CLARITY
A Biblical Response to Current Events – 4-30-19
Free Will is Preferred
What’s Happening: “What administration officials may be saying is “It seemed like a good idea at the time.” I’m referring to publicly backing Juan Guiado instead of Maduro in Venezuela, thinking surely there would be regime change by now. And there is no doubt that hyperinflation and mass starvation, to say nothing of the mass exodus of over one million Venezuelans to neighboring countries, have taken their toll. But no one thought the support of Cuba, Russia, and China would encourage the military sufficiently for the government to last this long (https://nationalinterest.org/feature/washingtons-woeful-maduro-miscalculation-55007). Quoting from the above-linked article by Reuters’ Ted Carpenter: ‘An increasingly annoyed and uneasy U.S. government has tightened already onerous economic restrictions on Venezuela. U.S. officials appear worried that Guaido’s bid for power is faltering—a concern that is well-founded.’ It’s not that nation-building hasn’t been tried before – it’s just that it never turns out well.”
Knee-Jerk Response: “Maybe we should take a hint and quit trying the impossible.”
Biblical Response: “Or maybe realize it’s multi-generational…you see, God prefers Free Will. Sure, our Founders could have mandated capitalism and Christianity. England and much of Europe had tried that before. It just led to bloody wars. Mandated faith is not real faith at all (the Crusades, with its mass false-conversions of Muslims at the point of the sword, should have taught us that). In America, they decided that Freedom of Religion was to be preferred…that man would eventually choose Christianity from the basis of its inherent superiority. Sure, England tried to export democracy everywhere it went (and it worked in India – but not for several generations – India today is the world’s largest democracy). You have to be committed for the long haul, because God prefers Free Will (Josh. 24:15). Whether we can be committed for that long in Venezuela remains to be seen.”
“Christians? We believe in Free Will, Choosing foolishly has its negative consequences (Deut. 28:15-45) and choosing wisely its positive consequences (Deut. 28:1-14). Believe me, there’s a law at work (Gal. 6:7). Doing according to that law, however, requires patience.”
Here’s a Prayer You Can Pray: “Heavenly Father, help us to be willing to pay the costs of persistence and patience; in Jesus’ Name, amen.”
Share as you like, just give credit appropriately. For buying any of Alan E. Sargent’s books or to subscribe or to comment on any of his CLARITY blogs, go to the following link: http://subdeo.com.’ He also tweets on Twitter.com every day @alanesargent