The First Amendment

(Proverbs 20:28 KJV)  Mercy and truth preserve the king: and his throne is upholden by mercy.

The marginal reading of the NASB is interesting here because it throws an interesting insight into the Hebrew used for “mercy" (loyalty NASB) (2617a).  It reads “covenant loyalty”.  As I keep saying, my favorite translation is “lovingkindness” and the opinion that this is the OT version of agape.  This speaks to the relationship between political leaders and the people of God.

My first reading speaks to the responsibility of the leaders.  It could be the president or it could be the school board members.  They all have a responsibility, based on a covenant, to their constituents.  Too often they throw up smoke screens and simply lie to keep people from throwing them out of office.  This does not end well.

We the people also owe them a commitment.  Sometimes that means being a cheering section.  Other times it means being the inspector general. 

So?  We are blessed to live in a country where we still have some freedoms.  One of them, in the First Amendment is to petition the government for redress of grievances.  As believers we should not hesitate to exercise that right before we lose it.