The recent riots in Kenya is another example of the weakness of governments in Africa. The failure of governments in Africa regularly make the news. Whether it is corruption, neglect, incompetence, or outright scandal, Africans long for better governments. But what makes for good government, according to Scripture?

Government is meant to serve the good of its people. As Romans 13:4 puts it, “The civil authority is God’s servant for your good.” But what does this actually look like? What should government protect and promote, and what principles should guide its structure?

The Role of Government in Protection

At its core, government exists to protect its citizens. The Bible outlines several key areas where this protection is essential:

1. Protection against crime:
   Governments are called to prevent and punish wrongdoing. First Peter 2:14 says rulers are “sent by God to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right.” A society that does not address crime creates an environment of fear and instability.
2. Protection against disease:
   Disease can devastate a nation’s productivity and economy. While ancient texts don’t discuss modern health systems, the principle of caring for the community applies. Addressing public health is part of a government’s responsibility.
3. Protection against violations of contracts:
   Trust is essential in any society. Contracts, whether business or personal, must be honored. Exodus 20:15-16’s command not to steal or bear false witness highlights the importance of honesty, a principle upheld by fair legal systems.
4. Protection of intellectual property:
   While modern patents and copyrights didn’t exist in biblical times, Exodus 20:15’s command against theft still applies. A society that does not protect intellectual property discourages innovation and fairness.
5. Protection against foreign invasion:
   Throughout the Bible, Israel faced attacks from enemies. Their victories often came when they sought God’s guidance and maintained justice. Today, national defense is a vital part of ensuring peace and stability.
6. Avoidance of wars of conquest and civil wars:
   Peaceful governance prevents unnecessary wars and internal strife, fostering stability and prosperity.
7. Protection of the environment:
   The Bible calls humanity to be good stewards of creation (Genesis 1:28; Psalm 8). Governments play a role in protecting natural resources and promoting sustainable practices for the good of the country.

What Should Government Promote?

Beyond protection, governments can encourage things that lead to a stable and prosperous society. The Bible doesn’t mandate these, but they align with its values:

1. Universal education:
   Education helps people develop skills and opportunities. While parents bear the primary responsibility for training their children (Deuteronomy 6:5-7), governments can support literacy programs and vocational training.
2. Stable family structures:
   Strong families are the building blocks of a stable society. Governments can create policies that encourage marriage and responsible parenting, reducing poverty and promoting well-being.
3. Freedom of religion:
   Religious freedom benefits society by fostering moral values and encouraging economic productivity. Denying this freedom, as seen in restrictive regimes, often harms both individuals and nations.

Governments take many forms: monarchy, oligarchy, democracy, and autocracy. The Bible doesn’t prescribe one system but acknowledges the realities of human fallenness and the need for accountability. Let’s explore some principles for good governance:

1. Rule of law:
   Leaders and citizens alike must be accountable to the same laws. This ensures fairness and prevents tyranny, as illustrated in the story of David being confronted by Nathan for his sins (2 Samuel 11-12).
2. Fair courts:
   Courts should enforce justice without bias. Deuteronomy 16:18-20 emphasizes the importance of impartial judges who do not pervert justice or accept bribes.
3. Integrity in leadership:
   Bribery and corruption erode trust in government. Numerous scriptures warn against these practices (Exodus 23:8; Proverbs 17:23), highlighting the need for honest leadership.
4. Balanced power:
   Governments need enough power to maintain order but not so much that they oppress their people. Judges 17-21 shows the chaos of anarchy, while unchecked kings like Solomon abused their power (1 Kings 11:3-4). A balance is key.
5. Separation of powers:
   The Bible offers examples of shared leadership, from the 12 apostles to elders in local churches. Dividing responsibilities prevents the concentration of power and encourages accountability.
6. Government accountability:
   Leaders must answer to the people they govern. Regular elections, transparency, and term limits are practical ways to ensure this. Scriptural examples, such as Moses consulting the elders (Exodus 4:29-31), show the value of leadership with consent.

The Ultimate Government

Finally, it’s important to remember that no earthly government will ever be perfect. Humanity’s fallenness guarantees that every system will have flaws. The only truly just government will be the theocracy under Christ, as Revelation promises. Until then, our responsibility is to pursue the best systems possible—ones that promote justice, protect the vulnerable, and allow people to flourish.

