March 22, 2023
Is there an echo in here? Welcome to this week's edition of The Equipped, which includes a couple stories that could make you anxious. But there is an "echo" in these stories, and if you and I can push through the unease that one or both of these stories may cause, I think we will find an eternal perspective through which to view them both. Oh, and let's not forget the pipping and the zipping! You say you don't know what that is? You are about to find out!
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The True
Choose to Stand with the Vulnerable
You are drawn to powerful people. I am easily captivated by the rich, the famous, and the rulers among us. But scripture, as its beautiful, poetic, and counter-intuitive nature is so inclined to do, directs your concern and mine to the exact opposite end of that power structure. Time and time again, we are called to the vulnerable, and to those who can do nothing to advance your cause or reward my kindness.
Proverbs 14:31 is a particularly stark illustration: “Whoever oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors God.”
When I fail to stand with the vulnerable, God equates that with contempt for Him! How incredibly sobering! On the other hand, you honor and associate with your God when you choose to stand in solidarity with the vulnerable. This is challenging, because a choice to stand with the oppressed very often means drawing the ire of the oppressor—the powerful.
You and I are naturally attracted to the powerful due to basic self-interest. But in reality, when you and I choose to instead stand in the place of the vulnerable, we find security in God's care. It is yet another example of the beautiful, poetic, and counter-intuitive nature of God’s Kingdom.
U.S.
Imminent Arrest?
Former President Trump announced over the weekend that he expected to be indicted and arrested within a few days, and called on his supporters to protest. The investigation in question is being handled by the Manhattan district attorney’s office and involves hush money payments allegedly made during the 2016 presidential election. While it remains unclear whether an indictment and arrest are indeed imminent, security precautions are being taken at both Trump Tower and Manhattan Criminal Court.
Analysis: Jesus followers should be mindful that every investigation or prosecution of a public official has potential to be politically motivated, and our justice system entitles every defendant to a presumption of innocence. At the same time, both the Old Testament (Lev. 19:15) and the New Testament (1 Tim. 5:21) instruct us to guard against partiality in the administration of justice. Our feelings about a particular public official should not determine our posture toward the appropriateness or legality of their actions.
U.S.
Payments from China?
The U.S. House Oversight and Accountability Committee released a memo alleging that at least three members of President Biden’s family, including the President’s son Hunter Biden, received payments that were linked to China and amounted to a total of more than $1 million. This is the latest in a long line of inquiries into Hunter Biden’s international business dealings, but it marks perhaps the most significant and detailed accounting of potentially problematic compensation.
Analysis: Jesus followers should be mindful that every investigation or prosecution of a public official has potential to be politically motivated, and our justice system entitles every defendant to a presumption of innocence. At the same time, both the Old Testament (Lev. 19:15) and the New Testament (1 Tim. 5:21) instruct us to guard against partiality in the administration of justice. Our feelings about a particular public official should not determine our posture toward the appropriateness or legality of their actions.
(Is there an echo in here?)
World
Show of Force
Chinese President Xi JinPing made a highly anticipated trip to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Monday. It was Xi’s first international trip since being sworn in for a third term, and the two leaders did not shy away from the symbolic message sent by the Kremlin meeting. To the contrary, they defined each other as “dear friends,” and the alliance as having “no limits.”
The high profile meeting took place while Putin’s invasion of Ukraine continues, and just after the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Putin on charges of war crimes.
Consider: Who are the vulnerable in this situation? Among them are certainly those being ravaged by the horrors of war in Ukraine. Religious minorities under the thumb of the Chinese Communist Party are also extremely vulnerable. While there are a number of complicated policy questions to resolve in both Ukraine and China, you can make an eternal difference by standing in the gap for at least these two vulnerable people groups. President Putin has tremendous moral culpability for the war in Ukraine and President Xi bears responsibility for prioritizing his grasp on power over the wellbeing of the vulnerable he governs.
The Beautiful
Pipping and Zipping
Pipping and zipping. I’m hearing it in the background as I write. It is hatching day on the Bennett farm, which means that the eggs in the incubator are starting to burst into life. First is the “pipping,” as the new chicks begin to peck a small hole through their egg. This is accompanied by a small chirping, which rapidly becomes a chorus! Then it is time for “zipping,” during which the chick rotates inside the egg while pecking in order to “unzip” the shell. A mighty struggle then ensues until, suddenly, the chick is free of its bonds and into the outside world—or at least the incubator. This unleashes a cycle of frantic activity, followed by a death-like exhaustion from the exertion, then more frantic activity. As is true for the newly born of many species, this struggle is necessary for survival. It is just one of countless ways that our Creator designed the beauty of life to intermingle with a necessary struggle.
Our sermon this week included Job 12, in which Job describes how God’s wisdom is contained within the beauty of His creation: “But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds in the sky, and they will tell you; or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish in the sea inform you. Which of all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this? In his hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind.” (Job 12:7-10)
In our little corner of the world, through the pipping and the zipping, God’s hand has formed new life, His breath has filled that life, and it is indeed beautiful!
You were made for more than simply consuming the "news." You were made to identify the vulnerable in your world, and to carry rescue to them. As you and I encounter struggle this week, let's look for how to draw the beauty from within that struggle.
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