Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain?…“As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill.” (Ps 2:1,6)
The temperature of the political rhetoric has been escalating for quite a while from both democrats and republicans. We have just learned about the bombs sent in the mail to several prominent democratic leaders. At this point we do not know who is behind this, but I’m sure we will find out very soon. Like the shooting of Republican House Majority Whip, Steve Scalise of Louisiana on June 14, 2017, (and several others), this was the action of an individual or group of individuals who violated the law by threatening or harming human life because of political rage.
Why this rage? God raises the question in Psalm 2 not because he does not know why, but to show the futility and danger of violating God’s rule. We are one country under God, however divided we might be about the best paths for moving our country forward. Healthy and respectable debate is a necessary and helpful part of the process in our democracy. Freedom of speech is no license for the verbal assassination of character or of resorting to violence.
When Paul speaks to a divided church, his counsel is much like Psalm 2. Christ, God’s king, has lived and died for sinners and is seated upon his throne offering grace and mercy and love to all who will receive it. Our calling as Christians is to share that good news with others in a way that displays a more excellent way (I Corinthians 13).