Cultures vary greatly in the food, music, and fashion they enjoy.  But the love of titles seems universal.  South Africa is a beautiful ‘Rainbow Nation’ of cultural diversity; yet our religious landscape is littered with ministerial titles, with pastors and bishops dying by degrees and drowning in flattery.  You can’t leave your home without seeing a poster advertising the next conference, featuring “Reverend Doctor Umfundisi Apostle Prophet  Major 1 Moruti So-and-So”!

Raise any concern about this idolatry and you will be told, ‘Touch not the Lord’s anointed.  Leave our high and mighty Man of God alone!’  These arrogant, unapproachable false teachers are surrounded by their bouncers, luxury cars, jets and mansions, wearing their fancy clothes, seated at separate tables or thrones, waiting to be served, not to serve.

Obsession with titles is nothing new.  Satan fell from heaven because of pride, God judged the Tower of Babel for striving to “make a name” for themselves, and Herod was eaten by worms for being hailed as a god.  In our Lord’s final sermon in Matthew 23, He lamented the Pharisees’ intoxication with titles and fame, pronouncing woes upon them. The actual titles these charlatans deserve are what God’s Word calls them: “wolves, snakes, blind guides, fools, whitewashed tombs, hypocrites!”.

Let’s take a brief look then at what Jesus does and does not mean by His warning against titles (Matt. 23:8-10).

One Teacher

Here Jesus prepares the Twelve to lead His Church:  ‘Don’t play that Jewish game of ranking one Teacher above all the other mere mortals, forgetting you are all brothers.  There is only one Lord Jesus; no vacancies in that position!’ (v. 8).

Of course, this cannot mean Christ would not use other teachers, as proven by the writing of the Four Gospels, the gift of teaching for the Church, and the frequent instruction of the New Testament epistles; yet, it does mean that our basic attitude toward the flock is that of spiritual equality and mutuality, as “brethren”, fellow siblings of our heavenly Father.

One Father

When Jesus tells us to, “call no man your father” (v. 9), he cannot be speaking of our earthly fathers.  The context makes clear that he has our spiritual leaders in view, as verses 8 and 10 show.  His point is, ‘Ditch the patriarchal titles, the clerical rankings, and ecclesiological ladders in My Church.’  How much harm has been done by abuse of spiritual authority in the name of ‘Archbishop, Cardinal, Father So-and-So’?

Yet Paul’s example shows the vital role (not the title) of spiritual fathering for younger believers.  Jesus is not against you having spiritual children; His warning is against a proud motive of wanting “to be noticed by men” (v. 5), of a refusal to serve and lording it over others (vv. 11-12).  The Head of the Church forbids needless distinctions that take the focus off of our heavenly Father and our equality as His children (Jn. 1:12-13).

One Leader 

Jesus cautions next against any seeking of high position or distinguished status, with titles that detract from our spiritual unity as followers of the one supreme Leader (v. 10).  Together we are all but mere slaves and glad servants of our illustrious Master.

Scripture does tell leaders to “lead” (Rom. 12:8).  Additionally, Christ made clear the two offices He appointed in the local church, those of elders and deacons.  But when a humble leader does his job faithfully that is a far cry from self-exalting clergy who crave official titles.  3 John warns about this ‘Diotrephes Disease’ of those who “love to be first” (v. 9).  The higher a preacher’s view of biblical authority, the lower his view of his own authority.

If anybody could claim titles, it was the eyewitnesses of Jesus commissioned to establish His Church, the apostles!  Yet in every epistle, they introduce themselves merely with their first name, and speak only of their identity as “slaves” or “prisoners” of Christ, or their task as “apostles” (not a title); or John omits himself entirely.  Paul said if he must boast, it was in his weaknesses and suffering for the gospel, in stark contrast to the false “super-apostles” with all their glamour (2 Cor. 10-12).

A Few Disclaimers 

What then about the legitimate use of titles, terms of endearment, and appropriate respect for our superiors?  Matthew 23 is not a prooftext for being dishonourable or rude.  “Love does not act unbecomingly” (1 Cor. 13:5).  We ought to “give honour to whom honour is due” (Rom. 13:7), starting with, “Honour your father and your mother” (Exod. 20:12).

Nor is Jesus forbidding necessary organisational titles (e.g., in medicine or the military).  Yet I would prefer most people just called me “Tim”, except for children and youth learning to respect adults (thus calling me, “Uncle Tim” or “Mr. Cantrell”), for their own good.  Yet I cannot go around rebuking everyone who calls me “Pastor Tim” if it’s simply a nickname of affection and a reminder of my duty.

