Regardless of who we voted for... If we want to know whether or not we have Godly leaders, all we have to do is look at the way they treat the vulnerable and the oppressed.
Some thoughts on Psalm 146...
“The Lord keeps faith forever,
secures justice for the oppressed,
gives food to the hungry.
The Lord sets captives free…
The Lord protects the stranger.
The fatherless and the widow He sustains…”
--Psalm 146
How often do we hear these words and simply let them wash over us like “white noise.” They go in one ear and out the other-- the blah blah blah of ceremonial language, church talk, meaningless words of theoretical praise. Even if we hear them as scripture or as something possed of "the truth," we might pay little attention because of their familiarity. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Get on with it... Tell me something new. I’ve heard all this before.
And yes, we have heard time and again about God’s concern for the widow and the orphan, God’s care for the oppressed and the captive… even the stranger. And so, perhaps, we nod in assent but don’t bother to ask ourselves: What does this really mean?
Like Job, and the author of Ecclesiastes, we may even find ourselves looking around and seeing the hungry and thirsty begging on street corners, or read in the news about widows and orphans in Gaza or Ukraine or captives held in an overcrowded prison. If we take these lines seriously, we may (like those ancient authors) wonder: Where is this God?
But, what if we read these words not as something akin to an advertisement for God, but as clues to where and how we might recognize God in the world, God’s presence and God’s love at work. What if we read in them portents and signs for how we can find God in our own daily life? And how we can recognize God’s presence in the actions of others.
Where the hungry are being fed—there is God.
Where the widow and the orphan and the stranger are being protected—there is God.
Where the oppressed are given justice—there is God.
This isn't a Democrat or Republican thing. Liberal or Conservative. No party has a lock on compassion or justice or Godliness.
This is a question to be asked not just of a party, but of each individual who hopes to lead our nation, our world.
Perhaps the psalmist is reminding us, if we really want Godly leaders, we already know what to do. Look at how they treat the vulnerable, the hungry and the oppressed.
And you will know if God is there.
