Remembered With Favor

Friday, September 30, 2011
Reading: Nehemiah 5:12-19
Reflection: This is an amazing passage given our present political context. Now, don't get me wrong...I am not seeking to us a devotional blog to attack a particular political party. It seems inappropriate for me to do that. What I am saying is that today's politicians seem to use their position and their people to advance their own power and increase their own wealth. Nehemiah did the opposite. He never ate the food that was allotted to him as the governor. Now, that doesn't mean he didn't eat. He certainly did. And he also fed many others. But he used his own money to do so. In addition, he refused to acquire any land and the wealth that comes with it. In essence, he used his position to empower the people rather than using the people to empower himself. Now, we may wish that our own politicians would do that. However, it's unlikely that they will...and do you know why? Because in our natural state we would all use people for self advancement. But Nehemiah has a power beyond his natural state. Nehemiah is motivated by his faith in God . We are clearly told that Nehemiah did what he did because of his reverence for and desire to be positively remembered by his God. It was his faith, not his willpower, that allowed him to act rightly. So, rather than wishing our politicians would be different, maybe we should start praying that they would come to faith. Maybe we should pray that they would submit their lives to Christ and be filled by his Spirit. Then...and maybe only then...will they act not out of their natural ambition but a supernatural motivation. Maybe then their desire would not be to acquire wealth and power, but would seek to be remembered as righteous by the God they serve.