Sixty Years Later — A Larger Concern
If you are reading this before January 20th, you are reading it before something happens that has happened nineteen times during my lifetime. I was only about four months old when it happened for the first time in my lifetime, so I don’t remember much about it. The same goes for the second time when I was only a little over four years old.
It really wasn’t until I was a little over twelve years old that I sort of got “plugged in” to what was happening. I was intrigued with all of the pageantry that went along with a presidential inauguration ceremony.
While all of that pageantry was very impressive, I was also somewhat aware of some of the “behind the scenes drama” that accompanied the election that led up to the inauguration. At age twelve, I was totally unaware of an historic meeting that had taken place in Houston, Texas on September 12, 1960. I have learned about that meeting over the years.
In spite of being unaware of that meeting, I was very aware of some concerns my parents had. As much as I could tell at that age, it seemed to me that they were supportive of the man who had served as our president from the time I was four until the time I was twelve. They seemed uneasy about some changes they perceived were possible. The concern seemed to not be merely that change was coming; they seemed to be concerned about the type of change that might be coming.
One reason for that concern was that the new president was a member of a different political party than the man who had served for the past eight years. They had lived through about twenty of these inaugurations and four different changes in the political party of the occupants of the White House. So, while some of their concern was of a political nature, this was something they had already experienced.
Another reason for my parents’ concern had to do with something they had never experienced. It was tied to that meeting in Houston the previous September. While I was totally unaware at age twelve of the reason for that meeting, I now know that it was an attempt to address a large venue, what my parents were concerned about at home.
The meeting in Houston allowed the then-candidate for president to address and to answer questions from a fairly large group of preachers. Although there is very little probability that any of the members of the Greater Houston Ministerial Association had ever even heard of my parents, they had the same concerns that my parents had. The concerns were felt and expressed by millions of people in private conversations, via the various media that existed at that time, and by almost any means available.
You see, not only was our new president going to be representing a different political party from the previous president and not only was he younger than his predecessor, but also, for the first time in this nation’s history, our president was going to be a Roman Catholic. People were genuinely concerned that the president that was to be inaugurated sixty years ago this week would not be accountable to the people, the Congress, the Supreme Court, or to anybody else in our nation. There were serious, genuine concerns expressed by people who believed that, to one degree or another, our president would be answerable to the Pope and that the “seat of our government” would not be in Washington, D.C. but in Vatican City.
Sixty years later, we are anticipating another inauguration. It will be the nineteenth such ceremony to take place during my lifetime. It will be the ninth time that the new president will be from a different political party than his predecessor. A very bitterly contested election, accompanied by some things that none of us has seen during our lifetimes, has led to this moment.
As was the case six decades ago with my parents, I have some real concerns. As was the case with them, those preachers in Houston, and millions of other people, some of my concerns have to do with things like allegiance, accountability, political philosophies, etc. At the same time, one major concern of mine is much different.
It seems to me that some who wear the name of Christ are more loyal to their political affiliation, a social cause, ideological or philosophical leanings, their own opinions, etc. than they are to the Lord. Things that, sadly, can only be described as rude, hurtful, and, even in some cases, vicious are said, written, and/or posted. What is even worse, some of these people “worship” in the same church building.
I have no way of knowing what our new president will say as he takes office or what he will do while in office. Whatever he says or does will definitely have an impact, either positive or negative, on the future of our nation.
We may like to think that, because we put “In God We Trust” on our money and have the words “under God” in the pledge to our flag, God will always bless us and our nation will stand as long as the world exists. We seem to forget that other leaders, political positions, nations, and entire civilizations have come and gone over the centuries.
As we wonder about what will happen during the administration of our next president (or any president for that matter), our loyalty must be to the One who said these words:
A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also should love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another (John 13:34-35).
The extent to which I live up to those words and all that He taught have a definite impact on something far greater than the future of a nation. The impact will be personal and eternal.
If we expect to be inhabitants of heaven in the next life, we must remember that, in this life:
“…our citizenship is in heaven… (Phil. 3:20).
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AUTHOR: Jim Faughn
