PRÉCIS ON GOD’S PLUMBLINE OF CHARACTER: THE OBJECT OF OUR BOASTING – SPECIAL NOTE ON THE PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE

SCRIPTURE. “However, let him who boasts and glories boast and glory in the Lord. For [it is] not [the man] who praises and commends himself who is approved and accepted, but [it is the person] whom the Lord accredits and commends.” – 2 CORINTHIANS 10:17-18, AMPC

KEY TERM: “BOAST.” ‘Kauchaomai’ [καυχώμενος]: “‘To vaunt (in a good or bad way);’ to glory or rejoice; properly, ‘living with one’s head held up high;’ figuratively, ‘living with God-given confidence; to exult, take pride in; to speak to one’s advantage and thereby give praise to; to brag either upon one’s self or another; to make an ostentatious display, in speech.”

QUOTATION. “This paralysis of the mind and will of grown-up men, raised as ‘Christians, supposedly disciplined in the old virtues, boasting of their code of honor, courageous in the face of death on the battlefield,’ is astonishing, though perhaps it can be grasped if one remembers the course of German history, outlined in an earlier chapter, which ‘made blind obedience to temporal rulers the highest virtue of Germanic man and put a premium on servility.’” ― WILLIAM L. SHIRER, The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich: A History of Nazi Germany,’ 1960; edited

COMMENTARY. “‘But he that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.’ Not in himself, nor in his outward circumstances of life, or inward endowments of mind; not in his natural or acquired parts; not in his wisdom, knowledge, learning, and eloquence; nor in his own righteousness, labours, and services, much less in other men’s labours; nor in his own sense of himself; nor in the opinion and popular applause of others; but in the Lord Jesus Christ, as the Author and Donor of all gifts, natural and spiritual; in His wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption; and in His judgment and approbation of men and things, which sense the following words direct unto.” – JOHN GILL, An Exposition of the Old and New Testament, 9 vols., 1746-1763; edited

DK’S TAKE. Now then, beloved, who between these two candidates – DONALD TRUMP AND KAMALA HARRIS – shall accord themselves most righteously by this Holy Standard? Who, if either, shall even subtly display a measure of true humility before their Sovereign this day? And will you be able to measure it, beloved, not by your feelings or by your predisposed preferences, but by this ‘Plumbline of God?’

My Point: True Christians are to measure a man or woman, especially a leader, by the Measure of The Scripture, and no other. We need reminding of this. As we listen and watch these two figures battle to become our next – and very possibly our last – President of the United States, let us ‘Search for Character’ above all else, and settle for nothing less!

Christian author, founder, and executive director of The Center for Executive Leadership, RICHARD E. SIMMONS III, wrote this: “‘The humble are the strongest.’ They don’t make decisions by sticking their fingers in the air. They know who they are. Their lives are not consumed by trying to please and impress others” (The True Measure of a Man, 2010; edited).

CODA. The Bible records that MOSES, arguably the greatest human leader in history, “was very humble, more than all the men on the face of the earth” (Numbers 12:3). And even JESUS described Himself this way: “I am gentle and lowly in heart” (Matthew 11:29).

Therefore, friends, I was led to bring these reminders to us on the occasion of very probably the most impactful Presidential Debate in our entire existence. Nearly everything depends upon our making the best choice possible.

THE QUESTION: WHICH AMERICA shall the Victor and his or her Spoils bring to us: ‘A Dictatorship’ in the image of a Man, or ‘A Republic’ in the image of our King? Or, my friends, ‘Neither’ of these?

We report, you decide, beloved. Selah.