As spiritual leaders, our greatest commendation is not shiny titles but transformed people.  They are our living epistles; there is no greater “crown” or compliment (2 Cor. 3:3; 1 Thess. 2:19-20)!  Changed lives are the best endorsement for any speaker and the highest accreditation for any institution.

Conclusion

Woe to both preachers demanding respect and their hearers guilty of flattery.  Yet our idolatry runs so deep in our fallen hearts that avoiding titles alone does not cure it.  At Corinth, no titles were mentioned, yet their man-centredness was dividing the church:  “I am of Paul, of Apollos, of Cephas” (1 Cor. 1:12; 3:4).  The only lasting cure was to forsake boasting in men and to boast in the Lord alone (1 Cor. 1:18-2:5).

At His Transfiguration, God told Peter to stop looking at Moses and Elijah and gaze at Christ, “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased.  Listen to Him!” (Matt. 17:5).  May ‘Solus Christus’ and ‘Soli Deo Gloria’ not just be banners in our sanctuary but the ambition of our hearts – to Him alone be the glory.

The past few weeks have moved South Africa into the international spotlight as U.S. President Donald Trump accused South Africa of expropriating property and mistreating various groups. He then offered a form of refugee status to Afrikaner farmers affected by the South African government’s actions.

This produced howls of opposition and derision from liberal media and commentators in South Africa, variously accusing the American administration of lying, deceit and, unsurprisingly, racism. People were quick to ‘fact-check’ the U.S. President and respond with everything from crying foul to thumbing their nose at the cancellation of U.S. money sent to South Africa. Conservatives applauded the U.S. for finally revealing the racism in South African politics and law.

Both liberals and conservatives claim to have the facts on their side. Why is there so little consensus when we supposedly all have the same facts available to us?

For example, take the issue of land expropriation. On the one hand, it is true that the South African government has not begun large-scale expropriation of farms without compensation as was done in Zimbabwe. However, it is also true that a law has been passed to make expropriation without compensation legal in certain circumstances. This is a question of which side of the issue you tend to emphasise in your interpretation.

Take the issue of genocide. If genocide is a form of seeking the murder of a particular ethnic group, then some point to the number of farm murders in the last 30 years, which is under 4000, as evidence that there is no deliberate targeting of a people group. On the other hand, given the vast areas that farms occupy, and the relatively small number of farmers, the murder of between 2000 and 4000 farmers represents a staggering amount of land and a rather targeted demographic. It is also true that many of the farm murders involve extreme torture before the actual murder, representing something other than incidental crime. To emphasise the low number of farm murders in contrast to South Africa’s generally high murder rate is to choose to interpret the facts so as to dismiss the reality of targeted farm attacks.

The same pertains to the government’s destructive policies of Black Economic Empowerment (BEE). Proponents claim that BEE was the only way to redress a badly skewed apartheid economy. Opponents point out that race-based economics is bad for any country, whether it was the old National Party promoting it, or the current ANC. The fact that South Africa’s economy has stagnated, that unemployment is at an all-time high, and that South Africa is not attractive to investors seems to be ignored by the liberal media, intent on appearing supportive of BEE.

Finally, South Africa has become obnoxious to the United States because of its international alliances. It has cosied up to Russia, China, and Iran. It has taken Israel to the International Court of Justice, accusing it of genocide. To add insult to injury, it appointed as its ambassador to the United States a Hamas-supporting Ebrahim Rasool, who called Trump a white supremacist.  Small wonder that on the 14th of March, the Secretary of State announced that they had expelled Rasool from the U.S. and that he was persona non grata. Yet many on social media denounced the U.S. and rallied in support of Rasool.

Again, why is there so little consensus when we supposedly all have the same facts available to us?

In 1990, a book came out titled The Flight From Truth. It was written by a French intellectual Jacques Revel. He wrote the book just before the collapse of the Soviet Union. Revel said he penned the book because he was bewildered to see journalists in the West frequently ignoring obvious facts, undisputed events and known situations. Liberal journalists in the 70s, 80s, and early 90s, acted as if the countries behind the Iron Curtain and those South American and African countries ruled by communist dictators were real paradises on Earth, wonderful places ruled by benign, kind leaders. These journalists routinely ignored events such as massacres, purges, civil wars, and coups, because they didn’t match the story they wanted to tell.

Revel wrote at the beginning of the book that he wanted to find out “why human beings so frequently neglect the genuine knowledge that is available to them and prefer to base their [ideas] and their actions on false information, even though it is often against their interest to do so.” To put it another way, why do people flee from truth? Why do they knowingly turn away from reality?

