Proverbs 17:22-23 

²²A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones. ²³The wicked accept bribes in secret to pervert the course of justice

Political Drama

         The political drama around the world attracted aggressive followers of different political ideologies. When administration officials promote their programs, opposition politicians try to discredit what the administration may do, even if it is beneficial to people. They wish that the administration may fail. Surely, any political party hopes to sit in the administration office.

         It has been accepted that there is strength in unity, but in politics, it is strange if the opposition would want to be united with the administration. Opposition to the administration is most often seen in political arena. But even in church setting, there are always oppositions. It is tough reality!

         We believe that God established authorities. And where authorities are established, someone will always be there to oppose. The Corinthian church had problem about church authority. They cannot agree on leaders they should follow. It rebuked in 1 Corinthians 3:3-5, ³You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere humans? ⁴For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not mere human beings? ⁵What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task.

         Church leaders or pastors are servants of God. We respect them but our loyalty should belong to Christ alone. Church leaders or pastors might change anytime. Only the Lord remains forever. We should be loyal to him.

         Personal preferences for leaders triggered the problems of division in the church of Corinth, instead of letting Jesus Christ reigns in their hearts.

         We could learn from the Corinthian mistakes. We should attentively listen and diligently follow Christ instead. How? We pray for discernment. Let’s learn from Ephesians 4:11-13, ¹¹Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, ¹²to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up ¹³until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

         To reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of Christ and attain spiritual maturity to serve the Lord gladly, that is our goal as a local church.

Refer to our church constitution and by-laws to know our doctrinal beliefs.

Be prayerful to discern which idea is biblical or not. Your spirit might crush and your bones dry up. What do crushed spirit and dried up bones mean?

1.  Bones

²²A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.

         Crushed spirit is also translated as broken spirit, wounded spirit, low spirit, afflicted spirit, dispirited, uninspired to keep on. A crushed spirit is not inspired. Anyone with afflicted spirit could be discouraged and quit. And dry bones signal life journey is about to expire. Dry bones imply no life at all.

         Broken spirit is not pleasant. In comparison, a cheerful heart is good medicine. With gladness of heart, life journey is refurbished and refreshed.

If you’re pressured by problem of life, it may crush your spirit. No motivation to keep on. People who try to forget momentarily their struggles in life, drink wine to get drunk. But we are advised in Ephesians 5:18, ¹⁸Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.

         Anyone can be crushed in spirit or broken hearted when tragedy or difficulty attacks. What do you normally do when you face difficult problem?

Everyone wants to relax a little bit. This is why entertainment gadgets are marketable. We watch television shows to be glad and forget our burdens. Even a grumpy and grouchy person wants to be cheerful once in a while.

Hawaii

         Are you curious about Hawaii? People seems very relax in Hawaii. Hawaiian atmosphere is pleasant escape from daily troubles. Theme parks, beach resorts and travel tours promise fun and leisure we hope to explore.

         Man-made amusements propose temporal escape from daily chores.

But where can we find for long-lasting gladness and relaxation? The Lord offers heartfelt gladness for free. He won’t demand much effort. We can be cheerful even in the midst of daily struggles. It invites us in Psalm 68:3-4.

         ³May the righteous be glad and rejoice before God; may they be happy and joyful. ⁴Sing to God, sing in praise of his name, extol him who rides on the clouds; rejoice before him—his name is the Lord.

         King David had heavy burden as ruler of Israel. His family, relatives and friends have difficult issues he delt with. But, he found rejoicing in God alone. So, he spent most of his time praying, praising and singing to the Lord. All government officials encounter problems similar to King David.

May God bless our leaders to administer justice and not accept bribes.

2.  Bribes

            ²³The wicked accept bribes in secret to pervert the course of justice

         Corruption in the government is pandemic virus around the world. Wicked officials secretly accept bribes to favor contractors of government projects. Furious citizens may rally against government officials and loudly pressure them but wicked officials do not readily change overnight.

         Bribery in government offices could possibly infect anyone directly or indirectly. When contractors secretly bribed officials, government projects may fail. Wickedness can directly confuse anyone who gives bribe and anyone who receives a bribe. The Lord has decreed punishment for them.

         Officials are elected to administer justice and govern responsibly. But if government officials secretly accept bribes, we cannot expect fair justice and good governance. Bribery is historical problem in the society. A classic example is recorded in 1 Samuel 8:3-7, ³They turned aside after dishonest gain and accepted bribes and perverted justice. ⁴So all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah. ⁵They said to him, “You are old, and your sons do not follow your ways; now appoint a king to lead us, such as all the other nations have.” ⁶But when they said, “Give us a king to lead us,” this displeased Samuel; so he prayed to the Lord. ⁷And the Lord told him: “Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king.”

         The sons of Prophet Samuel accepted bribes and perverted justice. They’re examples that even great servants of God can have children who may behave otherwise. Why did God allow Samuel’s sons to be wicked? It triggered the Israelites’ rejection of God as their king to be more obvious.

         Accepting bribe is rejection of righteous life. Whoever loves money could be tempted to accept bribes. We should regularly pray for officials to be contented with their salary. It advised in Hebrew 13:5: ⁵Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”

         Corruption is pandemic virus that infected the government. Regularly, we should pray that the Lord establishes responsible government officials who are contented with what they have. Contentment of what we have is also practical proof that we trust that Lord situated us in circumstances that he deems best for us. How can we be content with what we have?

         We pray that the Holy Spirit helps to be gratefully contented always. May the Lord fill our hearts with praise and gratitude, now and forever.

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