“Man…does not do evil
against his will, under pressure, as though he were taken by the scruff of the
neck and dragged into it, like a thief…being dragged off against his will to
punishment; but he does it
spontaneously and voluntarily.” Martin Luther
Do you remember the 2001 Pixar hit, Monsters,
Inc.? The film centers on two monsters James P. “Sulley” Sullivan and his
one-eyed partner and best friend Mike Wazowski who are employed at the titular energy-producing
factory Monsters, Inc., which generates power by scaring children. The
more the monsters make children scream, the more energy they collect.
One evening after work, scarer Sulley,
discovers that an active door has been left. He inspects the door and
accidentally lets a small toddler girl into the factory. The monsters in Monsters,
Inc. are anything but monsters. They’re not evil or dangerous or even scary.
They’re just misunderstood.
But there really are monsters. Obviously, not
the type found in Monsters, Inc. Our sixth president, John Quincy Adams,
said, “America…goes not go abroad in search of monsters to destroy.” Inherent
in his statement is the assumption that there really are monsters in this
world.
Yet,
that’s the problem with our leaders in Western Civilization – they don’t really
believe that there are monsters. There is a widespread belief that terrorists,
tyrants, and demagogues are just misunderstood and if we could just sit down and
talk with them, we could reason with them and come to some sort of middle
ground. They’re not evil, they’re just trying to get their message out. That’s
how Osama bin Laden and his deputy Ayman al-Zawahiri described September 11th
as a “message with no words” which is “the only language understood
by the West.” Terrorism then as some political scientists describe it is
only a “communication strategy.”
It
was that kind of naïve reasoning that led to then British Prime Minister, Neville
Chamberlain to claim “Peace for our time” in his September 30, 1938
remarks in London concerning the Munich Agreement with Adolph Hitler. The
phrase is forever remembered for its bitter ironic value since less than a year
after the agreement, Hitler invaded Poland and World War II began after France
and the United Kingdom declared war on Germany following Hitler's refusal to
withdraw from Polish territory.
The
leader of the independent Orthodox Christian Church, Metropolitan Epiphanius I
of Ukraine, was more in line with Scripture when he recently likened Vladimir
Putin to the Antichrist, “The spirit of the Antichrist operates in the
leader of Russia, the signs of which the Scriptures reveal to us: pride,
devotion to evil, ruthlessness, false religiosity…This was Hitler during World
War II. This is what Putin has become today.”
One
of the most highly regarded books of the 20th century was Ernest
Becker’s “The Denial of Death.” It’s regarded as a classic for its analysis of
how human beings deny their mortality. But there is something people deny more
than mortality: evil. Yet, we are seeing evil unfold before our eyes in Putin’s
invasion of Ukraine. In spite of the denial of those who also deny the truth of
Scripture, the last century has seen more glaring evil than at any other time
in human history. The descendants of Hitler, Stalin and Mao are Kim Jong-un, Xi
Jinping and Vladimir Putin and the leaders of Iran, to name a few. The forces
of evil in the world are now so powerful and so many and so difficult to
corral.
Iran
continues to move ahead with its nuclear ambitions, which are a threat to both
the United States and to Israel. North Korea has launched at least one hypersonic
missile with nuclear weapons in the hands of an unstable, tyrannical, arguably
insane regime.
Consider the deceit and accusations of bigotry against any who dared to
suggest that Covid-19 came from a Wuhan Lab. In spite of Communist China’s denials,
the evidence seems undeniable. Yet, many Americans, especially the elite in the
political class and media, immediately recoil in horror at anyone referring to
China as an enemy because much of American foreign policy had been predicated
for the last several generations on the opportunity of developing an
unprecedented partnership with China that would basically create a new form of
world stability. The United States now finds itself facing an evil world rival on
an even greater scale than the Soviet Union through the entirety of the Cold
War.
It’s
apparent that Putin is driven to be Vladimir the Terrible in his attempt
to regain lost Russian glory. To understand Putin, one has to understand
Russian history and the fact that what you have in Putin is a medieval mind
with modern nuclear weapons. Putin’s understanding of Russia goes back to a
ruler like Ivan the Terrible of the 16th century.
Historically, Russia has been led by despots, by tyrants, and there’s no
national embarrassment for them in that. In fact, there is a sense of national
glory tied to that kind of tyrannical leader and behavior.
U.S.
president after president, administration after administration watched Putin
rebuilding Russia’s nuclear arsenal, even as the U.S. was spending less and
less on defense. We’ve seen Putin not only build Russia's military but use it.
Georgia, Crimea, Eastern Ukraine. No one should be surprised by what’s
happening, yet most seem shocked, not just surprised.
Understanding and knowing the Bible matters. Your worldview matters. As Christians,
we must understand that. The Bible teaches, even when it allowed for kings, limited
government. While the Bible does not provide support for one form of government
over another, Scripture teaches a limited role of government.
Due
to our fallen human nature, God chooses to use government as a tool to uphold
order, justice, and the rule of law. Thus, believers are to respect and pray
for their leaders while submitting themselves to the authority provided by the
government. Scripture makes clear that God has placed limits and expectations
on the government. In the Old Testament, for instance, Israelite kings were
expected to obey God’s laws as written in the Pentateuch. In the New Testament
Romans 13:1-7 and 1 Peter 2:13-14 teach the same with the focus primarily on
justice, law and order.
Because
of the evil of the human heart, the government is to be limited, controlled, and
held accountable. That’s the foundational problem with Putin and other diabolical
leaders, there is no accountability or control.
But
there is a God in heaven (Daniel 2:28). The same God who allows evil men to
rise can and will take them down. While we do not know the future of Ukraine,
we do know the future of this world. The King of Kings is coming back and one
day there truly will be “peace on earth.” As the Apostle John said, “Even so
come Lord Jesus” (Revelation 2:20, KJV).
Can we help you spiritually? Can we help you know Jesus better? Please check out more resources on our church's web page, Gracechurchwi.org. Or, call us at 262.763.3021. If you'd like to know more about how Jesus can change your life, I'd love to mail you a copy of how Jesus changed my life in "My Story." E-mail me at Carson@gracechurchwi.org to request a free copy. Please include your mailing address.
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