Through the wonders of Twitter, I am loosely in contact with the son of the vicar who baptised me when I was about 6 months old. He has lived in Canada for about 40 years, but his mother and brother are still in the UK, so he keeps up to speed with what’s going on here. Last week, he tweeted an article from CBC News which bore a picture of Liz Truss’ face and was about Kwasi Kwarteng’s dismissal as Chancellor of the Exchequer. I didn’t read the article (CBC News would probably have required me to accept cookies and I can’t be doing with all that!) but my friend’s own words interested me: “Things seem a little chaotic in the British Government right now. Something new and different for them.”
I wondered whether his comment betrayed a sense of comparative admiration. Perhaps chaos, whilst ‘new and different’ for our government, is normal in Canada! Maybe the Canadian broadcasters have valiantly been presenting our political system as being shot through with the “Keep Calm and Carry On” attitude. Whatever the case, my friend’s comment revealed that his previously held high opinion of the British modus operandi had just been tragically undermined; “chaotic” is probably a good word for the current situation.
Of course, as I write this, I am very mindful that I am in a constituency which has voted Conservative at every election since it was formed in 1983, and generally with more than 50% of the vote; if I say anything critical of the Conservative Party I risk alienating a large percentage of the people for whom I have the cure of souls. But this is not about party politics. The truth is, I’m not a party man. Similarly, I do not occupy any one position on the political spectrum – I am neither right wing, nor left wing, nor centrist. I try to ensure my views on public life are informed by the Bible which critiques all human wisdom. Indeed, the writer of Proverbs says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom”; if we want to live wisely in this world, we need to respect and honour the God who made it. That means trying to live as he has commanded, and that, of course, requires knowing what he has commanded. If I genuinely believe that God is not indifferent to us, then it is surely my job to help people hear God’s voice whether that approves of or disagrees with the political colour of the day, be it blue, red, orange or green.
So what is God saying? Well, perhaps he is reminding us through our crisis of government that human leaders are frail. This frailty is rooted in the brokenness of humankind itself. So often today, people expect the government to fix all our problems – the cost-of-living crisis, the coronavirus pandemic and the climate change catastrophe are today’s examples – but this is wrongheaded. Psalm 146:3 says, “Do not put your trust in princes, in human beings, who cannot save.” Developing that thought, Psalm 118:9 points us in the right direction: “It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in princes.” The human pride and selfishness problem means that there will always be politicians (in every party) who are more interested in cash or career advancement than public service, quick to blame others and slow to acknowledge responsibility. By contrast, in Jesus, we have a King who gave himself completely in service of his people. Why then, do so many ignore him?
May this current crisis grow in you a deeper longing for the King who is right and true.