Dear friends,
As you all heard me talk about many times before, I listen to podcasts . . . a lot. One of my favorites is the EntreLeadership Podcast hosted by Ken Coleman. Recently he interviewed the entrepreneur Gary Vaynerchuk. During the interview, Gary said something I had to come back and type it up to share it with you.
As you read this quote Replace the word “entrepreneur’ with church or Christian.
“If you are an entrepreneur or in business, not Donald Trump, not Hillary Clinton, Not Barack Obama, not George W. Bush, none of these human beings are going to help or hurt you . . . That is a straight fact . . . I’ve really been running businesses now for twenty years, and there has been absolutely not even a second let alone a day in my life that I thought oh God great thank God Bill Clinton was President when I started this company. . . there’s never been a day when I’ve said oh man Obama has stopped me from being successful. That is loser talk with a triple capital L . . . I feel bad for the person that says, ‘Well if Trump wins or if Hillary wins or Barack wins or if George wins like I’ll be better . . .’ To think that your future rests in the hands of the government, that is a recipe for disaster, and you will turn into a pawn.” (Source: https://www.entreleadership.com/podcasts/144-gary-vaynerchuksecrets-of-growth)
At the end of the day, the person who may or may not be in the White House has no bearing what so ever on our ability to be people of the Kingdom of God. Nor does it change our call to declare to the world “The Kingdom of God is near.” The church will persevere. The will of God will be done. There has never been a day in history when a political leader, no matter how good or bad, made one once of difference on this truth.
Let us not be consumed with fear or anxiety about the future. Let us not place our hope in anyone but Jesus Christ.
Blessings,
Stephen
Pastor Stephen, The Bible says to pray for our leaders. If all Christians stopped praying and threw up their hands, wouldn’t the Devil take over? We have lots of faults but our country is close to the government God set up for Isreal and was founded for the right reasons. Psalms says to pray for the peace of Jerusalem. There are certain people who do right in the eyes of the Lord and those who lead us as a nation into evil like Roe Wade law. I disagree I think a leader makes a huge difference. However, The Kingdom of God is always first and God will have His way. He sometimes even uses evil men to accomplish His will.
Thank you for your comment Phyllis.
Years ago I had the privilege of teaching a college church history course. As would be expected, the course was filled with dates, facts, and figures from the last 2,000 years of church history. Our history is one of many highs and many lows. In the midst of all the things I could have wanted those students to learn from my course, there was one primary learning objective I wanted them to all get: The church will persevere. No political or religious leader has ever or will ever change that simple fact.
What concerns me about how many Christians engage in the political process is we do so placing our hope and sense of security based on who is in the White House. Our hope is found in Jesus alone.
Absolutely prayer for our leaders. Exercise your right to vote. But never forget that our citizenship is with another kingdom and therefore we need never fear or be anxious about who sits in the Whitehouse or in Congress or in the Governer’s Mansion or leads our city. There is nothing they can do to change the truth that the Kingdom of God is near. Our hope is in Jesus and his kingdom.
Stephen