Christian Responsibility and the Inauguration

At noon today Donald Trump took the oath of office and became president of the United States. Barack Obama greeted and applauded the new president. Among those present were past presidents Carter, Clinton, and Bush. Each of those past presidents opposed the candidacy of Donald Trump; all honored his inauguration.

Forty years ago, I came to understand how unusual and how precious that is.

In November 1976, Jimmy Carter defeated incumbent Gerald Ford in a close election (Ford would have won had he received about 11,000 additional votes in Ohio and 15,000 additional votes in Mississippi). Two months later, I traveled to western Kenya to teach secondary school. My students were particularly interested in the recent inauguration. After one of my first classes, a group stayed afterwards to discuss American politics. They asked me:

“Why did Gerald Ford leave office?”

That seemed a strange question. I replied, matter-of-factly, “Because he lost the election.”

“Yes, we know he lost the election. But why did he leave office?”

That is: Why did the man holding the most powerful office in the world, the commander in chief of the most powerful military in the world, voluntarily step down from power rather than wielding that power to remain in office?

Kenya, a scant thirteen years after independence, had never experienced a change of presidents. There was no history of peaceful transition of power among presidents in Kenya – or anywhere else in Africa. Indeed, there was little faith in Kenya’s constitution, little of the faith on display at the Capitol today: The faith in the democratic system of government. We Americans have more faith in Democracy than we have in our preferred parties and candidates. We believe that even if our preferred candidate loses, even if the winner advocates ideas we abhor, we should not try to subvert the election process. We believe we are better off fighting back in the next election.

My Kenyan students didn’t understand that; they did not realize that had Ford tried to remain in power despite the election results, 99 percent of those who voted for him would have opposed him.

So, two exhortations:

First: No matter whom you supported in the primaries or the general election, no matter whether you think Donald Trump is a great hope for our country or a great danger, thank God that you live in a country where such peaceful transitions take place. Thank God that past presidents of both parties publicly welcomed the new president. Thank God for His mercy in allowing this country to continue these democratic traditions despite our many sins and failures.

Second: Remember these words of the Apostle Paul, quoted today at the inauguration by Franklin Graham:

I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all (1 Timothy 2:1-6a).

Paul urges us to pray for those in high positions of civil authority. Why? So that instead of having life and livelihood threatened daily by government officials or marauding bands, we might live peaceful lives of witness to the truth of our Lord Jesus, proclaiming His redemption and living out His love.

Remember: Paul wrote these words when Nero was emperor of Rome. He prayed for the emperor and commanded others to pray for the emperor not out of political support, but out of Christian obligation.

So regardless of your politics, pray for President Trump. Pray for the Vice President, for cabinet officials, for others of high position. Pray for wisdom. Pray for repentance. Pray for humility. Pray for peace in our land and effectiveness in bringing peace around the world.

And pray that in this peace, the Gospel might go forth as a testimony to all nations, so that the end may then come (Matthew 24:14), and our Lord might return, ushering in His eternal Kingdom of righteousness and peace – the ultimate, once-and-for-all transition of power. Even so, come Lord Jesus.

 

A Prayer for the Inauguration

[President-elect Obama has asked Pastor Rick Warren to pray at his inauguration. Dan Phillips at the pyromaniacs blog asked several well-known pastors and theologians to let him know if they would pray at this setting if asked and, if so, what they would say.  The first (really excellent) response is from John Frame; the second is from our friend Thabiti Anyabwile. Dan did not ask me(!), but here is my prayer for the inauguration.  For a version of this prayer that is easier to print, follow this link. – Coty]

Faithful Creator, Holy Sovereign, Righteous Father:

To you belong all power and all might. You raise up rulers on this earth, and you bring them down. You enable governments to flourish, and you remove them from the face of the earth.

Although we knew this, we have turned away from You, the fountain of living water, and have sought to quench our thirst from our own stagnant, broken cisterns. We have looked away from Your glory and have delighted in our own. Though You have showered us with blessings and have shown us Yourself in all we see, we have suppressed our knowledge of You and pretended that we control our own destiny.

Yet despite our sinfulness, in Your mercy over the last two centuries You have granted this country increasing prosperity and unequaled power. You have blessed us with liberty and, with all our faults, have allowed us to stand as a worldwide symbol of freedom. You are healing, as pictured in part by the election of this president, much of the prejudice that once bound us. Though we deserve Your judgment, You have maintained and sustained this government of the people, by the people, and for the people. Through the prayers of many, You have provided widespread confidence in our electoral system – so that those who voted for and against our new president can share this stage. We thank You once again for this peaceful transition of power.

Our world today faces numerous difficulties that will test this man deeply. So we ask that you give to President Obama a heart that fears You and trembles at Your Word. In this way grant him wisdom to discern the right choices, and strength of character to stand firm when those choices are questioned. Yet together with that strength, grant him humility of spirit to consider others more highly than himself. Protect him from the arrogance that so often comes with power. Give him faithful friends and advisers who will love him enough to reprove him and rebuke him. Prepare him for the unexpected challenges ahead – challenges that You alone know are coming.

Though we pray for our president, we know that ultimately, You alone are the answer to our problems. So we ask You to work in the lives of our brothers and sisters who have lost jobs, who have lost homes, who have lost loved ones, who suffer from oppression and poverty. Use even these tragedies for their good through Your great wisdom. We ask for strength and endurance for our sons and daughters fighting wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as for those fighting AIDS and malaria in Africa – but we ask all the more for the light of Your Gospel to shine in these dark places, ending these wars and overcoming these diseases. We pray similarly for perseverance for those serving the homeless in our cities, and those working with migrant laborers in our farms – and ask that there too, and in every place of pain and suffering, the love and mercy found only through Your Son might be declared verbally and lived out practically.

Thank you, O Lord, for Your undeserved mercy on this people. Bring us to repentance, O Lord. Open our eyes to our sinfulness and to Your great power to save. Enable us to call upon the mercy found only in Your Son. Forgive us by His blood, for You are the God of grace.

To you is due all glory, all praise, and all honor.

In the Name of Jesus I pray,

Amen.