Only God can provide true nourishment.
IT SEEMS ALMOST universal that we humans place our hope in other humans to rectify our problems. Look no further than American presidential elections. Every four years millions watch with bated breath to find out if their candidate won. The acute reaction to election results on both sides of the political aisle are telling—literal weeping and despair on one side and elation on the other.
But these reactions are the exact symptoms you would expect to see from those who have given their hearts to human leaders. Lest you think I'm immune, I can tell you I too have been swept up in presidential elections in the same manner. Even as far back as 1996 when I was not yet 13 years old, I recall being downcast at Bob Dole's defeat. (Just about everything in the previous sentence is ridiculous.)
Therefore, I don't posture myself your judge. I understand the inclination to be happy or sad, because despite the intentions of the founding fathers of America, the presidential position does wield quite a bit of power.
Yet even when the preferred candidate wins, that person will never solve your problems no matter how wise or benevolent he or she is. Solomon wrote a proverb in a similar vein, about a peer oppressing the poor:
A poor man who oppresses the pooris a beating rain that leaves no food.Proverbs 28:3
The proverb speaks of a needy man who rises to some sort of authority. The poor are elated, believing their peer will empathize and protect them. Instead, the needy man oppresses the poor, and he is like a beating, devastating rain. The irony is thick. When a parched land is in desperate need of precipitation, the moisture it receives is so violent and excessive as to cause more harm than good.
What can we glean from this verse? Three key principals emerge from the passage.
1. Power Exposes Character
You may have heard Lord Acton's saying that "power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely." While temptation may delve good people into depravity, power is a kind of spotlight on character. What happens when you give a greedy person power? She'll covet and steal on a grander scale. Give power to the sexually immoral, and he'll use it to obtain more sex. The desire was always there, but with authority, the person now has the ability to get more of what he wants.
In the proverb above, the needy man values power and possessions—fulfilling his own needs—more than those over which he has authority. His position affords him the means to oppress.
2. Leaders Can Use Their Power for Good or Worse
The needy leader could have used his position to help the poor people in his charge. Instead he abused and mistreated them. The irony in Proverbs 28:3 is that water, which is essential for life, causes devastation. The beating rain wipes out the land, "leaving no food."
A leader's power works the same way. He or she can nourish people or destroy them.
3. We Should Not Hope in Human Leaders
Even the best leaders will eventually let you down. Placing your hope in them is not only foolish but can also rise to the level of idolatry. Presidents, governors, and CEOs can have a tremendous impact on our lives, but to hope in anything but Jesus will leave you disappointed at best. While human power is temporary, Jesus reigns in perpetuity. As the Scriptures say, "He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever" (Isa. 9:7) and that God "will establish the throne of his kingdom forever" (2 Sam. 7:13).
This inclination to hope in mortal leaders is not new. In 1 Samuel 8, the nation of Israel demanded a king. This might seem like a normal or appropriate request from a sovereign state, but a king was not part of God's design for Israel. He was their leader. As he told Samuel, Israel's judge, "they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them" (1 Sam. 8:7). Then he instructed Samuel to warn the people about "the ways of the king who will reign over you." (1 Sam. 8:9). He said a king would, "take the tenth of your grain and of your vineyards and give it to his officers and to his servants. . . He will take the tenth of your flocks, and you shall be his slaves" (1 Sam. 8:14, 17). Despite these warnings the people insisted on what can only be interpreted as a lack of faith in God almighty.
Intellectually, the lesson is quite simple. Humans cannot solve your problems. Only God can provide peace, security, and prosperity.
Jesus Is Our King
We can look at the proverb from two perspectives: the oppressor and the oppressed. For those who rise to any level of authority, work hard to serve your people rather than use them for your gain. The book of Micah teaches us how to behave: "To act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God" (6:8). These tenets are especially critical for leaders.
For the oppressed: don't hope in a human savior. Pray to God for relief and trust in him to deliver. Only he can provide true nourishment. As Psalms reminds us, "Put not your trust in princes, in mortal man, who cannot save" (146:3, BSB). Jesus is our king, the only one who can free us from oppression.
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