Psalm 146
“Put not your trust in princes, in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation.”
Welp, that’s my political theology in a nutshell. I like how the NLT renders this passage:
Don’t put your confidence in powerful people;
there is no help for you there.
When they breathe their last, they return to the earth,
and all their plans die with them.
Truly, I do not get how evangelicals treat Donald Trump as a Messiah-like figure. Recall when Trump said, “I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody, and I wouldn’t lose any voters, OK?” He’s right!
To play fair, progressives had a similar love affair with Barack Obama.
For my part, I have such a pessimistic view of political power that I cannot see why anyone would put their trust in princes, mere mortals, who cannot save.
Sure, vote your conscience. I don’t mind any and all efforts to create a world where people are safe, free, and flourishing. What bothers me is the misplaced trust, placing our hope in partisan politics and the machinations of politicians. Why do we place so much confidence in sinful, broken human beings?
If the Epstein files prove anything it’s that powerful people are some of the very worst people on earth. They are royalty. Leaders of industry. Billionaires. Presidents. Prime Ministers. Politicians. Spiritual gurus. Intellectuals. Financiers. Tech founders. Celebrities.
Why put trust in any of these people? Have they deserved any of our confidence?
No.
And yet in them we trust.
I would say.. let your trust in others be earned. Don't trust people in general until you get to know them.. is where I am at these days. We have created such an individualistic, self-serving society with a decrease in empathy and I would say a lack of shared values and ethics... why trust at all? Those days when I generally trust others before I seriously know them, for me, are gone. ..and even then, I have been surprised even after knowing folks for many years. It's tricky business.... with humans.. in our society at the time... So yes, Amen to this verse.
One. Hundred. Percent.