Politics concerns power. It concerns the manipulation of power; it concerns the legitimacy of authority; it concerns different ideologies which influence the direction and the way in which power is applied. It concerns control by certain human beings over other human beings.
Politics has an impact on us all, especially via laws, regulations and their enforcement. Politics becomes particularly significant for us all in times of crisis, or perceived crisis. Right now, politicians are telling us that there is a world crisis caused by Covid 19. Therefore they must take extraordinary powers to combat this mortal threat.
But what they are doing, how and why, throws into sharp relief the mindset and preconceptions at work in politics today. It throws into relief the nature of politics and the extremes to which it goes to claim control over our everyday lives.
Politics inevitably reflects the values and assumptions of the time. We see this today across a world now obsessed with Materialism, a Materialism which defies all other norms, traditions and national or cultural boundaries.
Such is the power of this religious philosophy that even places of worship were closed down in obedience to government. In a society convinced of God’s existence that is unthinkable; it is akin to treason against the Author of life itself. But in societies preoccupied by Materialism, the very idea of God is a superstitious, archaic irrelevance.
That is the problem with politics. The Creator does not exist, and therefore cannot help. Human beings alone can determine how to view the world and how to solve its problems.
That is a massive and fundamental shift of perception, of cultural paradigm and therefore of human action. Human beings alone now perceive issues, according to their predilections, desires and capabilities. God is irrelevant.
But of course for the God believing, God is at the centre of all. God is at the centre of this Covid crisis. God can solve this problem because God is the Source of life, God is the Sustainer of life, and God is the Summation of life. A crisis like this is not outside the perception and power of God – it is within God’s capacity either to prolong or to rescind this crisis. In fact, a crisis of such magnitude ought to tell us that God is telling us something.
God is telling us that God is God – not men. That if we want to solve our problems we must go to God. Mere men are finite and self absorbed. God is not. The key facts of the Covid crisis speak volumes about human shortcomings and inadequacy. And they point us to the fundamental need to observe God’s guidance, not shun it or mock it.
For example, humans have created this crisis. It sprang from the failure to contain the virus in China. Whether it originates in a laboratory, or whether it jumped from infected animals to humans in a wet market in Wuhan, it manifestly demonstrates the failure of human beings to behave responsibly. And the initial denial and cover up by the Chinese authorities merely confirms human failure.
This is all prima facie evidence of human failing. It is evidence of rebellion against God’s most basic Rules – Rules written in the moral conscience of every human being. The 9th Commandment of the Old Testament states explicitly, Thou shalt not bear false witness. The very 1st Commandment states, Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
Politicians have usurped the place of god at every step of this crisis. From lying and cover-up through to taking away the freedom of thought and action from ordinary people over their own every day lives. GOVERNMENTS demand obedience to faulty policies and dubious practices, as if these were the fundamental Truths of our existence.
Governments shut down the places for the worship of our Creator. Such is their contempt for our Creator; such is their contempt for those who know their need of God.
Those who acknowledge their Maker, know that God has allowed such nonsense to grip governments. They know that human beings are manifestly foolish and deceitful. They know that the ultimate answer to this problem is not official propaganda and the vast profits of multi-national drug companies; it is not the desperate counter measures of control by closure – all of which merely makes the condition of our society, economy and politics far, far worse.
The foolishness of the self deified MAN takes one serious problem in one particular domain – ie healthcare – and multiplies it, creating a man made crisis across every other domain of life. The economic cost is yet to be ascertained, but we know it has undermined the position of millions of the already hard pressed poor. And we know, too, that it has fabulously enriched the richest on the planet – the very people who do not need yet more wealth.
What was a serious problem in the health domain has been turned by men who think they can act like God into an unprecedented and comprehensive disaster. But a disaster which human beings in governments continue to tell us was unavoidable, and they had no choice but to act like God.
Men have put themselves in the place which only God can occupy. They demand mastery over life and death. That prerogative no longer belongs to God. And the price they are prepared to pay is to sacrifice the livelihoods, individual dignity, and the liberty of countless millions.
By playing God, they demonstrate they are incapable of being God. Terrible consequences follow when mere men play at god. Yet they expect us not only to acquiesce in their foolishness, they demand that we obey unquestioningly. They demand we reject our Maker and reject God’s expectations. Instead, they demand we treat government diktat as divine – to be obeyed as if our lives depended on it !
They reject the most fundamental truth about our existence. God gave us life; God gives us life; God has the Right to take our mortal life.