Jesus explained why in John 3. “And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.” (John 3:19–20)

In other words, the human heart prefers interpretations it finds convenient and not convicting. Even when the light of truth is available, people actively suppress the truth to prefer those notions we find comfortable.  People like to talk about doing a ‘fact check’. But even those who do the ‘fact-checking’ choose to emphasise some facts, and omit others, highlight some, and skip over others. There are no neutral facts. All facts are harnessed to strengthen an interpretation of the world.

Those who seek the truth accept the facts of reality, even when they are unflattering, condemning, or unpleasant. Those who love darkness think that closing their eyes to reality will mean they do not eventually bump into it. It appears South Africa is about to bump into realities it proclaims are not there.

Recently I was struck with two solemn reminders of the scourge of abortion upon South Africa and our world today:

(a) A recent Sunday evening sermon at our church was on Genesis 9 and God instituting the death penalty for all murders so that the sanctity of human life would be upheld as made in His very image.

(b) In our adult Sunday School ethics course, one of the doctors in our church recounted in detail the current stats on abortion. Worldwide, a horrific 73 million infants are murdered annually; in South Africa, it’s abominable that 260,000 babies are slain in their own mother’s womb, one out of every three pregnancies!

Two months ago, it was ruled illegal for any pharmacist in South Africa to refuse the abortion pill to a mother.  May there be a loud outcry and bold stand of Christian pharmacists against this tyranny!  As Psalm 119:53 says, “Burning indignation has seized me because of the wicked, who forsake Your law”.  The awful bloodguilt of this land before a holy God invites His judgment.

Recent headlines spoke of Sierra Leone seeking to follow South Africa’s terrible example in promoting abortion.  Every time the Christian hears of another abortion, we should gasp in shock, weep in grief, bow in prayer, and boil with moral outrage that leads to righteous action.

If I know anything about God—know, beyond a shadow of a doubt—that He hates abortion, and He will judge nations that support it.

‘But wait, I’m a child of God, my sin is forgiven, I’m not condemned.  And outside of the Jewish nation, doesn’t God only judge individuals now and not nations?’  True, the child of God stands justified in Christ and cannot be condemned.  Yet, even though we are aliens and strangers, we are also residents and neighbours who still share a solidarity with our countrymen, and we share in the shame of living in a land that condones a heathen practice like child sacrifice.

This disgrace is all the greater in a land like South Africa where the vast majority claim to be Christians yet are dragging our Lord’s name in the mud by approving (openly or tacitly) abortion. We read in Proverbs that “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people” (Prov. 14:34). It also says, “When it goes well with the righteous, the city rejoices, and when the wicked perish, there is joyful shouting” (Prov. 11:10).

Those are not statements about individuals but about nations in general.  In fact, God’s Word often speaks this way (Num. 35:33). He also addresses other nations in a similar manner, since they too will answer to Him as their Maker (Amos 1:13). Godly prophet Elisha wept when he foresaw God’s judgment falling upon Syria for her infanticide, who would “kill their young men with the sword and dash in pieces their little ones and rip open their pregnant women” (2 Kings 8:12).  

Lest we think this is only an Old Testament principle, Romans 1 makes explicitly clear what a world under God’s judgment looks like—spiralling down in ever-increasing perversity and shameful idolatry (Rom. 1:18-32).  Not a day passes where we do not see graphic evidence of our world being “given over” and abandoned by God’s righteous anger, a world in desperate need of the only gospel that saves (Rom. 1:16-17).

Mike Riccardi states,

“Any society that enshrines under protection of law the murder of such most defenceless image-bearers will not escape the judgment of God.”

We celebrate and honour the many African countries where abortion is still illegal.  We refuse to accept how the godless West and secular media shame these ‘backward’ countries.  Recently, the country of Hungary took a big step in the pro-life direction, much to the dismay of the scoffing South African media.

Randy Alcorn tells about a Nigerian pastor who visited his church in Oregon and said:

“With all the good things I see in your country and in your churches, there is something here that troubles me deep in my soul… This horrible thing I speak of is that you kill your children before they are born.”

Alcorn added:

“What was particularly troublesome was that Rev. Mari [the Nigerian pastor] made no distinction between what our country was doing and what the church was doing.  He seemed to think that the church was responsible for the moral choices of the country.”

