In Proverbs, King Solomon lays out six things that God hates, yes, seven that He abhors. Church leaders must take notice and ensure that their church or ministry is void of these activities. Further, leaders must be ready to call out corrupt behavior wherever it is found in organizations, the government, schools, and businesses. Sadly, corruption is pervasive in the American culture today. Defined in Noah Webster’s 1828 dictionary as the act “to entice from good and allure to evil” or “to pervert to falsify or infect with errors.” There is intention in this definition, and God hates: 1. A lying tongue, 2. hands shedding innocent blood, 3. a heart that devises wicked plans, and 4. feet swiftly running to evil, among other things. (Proverbs 6:16-19) The scriptures contain examples of how God handled corrupt leaders, such as Haman, several Jewish Kings, Ananias, and Saphira.
In Matthew 22: 37-40, Christ tells us that the greatest commandment is to “love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.” He also says there is a similar commandment to “love your neighbor as yourself.” There is no opportunity to wiggle away from these commandments, as in John 14:15, He tells us that if we love Him, we will keep His commandments. Combining this with Proverbs should inform the church leader that we are to hate lying tongues, hands shedding innocent blood, hearts that devise wicked plans, and feet running swiftly to evil. In other words, we are to hate and call out corruption wherever we find it.
Get involved in your local, state, and federal government people! Call out the corruption that hurts others. Beyond criminality, corruption hurts you, your family, and your communities. Love others as you would yourself, be “strong and very courageous” (Joshua 1:9), and shine a bright light of truth on corrupt workers. I await the church’s response to the latest debacle associated with Hurricane Helene. This follows close on the heels of East Palestine, Ohio, the Lahaina fires, the western U.S. fires, and unconscionable spending by our government. Now, the Biden/Harris administration is stating that those in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Tennessee will not receive as much attention from FEMA as the illegal immigrants. First, take note to never depend on anyone but God Almighty. Man will disappoint you. Secondly, this all smacks of federal, state, and local corruption.
Many churches and volunteers have taken the time and personal resources to mount rescues and supply runs to the hardest-hit areas. Power companies are making great efforts to restore power and communication. In the meantime, corrupt government leaders have spent their budget on illegal immigration and Ukraine. Governor Roy Cooper delayed the deployment of the NC National Guard assets while private pilots flew supplies in and people out of flooded areas. A local Assistant Fire Chief threatened to arrest a private helicopter pilot who was flying supplies to the Chimney Rock area and rescuing people. Having been a Fire Chief at another time, I know he had no authority to do anything but ask law enforcement to intervene. So, this is corruption and stupidity, a dangerous combination.
My fellow members of God’s Ekklesia, these victims are our responsibility. We are to love them as ourselves and come alongside them to show Christ’s love. First, triage the situation and concentrate on helping them. Then, when the dust settles, engage in government and call out corruption. Don’t engage in partisan politics, as that was not created by God. It does not matter if anyone is a Democrat, Republican or other. Don’t hide your head in the sand, lest we have a replay of so many tragedies in our past when the church failed to engage. Government is on Christ’s shoulders (Isaiah 9:6); therefore, it is our responsibility to ensure it operates in the righteous and just manner God intended. Government is in the dominion Christ passed to us (Matthew 28: 18-20), and we are, therefore, to occupy until He returns.
We have never been commanded to allow a corrupt leader or government to run over us. The Bible tells us in Romans 13 to give honor to legal and just governments. We may not like what they are doing, but we are to obey the law if not overtly going against God’s law. When the leader/government steps outside God’s law, we are commanded to come alongside the disadvantaged. If the church in Germany had done so, we would have a completely different history. And remember when Peter and John told the Jewish leaders that they were following God’s law, not the unjust civil law of the day? (Acts 4:18-21) We are to be so bold.