August 24 – A Political Leader Can Be Spiritual but a Spiritual Leader Can Never Be Political
Matthew 22:21: They said, “Caesar’s.” Then He said to them, “Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”
It is a good for a world leader to be spiritual, pray and seek the good for his/her nation. Such a good king, one great king was King David who prayed a lot, compassionate, very spiritual, forgiving and brought Israel up in those days. Ashoka, was a great spiritual king, the story of a cruel and ruthless king who converted to Buddhism after the terrible War of Kalinga where he witnessed the horrors and inhumanity of war. He thereafter established a reign of virtue, goodness and tolerance.The Jews thought Jesus had come to build a political kingdom and overthrow the Romans, but this was not so. Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, My people would fight to prevent My arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now My kingdom is from another place.”
Christianity was never meant to create a kingdom on Earth, but call people to the Kingdom of Heaven, eternal values had to keep them, not earthly ones. Thus, a spiritual leader should never be political or it will lead to great evil:
Dangers of Politicized Spiritual Leaders:
They think they are infallible. They proclaim they are the voice of God, but every human is fallible. Romans 3:10: As it is written: Jeremiah 17:9 “The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is?How can we trust a man who proclaims he is from God and do anything in the name of his religion? Ambition and greed takes over and pollutes his/her heart. We see that easily today and in history.
The rise of the many radicalized spiritual leaders over a nation has never been healthy. Religious groups radicalize their claims and in that get the license to do anything. There is a superstition among people in authority that if they stand up against the religious leader, something bad will happen to them. The courts in those countries are silent. Once the courts are bought, justice is denied. Justice denied will cause the rise of a new generation of terrorists, leaders, remember this!
People are initially silent because of fear. Fear of the governments, the courts, prison, murder, and rights snatched away. But silence finally bursts forth like a dam. If a country is silenced, one day, the dam will break open and the damage will be cathartic. See nations that rose after the iron curtain was lifted. The iron curtain cannot remain closed forever. A revolution starts, which can also bring a lot of destruction and death. So leaders have to learn to keep a balance. While religious leaders can be in politics, they should pray and serve the nation, honestly, but a spiritual leader to dabble in politics will bring disaster.
The dirty waters of politics do more damage to a spiritual leader than a natural political leader because the spiritual political leader tries to manipulate, control and twist truth under the guise of the Voice of God, and in the end, they will destroy a nation. Was it worth it all? And God will hold them doubly accountable and they will pay a heavier price. Remember this.
Rita
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