I’ve heard Zambian pastors say the same thing to me about the shocking acceptance and normalising of abortion in South Africa, and recently, I also spoke to a Kenyan Christian leader who again spoke of South Africa as a pariah of the continent because of this infanticide.  May God have mercy on our nation and deliver us from the judgment we deserve.

Traditional leaders and political voices in South Africa keep calling for 8 May to become a public holiday, “Ancestor’s Day”, so as to decolonise the Christian calendar with pagan celebrations.  How should the Christian respond to such proposals?  Why do many professing Christians in Africa still worship the ancestors in times of trouble or to ward off evil?  How do believers handle family pressure to join in blood sacrifices to appease and honour the forefathers?  God’s Word offers solid answers to these burning questions.

Christian, could you explain the difference between the blood required by pagan religions compared to Christianity?  The Book of Hebrews often tells us how the blood of Christ was “better”, better than the blood of Abel, better than the blood of bulls and goats, better than the old covenant.  But how is the blood of Christ also better than African Traditional Religion (ATR) sacrifices?

Here are six ways that the blood of Christ is better than the blood of ATR sacrifices: 

1. A Better Origin

On what authority are ATR sacrifices offered?  Only oral tradition and family pressure, none other.  Nothing divinely revealed from heaven; only humanly required by earthly tradition and culture.

Not so for Christianity.  God has spoken in His inspired, infallible Word.  We have a written, historical, reliable record of which blood sacrifices God requires, and when and why. This biblical explanation is available to all God’s image-bearers, for any humans and every culture that will open His Scriptures and hear His voice (Gal. 1:12; 1 Jn. 1:2; 2 Tim. 3:16; 2 Pet. 1:21).

2. A Better Purpose

ATR sacrifices are pragmatic, for the sake of resolving immediate crises, averting evil, avoiding danger, and securing earthly blessings.  Not so with the final sacrifice God required at Calvary in the death of His Son.  When Jesus died, He didn’t only provide for sin’s symptoms and fruits. His cross was the remedy for the deepest root of our guilt and rebellion against a holy God and His deserved wrath as a result.  For every sinner who will ever believe, they can receive eternal redemption, not merely some temporal benefits (Rom. 3:21-26; 2 Cor. 5:21).

God’s Word is clear:  “Without the shedding of blood, there was no forgiveness of sins” (Heb. 9:22).  “In Him [Christ] we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace” (Eph. 1:7).

3. A Better Nature

ATR sacrifices, like a chicken, goat, or cow, have no value in the sight of a holy God.  It is just the death of a pet, a wasted sacrifice, blood spilt in vain.  Not so with the blood of Christ, a million times no!  We are not redeemed “through the blood of goats or calves, but through His own blood” (Heb. 9:12).  We were “not redeemed with perishable things, like silver or gold…but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a Lamb unblemished and spotless” (1 Pet. 1:18).

In ATR, there are lots of intermediaries and agents involved – from sangomas, priests, diviners, traditional healers (witchdoctors), etc.  But in biblical Christianity, “there is one Mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all” (1 Tim. 2:7).

4. A Better Recipient

ATR sacrifices are offered to a variety of unseen beings in the spirit world, like the ancestors and other deities, because God the Creator is seen as remote, distant, and uninvolved.

Not so in biblical Christianity:  Christ’s blood is offered to the one true God, satisfying His justice and fulfilling His Law, atoning for our guilt.  We don’t provide the sacrifice or produce the offering; God Himself provided it!

God Himself became the propitiation, sending His very own Son. At the real Mount Moriah in Genesis 22, Abraham told his son, Isaac:  “God Himself will provide the sacrifice”.  “He who did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all” – this is the heart of our Christian confession of faith (Rom. 8:32).

5. A Better Frequency 

In ATR, the blood sacrifices are ongoing, repeated for each new need or crisis, offered at every tombstone unveiling and elsewhere.  Nothing is finished or final.  Unlike our Lord who declared from His cross, “It is finished” (Jn. 19:30).  “For Christ entered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption…. By a single offering He has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified” (Heb. 9:12; 10:14).  No further blood is needed; the sacrificial system is done, all is fulfilled in Christ for all who believe – gloriously good news!

6. A Better Result 

ATR sacrifices achieve nothing except appeasing the family, preserving pagan culture and inviting more demonic influence, darkness, superstition and ignorance.  Not so with the Jesus once-for-all atoning sacrifice: “the blood of Jesus… cleanses us from all sin” (1 Jn. 1:7).  “…having made peace through the blood of His cross” (Col. 1:20).  “But now in Christ Jesus you who were far off are brought near by the blood of Christ” (Eph. 2:13).

