and them.' Jew or Gentile. Britain, American, or Iraqi. We all stand equally before God in strength and in weakness.

I, just as with anyone else, have no right to challenge what President Bush did or did not hear, nor from whom it came. But it's difficult not to feel most suspicious of the person who claims to hear God speaking most loudly and clearly, when it comes to matters that involve political dogma, or acts that will kill countless numbers of innocent children, women, and people who haven't even any understanding of world politics. What would happen months down the road if he were to have heard crackle through a moment of silence 'sorry, those were just the onions you ate last night'?

Yes, absolutely, God talks to me too. I hear Him speak through the suffering I see throughout Moldova and Romania, which enrages my heart to work harder, I see Him through the charity of others, through the morning sunrise and sunset, through the life and death of Christ, and through countless seconds of wonderment that embrace and inspire me throughout the day.

I've even heard Him, most clearly, through the message I saw printed on a T-shirt:

'Who would Jesus bomb?'

Loving Father, we pray for our government leaders. Embrace those who are not yet Your own. Give those in authority wisdom in every decision, and help them to think clearly. Grant them discernment and common sense so they'll be strong and effective leaders. (Titus 3:5; James 1:5; Proverbs 3:21)

Help them to lead and govern with integrity, and may their integrity guide them and keep them on a steady keel. (1 Kings 9:4; Proverbs 11:3a; Psalm 78:72; 1 Timothy 2:1–4)

Be merciful to give us leaders who are Spirit-filled and follow Your principles. Direct their steps according to Your Word— for their decisions have a great impact on our lives! (Ephesians 5:18b; Psalm 119:105, 133a)

Be their defender and protector, keeping them always on guard. Help those who are Christians to be strong and courageous, standing firm in their faith and influencing others for Your kingdom. Encourage and strengthen them, giving them the wisdom they require. Help them to have courage and faith in You, no matter what they're facing day-to-day. (Proverbs 23:11; Psalm 41:2a; 1 Corinthians 16:13; Deuteronomy 1:38; 3:28; 2 Chronicles 1:10a; Acts 27:22, 25)

We pray this in Christ's name. Amen.

Perhaps We Just Need a Little Faith in DOG!