Mouthpieces

As Joshua faithfully assumed the mantle of leadership for the Israelites following the death of Moses, he was charged by God to rely on His Word and to draw strength from Him. We can read in Joshua chapter 1 these words, spoken by God to Joshua:
8 This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.
9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go."

God's Word brings life to our hearts and direction to our minds. Through the pages of the Scriptures, we can find the wisdom we need in order to navigate this world.  We can have confidence in the Lord as we discover more about Him and we can be bold to speak and to do what the Scriptures say.  The presence of His Word in our hearts produces strength and enables us to reject fear and do what He calls us to do, being reminded daily that He goes with us.

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The two verses that are found at the beginning of Proverbs 28 can be a clarion call to the Church to rise up and be bold, to embrace and speak the truth. We can find these words:
1 The wicked flee when no one pursues, But the righteous are bold as a lion.
2 Because of the transgression of a land, many are its princes; But by a man of understanding and knowledge Right will be prolonged.

In the name of tolerance, the Church, which has been called to display the righteousness of God, to be His ambassadors, has not spoken out forcefully enough about godless ideologies. Robert Gagnon of Houston Christian University noted in a tweet recently: "The President of El Salvador is doing the right thing in stopping the teaching of gender ideology in public schools and universities." He cites a "need to prioritize stopping the soul-destroying war against children" that certain "regimes (national, state, and local) are imposing through forcible indoctrination in 'gay' and 'trans' ideology and the compelled speech that goes with it."

The President's name is Nayib Bukele, and a website called, El Pais, reports that he "has attacked gender theory and has decided that it shouldn’t be included in the public education system of the Central American country. Bukele has said that he won’t allow '[gender] ideologies in schools and colleges,' and the Ministry of Education has announced that it will implement the controversial president’s decision. 'Confirmed: we have removed all traces of gender ideology from public schools,' was the response posted on social media by Minister of Education José Mauricio Pineda.

The article notes:

The controversial decision made by the Salvadoran government comes after Bukele said — during the recent Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) that was held in the United States — that he considers it “important that the curriculum doesn’t [include] gender ideology and all these [other] things.” He stated that “parents should be informed and have a say in what their children are going to learn.” Bukele had already expressed his rejection of abortion and same-sex marriage.

So, what's driving this action?  Well, last fall, WORLD Magazine ran an article about Bukele's propensity to quote Scripture in public appearances. The article states: "Bukele, whose crackdown on crime has raised accusations of rights violations, makes frequent references to God and quotes the Bible though he does not claim to belong to any particular religion. He is descended from Palestinian Christian immigrants, and his father was an Islamic imam."

The article relates that:

“El Salvador is demonstrating as a living testimony that things can change if God so decides,” he told a crowd of Christian journalists, communicators, and pastors gathered in the main ballroom of the Hotel Barceló San Salvador in early October. Leaders of the host countries don’t typically address the annual Ibero-American Congress of Communicators and Christian Media (COICOM), but El Salvador has a large evangelical population–44 percent of Salvadorans identify themselves as evangelicals, according to a Gallup survey.

He just won re-election; a controversial move, considered that, as WORLD says, "On Oct. 29, Bukele registered to run for reelection as president–something the El Salvadoran constitution technically prohibits. A court of constitutional judges appointed by Bukele approved an exception that would allow him to hold one more term."  And, according to El Pais, reported that shortly before his declaration regarding gender, "the Electoral Court of El Salvador settled the dispute over the election results and ratified the president’s victory: he won his re-election bid with 84% of the vote."

WORLD highlights how Bukele has been tough on crime, even though there has been criticism that he has violated the rights of "suspected gang members."  The article states:

Bukele has defended his strategy as the only way to combat crime and guarantee security. His critics warn that this repression may have counterproductive effects such as increasing the cohesion and power of the gangs, generating more violence, and forced displacement, and eroding the rule of law.

Bukele sees vindication in the country’s transformation and expressed it to the crowd at Hotel Barceló: “God’s goal was to tell all the nations of the world ‘ask, give Me the glory, and I will heal your land.’ Nothing is impossible for God, we all know that, but here He demonstrated it again.”

So, while the President of El Salvador has faced criticism from a number of groups, he points to results. And, he has taken positions on abortion and gender ideology that are consistent with the teachings of the Bible, even though he doesn't seem to affiliate with one particular religion. It kind of reminds me of the disciples who complained to Jesus about people casting out demons in His name and He responded in Mark 9:40 that "...he who is not against us is on our side."

In these days, culturally speaking, we need allies, don't we?  Yes, there are those who publicly give lip service to Christian ideals, even though they may not be particularly religious people. In fact, there are some non-believers who display more of a fidelity to Scripture than professed believers. That shows a real problem with the Church today.  In attempting to transform the culture, I believe that God will choose and anoint a variety of mouthpieces.  We can continue to make sure that we are devoted to winning all people to Christ, and through our partnerships, we can have an impact on their lives. 

We also must be determined to pray for our leaders.  We can pray for them to accept and exercise Godly wisdom - especially this week, when you have lawmakers in Montgomery who are deciding whether or not to change the fiber of our state by allowing a proven evil to gain a greater foothold through the expansion of gambling.  We need for the godly and those who at least embrace Scripture to stand together on principle rather than compromise.  And, we can make sure that we are praying and selecting leaders who will uphold the principles upon which our nation was founded and principles that are consistent with Scripture.