Politics and Truth Are Often Diametrically Opposed

Let’s consider the example of Martin Luther King Jr. He communicated much truth, yet he was vilified by those who sought to silence him because the truth he spoke jeopardized the world they had “invested in.” As usual, in order to find the ugly truth in world affairs, we only have to follow the money.

Now let’s look at the recent political situation. I may have been easy to fool at 24, but not so easy at 74, not after learning my lessons with Nixon and the Clintons. You see, Donald Trump is not really that slick. What you see is what you get, and what you see is rather rough around the edges, don’t you think?

Many will not agree with me on this, but I observed that Donald Trump, despite his own attention-seeking noisiness, truly sought to put “Americans” first. And this unselfish patriotic goal of his pushed a lot of positive buttons in our people and a lot of negative buttons in the D.C. in-crowd. It intentionally jeopardized the investments of many long-term elected officials who had fooled their constituents into believing that they were working for them. The power brokers feared that they were about to be hamstrung. Unlike any president before him, Trump could not be bought, which of course caused all those swamp denizens (who might lose their political power and ill-gotten fortunes) to rally energetically against him, with both their money and their hate-mongering media power. And we watched as these self-aggrandizing fame-and-fortune seekers in the D.C. swamp deceived enough people to win a temporary victory.

But know this: Donald Trump is relatively unimportant. Do not idolize this defective individual; all of his life Trump has been a fame-and-fortune seeker in the business arena, but not in government. He did not know the rules of our political and government establishment and did not care. His successful presence on the political scene was but a symbol of our discontent with the Machiavellian-style business as usual in Washington D.C. and other large urban centers. We sensed that Trump would not play their games. But ultimately, he could not match their many decades of political extortion and hidden reins of power.

Now let me change gears. It is time for me as a Christian to wax theological. You see, this current victory by the cultural Marxists is also hollow because there is One far above them who is truly in charge and there is no way to stop His plan. The Lord Jesus is both patient and relentless, and the outcome of His efforts, through the Holy Spirit and the Father’s providence, will be far beyond (and more effective than) any mere politics or civil government.

We must understand that every culture and government is woefully broken, and this will not change until the Lord returns in person to repair all things. So I am not worried in the least about our current national failures and unhealable divisions… because the Lord’s triumphs have been, are, and will be…eternal, and I am convinced that I will be there with Him when He returns to rule. Maranatha!

In the meantime, let us believers get our priorities straight and obey the command of our Lord: “Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”(Matthew 6:33). Jesus Christ is indeed the eternal King of kings and Lord of lords. So let us focus on making Christ great again in our nation!

Dr. Atkinson is a graduate of Fuller Theological Seminary with a doctorate in clinical psychology and an M.A. in theology. He is a licensed psychologist in clinical practice in Atlanta and also works as a clinical supervisor training Christian counselors for Richmont Graduate University. He is a founding member of Trinity Anglican Church (ACNA) in Douglasville, Georgia

Politics and Truth Are Often Diametrically Opposed

By Bruce Atkinson
Special to Virtueonline
www.virtueonline.org
February 19, 2021

Among the best things I have learned over my many years are these: Truth is usually calm and gentle, but it is also like light penetrating into the darkness to reveal what is there; it does not hide from those who honestly want to see. In other words, truth is often content to wait quietly for those who are willing to shut up and pay attention. It is my intentional objective to become one of those people who pays attention to the light.

I have also learned that the farther people are from the truth, the louder and more vociferous they become, as if volume and dramatics can somehow achieve triumph for their erroneous ideas. But always it turns out to be a hollow victory for them in the end. History has taught us that the masses are generally wrong and sometimes the “m” is silent. In the past, in every culture, many prophets and do-gooders have been murdered by the ‘masses’ for telling the truth. We often call these victims ‘martyrs.’ And in our nation, many good people have been wrongly disparaged and slandered by the mainstream media and its gullible followers.