High Hopes Smashed—Again!

On Wednesday, July 25, 2018, Police responded to a 911 call of a man vandalizing President Trump’s “star” with a pickax on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. At the time of the alleged perpetrator’s arrest no motive had been discovered, but it’s probably safe to say that he was not happy with the president.

In fact, the Los Angeles Times reported that “since the 2016 presidential campaign, Trump’s star has endured several publicized episodes of vandalism, including a spray-painted swastika and “mute” icon.” People have been seen stomping on it, spitting on it, and writing on it as they pass by.

“In October 2016 a man was caught on video bashing the star with a sledgehammer. He was charged with felony vandalism.”

Why do we put such high hopes on human leaders’ abilities to make things right? And when they (inevitably) don’t—or can’t—we lose it! Well, maybe not to the extent that this person did, but our basic response is the same: we get angry, frustrated—to the point of losing hope and faith in the political system—or in humanity altogether!

Maybe the problem is not in the hoping, but in the who we’re hoping for.

Solomon may have said it best when he wrote: “What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun” (Eccl. 1:9).

In the Old Testament the Israelites felt the same way about their first king, Saul. God was the Israelites’ first (and best) King, but they were dissatisfied and wanted to be like the surrounding nations. They complained to God and asked for a king of their own; they told God with a straight face that they were dissatisfied with His leadership.

So God picked a king for them; but only after giving them some dire warnings about what would happen if they decided to go down the “human king” road (see 1 Sam. 8). Saul was physically handsome, stunning really. The prophet Samuel wrote that he stood head and shoulders above everybody else (1 Sam. 9:2). People had such high hopes for Saul, but (you guessed it) he let everyone down.

God warned them that choosing a human being to try to do the job that only God could (and can) do would ultimately and always be a disaster.

So what is the answer to this age-old dilemma? Well, simply put, we need to put our faith only and consistently in God, not in human beings.

But this doesn’t let us off the hook. As citizens of a democratic republic we should endeavor to choose leaders who are moral, upstanding, and God-fearing; not just in their words, but more importantly in their actions. We ultimately have to recognize what an effective and successful, God-fearing, career leader, and politician wrote: “Praise the name of God forever and ever, for he has all wisdom and power. [Only] He controls the course of world events; [only] he removes kings and sets up other kings” (Dan. 2:20, 21, NLT).

God, the maker of all things, longs to be our King; both as a nation, and more importantly, in each of our hearts. When we make Him such, His Son, Jesus, the bright and beautiful Morning Star (Rev. 22:16), can never be destroyed; not by any human with a pick-ax, and, more importantly, not by Satan!

Make Him your King today.

Omar Miranda, a counselor and writer, lives with his family in unplain Plainville, Georgia.