Vladimir Putin is running a destructive war in a foreign country.
Xi Jinping is enforcing a COVID-19 lockdown that is threatening his nation’s welfare.
The living God ordered the people of Israel to “make for yourselves no idols … I am the Lord (Leviticus 26:1-2).”
What’s the difference between the three?
The first two are world leaders who care nothing for the people they oversee. They rule with an iron hand to keep themselves in power.
The third one established laws and decrees for the benefit of the people he leads.
That’s a huge difference.
Putin, Russia
Putin, the president of Russia, is seeking control of Ukraine, a former Soviet Union vassal. He continues to target civilians and their infrastructure, destroying their heating and light sources as winter sets in. Putin invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24 hoping for a quick overthrow of the Ukrainian government. That didn’t happen. As a result, millions of Ukrainians have been displaced inside and outside their own country, and huge chunks of civilian centerpieces – apartment buildings, schools, electricity grids and other sites – have been and continue to be destroyed.
Putin has no interest in serving the people he wants to control. Even his own people are resisting their forced deployment to Ukraine as soldiers.
Xi, China
The government of China, led by its authoritarian leader Xi, has implemented an impossible zero-COVID crackdown policy, forcing millions of citizens to isolate in their homes, including barricading neighborhoods and sealing apartment doors, reports Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Trudy Rubin.
At the same time, Xi refuses to import successful COVID vaccines, instead opting for less-effective Chinese-made vaccines. And China’s senior citizens are “woefully under-vaccinated,” Rubin reports.
In other words, she writes, “XI Jinping has backed himself into a self-made COVID trap. If he lifts the lockdown, millions of at-risk seniors could die. Keep the lockdown, and the economy continues to suffer.”
It’s obvious that Xi also has no interest in serving the 1.4 billion people living in his country.
God, the world
Let’s start with the 10 Commandments.
The first four demand worship of God – “you shall have no other gods before me,” no idols, don’t take the Lord’s name in vain, and keep the sabbath day holy.
Any authoritarian leader could make those demands, I’ll give you that.
The next six, however, are for our good:
- Honor our parents.
- Do not murder.
- Do not commit adultery.
- Do not steal.
- Do not bear false witness against your neighbor.
- Do not covet.
Many of the laws of the United States are based on these principles. Why? Because they lead to a peaceful, productive society.
If our family structure is stable, then we don’t need to search for love and meaning in life from gangs, drugs, pornography, illicit relationships, or any other form of destructive behavior.
Murder and stealing are criminal offenses in every jurisdiction in this country.
Adultery destroys relationships.
Bearing false witness prevents justice.
Coveting is a state of mind, but it leads to selfish behavior that harms other people.
In the New Testament, Jesus – who came to Earth as fully God, fully man (a concept that no human can understand completely) – not only supported the 10 Commandments, he told us why we should follow them.
Anger precedes murder, Jesus said, so don’t get angry.
Lust precedes adultery, he said, so don’t lust.
Don’t make promises (vows) we can’t keep. Otherwise, people won’t trust us.
Don’t take revenge, but love your enemies. (How’s that for a way to eliminate conflict?)
Give to the poor in secret – not to serve our ego, but to actually help the poor.
Pray in secret for the same reason – to show sincerity to God, not to show off in public.
Forgive others.
Fast in secret – again, not to earn praise from other people, but to improve your relationship with God.
Don’t hoard money, because we can’t take it with us when we die. Therefore, give generously to people and causes that improve their lives.
Don’t worry about food and clothes; God will provide what we need. Other issues are more important.
Don’t judge others; God will judge us with the same measuring stick we judge others with. (Ouch!)
Ask God for whatever is good, and God will give it to us. (Putin and Xi certainly won’t.)
Serving God give us an other-person mindset. I care about you because God cares about me, and shows me how to care about you.
People, our response
That’s the difference. Putin and Xi think only about themselves, and they are destroying the lives of the people under them as a result. They don’t care.
God sent Jesus to show us how to live much better lives than that.
Jesus summed up his Sermon on the Mount with this statement:
“In everything do to others as you would have them do to you; for this is the law and the prophets.”
Matthew 7:12
God’s instructions demand a response from us. That’s why true faith is public as well as private.
Near the start of his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said this:
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfill.”
Matthew 5:17
“The law and the prophets” refers to the Old Testament, which was the only written Scriptures Jesus had to work with. And it was enough for him.
New Testament laws build on Old Testament laws. Jesus’ death on the cross replaced the sacrificial system described in Leviticus, providing once-for-all forgiveness rather than the repeated individual animal sacrifices that God required earlier.
All of it was, and still is, for our benefit.
Jesus came to serve, and to show us how to serve. Jesus wants the best for us. That’s the hook that drew me to him a long time ago. He is not like world leaders who are serving their own interests.
No. Jesus wants the best for you and for me.
There’s a reason Jesus is still a popular leader 2,000 years after he lived. His ideas transcend time. For the good of all. For the good of individuals.
Test my theory yourself, and see if I’m right.
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