By: The Rev. Dr. W. Ross Blackburn
One of the great temptations for those of us deeply concerned with protecting life is to look to our political leaders to address the tragedy of abortion. Elect a pro-life president and a pro-life congress. Pray for the appointment of pro-life judges. So the pragmatic thinking goes.
We should do all of the above. The call to defend the fatherless and plead for the widow (Isaiah 1:17), which in our day includes the unborn, the single mother, the handicapped and the vulnerable elderly, is a call that rightly finds expression in our political life. But, at the same time, we do not put our trust in princes. Our hope is in the Lord—not in our president, our congress, or our judges. Counterintuitive as it may seem at times, given our political landscape, “the Most High rules over the kingdom of men, and gives it to whom he will” (Daniel 4:25, 32).
This does not always mean that the Lord is always pleased with those to whom He gives authority. Often He is not, and deals accordingly. Sometimes God brings rulers down (Pharaoh, Herod), sometimes He grants repentance and lifts them up (Manasseh, Nebuchadnezzar). The Bible never suggests that God has lost control over His world due to a particular ruler. Even Jesus, before being sentenced to death, told Pilate that his power extended only as far as God allowed. Nor does it mean that rulers will not be called to account. As the alternative reading from Proverbs makes plain, “whoever sows injustice will reap calamity” (Prov. 22:8). The Lord will not turn a blind eye to the oppression of the vulnerable, whether by nations or rulers He has placed in authority.
God loves life. In the end, He is our hope. We do well to remember this, particularly when elections don’t break in the way that honors life. So while we pray and work for leaders that will protect the life of the vulnerable, we don’t put our trust in them. And we don’t despair when leaders hostile to life are elected. Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob.