Preaching the wrong gospel

When the results of the elections came in last night, I became very depressed. Not only do I feel like my country has voted away the freedoms that men and women have given their blood, sweat, and tears to preserve for decades, but I see a very dismal future ahead.

Seeking comfort in my period of mourning for my country, I turned to the only place where true comfort can be found–God’s Holy Word.  I looked up the verse about God not giving us a spirit of fear (because I do admit to fear for the future) and after reading it proceeded on to read the rest of 2 Timothy.  The passage that stood out was chapter 3, in which Paul talks about the last days and perilous times to come.  Two of the verses continued to twist around in my mind as I went on to work this morning:

Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. But evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived.

It was then that God granted me the grace to understand an obvious truth.

But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

So follow my thinking on this.  In previous posts on this blog I have ranted politically, expressing my confusion with the liberal agenda and my disappointment in the “conservatives” of the USA.  Politics has been nonstop on my mind since the beginning of this year.  I’ve stressed about it, worried about it, even prayed about it, but in all of that I was focussing on the wrong doctrine, preaching the wrong gospel.  Yes, the USA has been a grand beacon for individual liberty and social freedom for many years, and yes, that freedom has now been put on the auction block in favor of spreading the wealth and government-granted rights–but that’s not what should be important to a true believer.  The only true liberty is the one God grants us from our sinful natures.  When granted that liberty, we can “continue in the things which we have learned and been assured of” even when those around us are being deceived by “evil men and impostors.”  This is true liberty!

Forgive me, my friends, for losing sight of my God in the political storm that has swept through my country this year.  God has taught me an important lesson.  The USA is not the rock of my salvation, the source of my freedom, or my hope of eternity.  Jesus Christ is all those things.  My faith is stronger in Him, because my trust in my country has been shattered.  Praise God for the refining fire that He sends to us to purify us to His perfect will.