Some members of my congregation are overjoyed on this day. They have felt like the Jews felt coming out of Egypt, that they have dwelt for many years in slavery and now they are free. To you I say: Our government was designed to be difficult to change because the Founders understood that a fast-changing government is difficult to live under. Do not expect too much too quickly, for even in a government ruled by one party, it only takes the 3 Republican senators most disloyal to the leadership to stop any bill, or the single least loyal "conservative" justice to block implementation of a bill.
Some members of my congregation are deeply frightened this day. They expect that a new Kristalnacht will appear at any moment, the night when Hitler began his attack upon the Jews. They expect a dictatorship. To you I say: Our government was designed to be difficult to change because the Founders understood that a fast-changing government is difficult to live under. Do not expect too much too quickly, for even in a government ruled by one party, it only takes the 3 Republican senators most disloyal to the leadership to stop any bill, or the single least loyal "conservative" justice to block implementation of a bill.
Change will happen, but it will be gradual, incremental change, for there are many forces at work in Washington, D.C., all of whom have their own agendas. In many ways, it is as though we now have four political parties: Populist/Conservative Republicans, Middle-of-the-Road Republicans, Liberal Democrats, and a few Middle-of-the-Road Democrats. Every one of those people in Congress already knows exactly how the people in their districts back home voted, whether for Trump, for Clinton, for Sanders, for Cruz, for Kasich, for Rubio, for another candidate. They know how many people voted Green and how many voted Libertarian, and they are, in general, rather smart individuals. They know who contributes to their campaigns and who doesn't. And so, like any man or woman who works for a living, they know who they need to keep happy - and who they doesn't matter. And so, they will do what they have done for many years - they will vote the party line on some things, and against their party on other things. They will make changes to bills in committee meetings, through staffers, through negotiations at dinner parties, and in the end, some good changes will come out of it - but extreme changes will not happen quickly, for the system is not designed to allow rapid change except when everyone is shocked to action, as when Pearl Harbor was bombed and a divided government declared war and made the necessary appropriations within a week.
And behind this all are the directions given to us by God through the Apostle Paul's writing in Romans Chapter 13:
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. Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves.For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and you will be commended. For the one in authority is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God’s servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also as a matter of conscience.
This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, who give their full time to governing. Give to everyone what you owe them: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.
And also in I Timothy Chapter 2:
While it may be proper and a matter of conscience to protest an injust law or an act of injustice, it is not proper to protest against a man simply because you did not want him to be elected, no matter what his past conduct or words has been. For, as many historians have noted, the office changes the man. King David was a different man than David the shepherd. Wait until we see what laws and actions occur first. There will be plenty of time for protesting if that is needed.
In the 1950's, there was a Senator named Joe McCarthy who held hearings about possible Communists in the American government and media. At first, these were serious inquiries about who might be trying to seriously act as foreign agents. With the celebrity that McCarthy received, however, the hearing degenerated into a circus where many innocent people or people who had long since walked away from their flirtations with Communism were encountering serious repercussions simply by being accused.
Eventually a well-respected man, Edward R Murrow, a broadcaster and reporter who had previously observed and reported but stayed politically neutral, stood up and denounced McCarthy. Because Murrow had stayed neutral and had kept his reputation of being above politics, his denouncement influenced many people on both sides of the McCarthy issue and McCarthy's hearings fell apart. But if he had prematurely denounced McCarthy, if Murrow had previously been associated with one side or the other in the daily politics of the day, Murrow would not have had his moral power.
This is how we are to be as the church. The more political issues we get involved in during the day-to-day slug-fest, the more likely it is that when we really have something important to say about something very important to many people, the less likely it is that anyone will listen to us. It is the man or woman who is above daily politics that makes the difference when he or she speaks.
So, Christian, watch, listen, and wait. Don't rush to support Mr. Trump, but don't rush to denounce him either. Wait until you get a solid sense of the tone of the administration, what is happening, what is important - and what is just smoke for the media. And then, after remaining quiet and being seen as wise, speak only if it will make a real difference to the people around you, those people who hopefully have seen in you the wisdom and patience and peace that Christ expects of a mature believer.
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