He makes nations great, and destroys them; he enlarges nations, and disperses them. – Job 12:23

Today’s Scripture Reading (June 2, 2018): Job 12

Wouldn’t it be nice if we could make our nations great just by speaking the words? Wouldn’t it be nice if “Make America (or Canada or Britain or Russia) Great Again” was more than just a political slogan? Wouldn’t it be nice? Of course, then this world would also be a pretty phenomenal place to live. Every political leader or even megalomaniacal despot who assumes power is trying to do something good for someone. No leader of whom I am aware sets out to trash their nation. Even Kin Jung Un, and the political leaders of North Korea before him and after him, wants North Korea to be great. They want their nations and words to carry some kind of meaning on the world stage. If all we had to do was speak the words, then all the nations of the earth would be great.

But making a nation great takes more than words. And the reality that we sometimes miss is that nations and empires rise and fall on the world’s stage all of the time. No empire known to the history of this planet has been a forever power. They have all fallen. Some, like Russia, has seen ebbs and flows to their strength and relevance on the world stage. But no human country has ever known power that has lasted forever.

And every empire that has fallen from their perch atop the nations has done so because of very human decisions. Often decadence has been part of the condition that has preceded the fall, as well as an attitude that argues that this empire will last forever. But empires and nations don’t last forever, and so they need to make the most of their time on the stage.

Job argues that not only do nations not last forever, but also the rise and fall of the nations are dependent on God. Evidence would seem to argue that Empires are dependent on some kind of moral truth; there exists a God-given reason for the nation's existence, and when that reason passes from the consciousness of the leaders, the days of the empire are numbered. Eventually, the excesses of the rich and the exploitation of the poor cause an imbalance that cannot exist without an overwhelming moral cause to rally the people behind. The vision disappears, and the people perish.

I wish that making our nations great just depended on words, but that is not the truth. Great is a gift from God, and it is a gift that is often reserved for people and nations who, at least in some way, are willing to follow his moral imperatives. And as soon as that reason disappears, the empire is dispersed. It has always been that way, and it will always be that way.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Job 13