Praying for Wisdom in our Leaders

     God led Paul to write to Timothy the following statement, “First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men,  for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.  (1 Timothy 2:1-3, NASB)  It is one that we need to heed—especially in light of the current problems that we are facing as a nation—and the way that our leadership is choosing to lead us in the midst of them.

     As a nation, we are facing difficult times.  It is during those times that a leader has the greatest opportunity to lead.  It was during such times that we watched great leaders like Winston Churchill rise to lead in extraordinary ways.  It was in those times that the greatest leaders led their people to pull together and face the problems they faced with a unified front.  Unfortunately for us—our current leadership is not following their lead.  Instead of pulling our nation together—they are pitting one group against another for their own selfish interests.  What I am referring to is our current president’s practice of encouraging class warfare in light of the crises we face.  Jesus told us that a house divided against itself will not stand.  I can only hope that our current administration will read these words and cease fanning the flames of social conflict in our land.

     There is a conscious effort by President Obama to pit the rich against the poor.  In the midst of growing unrest, he and others in the Democrat party are encouraging protests that are attempting to further increase this growing rift in our nation.  Whether or not you agree with his economics—one thing is certain—this will not turn out well in the end. 

     There were two revolutions in the 1700’s that radically changed the politics of our world.  One was the American Revolution.  It’s purpose was to spread freedom.  The other was the French Revolution, which was supposed to be about freedom, but which degenerated into class warfare in the end.  One led to what is arguably the greatest spread of freedom in history—while the other wound up shedding copious amounts of blood as well as precipitating a period of chaos ending in a totalitarian state that severely limited freedom. 

     Why do we need to pray?  Because if we continue on this path of pitting one against another “within” our society    economically, it will only be a matter of time and political desperation until the next step will be pitting one race against another.  The leaders who today want to divide us on financial lines—will in the near future step up their rhetoric to    divide us on racial lines.  If you think things are problematic now with the encouragement of class warfare—wait until they begin encouraging racial conflict as well.  We need to pray for wisdom to prevail—and—we need to do all we can as the church to heal these divides—not further encourage them.  This is why I urge you to follow the admonition of Paul to young Timothy.  It is a time for us to pray—and pray diligently for cooler, wiser heads to prevail in the halls of leadership.