As Spurgeon declared,

“There is no peace like the peace that comes from the blood of Jesus; it speaks peace to the conscience, peace to the heart, and peace with God forever. …The blood of the Lamb is the hope of the hopeless, the strength of the weak, and the victory of the defeated; by it we overcome the world, the flesh, and the devil.”

Conclusion

No Christian has any business going near the worship or appeasement of dead ancestors.  “Should they inquire of the dead on behalf of the living?  [We are to go] To the Law and the Testimony!” (Isa. 8:19-20).  Only God’s Word can light the way out of such darkness.

We’ve seen six ways the blood of Christ is better than the blood of ATR—in its origin, purpose, nature, recipient, frequency and results.  As saintly Samuel Rutherford once wrote, “I have cast my soul’s anchor in the wounds of my Saviour, and there I find the blood that washes me whiter than the driven snow.”

The timeless hymn captures it best:

What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. What can make me whole again? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. Oh, precious is the flow, that makes me white as snow. No other fount I know, nothing but the blood of Jesus!

I still remember as a 17 year-old young man, in 1991, hearing this anonymous quote from Dr. MacArthur when he came to preach at a nearby church in Houston, Texas, where I grew up.  That was nearly 35 years ago, yet I vividly recall how God used it to intensify my call to the ministry, convincing me that God’s Word was truly a “fire in my bones” that had to be let out (Jer. 20:9), and bracing me for what was ahead.  I had this quote hanging on my wall for many years after that.  This morning I was expounding 1 Timothy 6:11-16 on the man of God to our men at church, and I came across it and was deeply moved by it again.  How I praise God for the faithful men of God who have imparted His Word and sound doctrine to me.  How I pray that God would keep sending our church and seminary His choice men to train up as faithful expositors – the most urgent need of the hour!

“Fling him into his office. Tear the “Office” sign from the door and nail on the sign, “Study.” Take him off the mailing list. Lock him up with his books and his typewriter and his Bible. Slam him down on his knees before texts and broken hearts and the flock of lives of a superficial flock and a holy God.

Force him to be the one man in our surfeited communities who knows about God. Throw him into the ring to box with God until he learns how short his arms are. Engage him to wrestle with God all the night through. And let him come out only when he’s bruised and beaten into being a blessing.

Shut his mouth forever spouting remarks, and stop his tongue forever tripping lightly over every nonessential. Require him to have something to say before he dares break the silence. Bend his knees in the lonesome valley.

Burn his eyes with weary study. Wreck his emotional poise with worry for God. And make him exchange his pious stance for a humble walk with God and man. Make him spend and be spent for the glory of God. Rip out his telephone. Burn up his ecclesiastical success sheets.

Put water in his gas tank. Give him a Bible and tie him to the pulpit. And make him preach the Word of the living God!

Test him. Quiz him. Examine him. Humiliate him for his ignorance of things divine. Shame him for his good comprehension of finances, batting averages, and political in-fighting. Laugh at his frustrated effort to play psychiatrist. Form a choir and raise a chant and haunt him with it night and day-“Sir, we would see Jesus.”

When at long last he dares assay the pulpit, ask him if he has a word from God. If he does not, then dismiss him. Tell him you can read the morning paper and digest the television commentaries, and think through the day’s superficial problems, and manage the community’s weary drives, and bless the sordid baked potatoes and green beans, ad infinitum, better than he can.

Command him not to come back until he’s read and reread, written and rewritten, until he can stand up, worn and forlorn, and say, “Thus saith the Lord.”

Break him across the board of his ill-gotten popularity. Smack him hard with his own prestige. Corner him with questions about God. Cover him with demands for celestial wisdom. And give him no escape until he’s back against the wall of the Word.

And sit down before him and listen to the only word he has left-God’s Word. Let him be totally ignorant of the down-street gossip, but give him a chapter and order him to walk around it, camp on it, sup with it, and come at last to speak it backward and forward, until all he says about it rings with the truth of eternity.

And when he’s burned out by the flaming Word, when he’s consumed at last by the fiery grace blazing through him, and when he’s privileged to translate the truth of God to man, finally transferred from earth to heaven, then bear him away gently and blow a muted trumpet and lay him down softly. Place a two-edged sword in his coffin, and raise the tomb triumphant. For he was a brave soldier of the Word. And ere he died, he had become a man of God.”