Why Obama Will Succeed in Ruining America and Why We Shouldn't Worry

"What has been, that will be; what has been done, that will be done. Nothing is new under the sun. Even the thing of which we say, 'See, this is new!' has already existed in the ages that preceded us." -Ecclesiastes 1:9-10

I'm a big fan of Ecclesiastes, filled with a different sort of Wisdom, not proverbs or sayings that make a man nod along in agreement, but arguments that make him ponder the state of the world and the response of his own soul. His sense that all things are vanity I find perfectly expressed in this verse, which tells us that there is nothing new under the sun; all things have been done before. In this light, let us analyze perhaps the most (seemingly) novel thing in our times.

There is a war going on in the United States today. It is not being fought with weapons of iron and fire, but with subtle ideologies and the words of twisted tongues. Nevertheless, the casualties are real and we should prepare to dig the proverbial mass grave for the millions of innocents who will join the original martyrs of Herod (yesterday being the Feast of the Holy Innocents). Let us not forget and leave aside those three important headstones, one for life, one for liberty, and one for the pursuit of happiness.

This war has been going on for some time and should not surprise us. There is nothing new under the sun. In the Garden of Eden, our first parents attempted to grasp the place of God for themselves; not long after, we read of the Tower of Babel, destroyed for the sheer pride of its builders who sought to reach heaven by their own way, to rebuild on earth that paradise which could only be found in the presence of God. Every day, in many and varied ways, man seeks to depose God from His throne upon the cherubim, to build for himself a perfect dwelling made by imperfect human hands and crown himself the king of glory. Obama's quest to reshape America in his image will succeed because it has all been done before and has most of the time succeeded.

"Nothing is new under the sun." These words ought not to fill us with despair over our lack of originality, but to fill us with hope: all the devil's tricks and snares have already been tried and failed. Our God and His Righteousness shall outlast all the evil kingdoms of the earth. "Do not be provoked by evildoers; do not envy those who do wrong. Like grass they wither quickly; like green plants they wilt away. I have seen ruthless scoundrels, strong as flourishing cedars. When I passed by again, they were gone; though I searched, they could not be found" (Psalm 37:1-2, 35-36).

What is the worst they can do? Tax us with heavy burdens? Our Lord provides rest (Matthew 11:28). Shall they imprison us for our faith? The better for us to evangelize prisoners (Acts 16:20-40). Shall they murder us, send us off to death camps, persecute us to the point of spilling our blood? We ought to go on preaching the Gospel regardless: "What I say to you in the darkness, speak in the light; what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops. And do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy both soul and body in Gehenna" (Matthew 10:27-28).

Christian hope is geared toward heaven, our true homeland apart from this place of pilgrimage. When we hope in this life, in this world, we rest our hearts on something transitory, something failing, which in the end will "pass away," but when we hope in God, and base our lives on His instruction, which "shall not pass away," we rest in safety (cf. Matthew 24:35). No matter how grave the circumstances of this life, the Christian must rest on this hope above all others. Only prayer can keep us so focused and devoted (Lord, may I myself grow in prayer!).

Hoping in heaven, we will accomplish the great things we seek to achieve (cf. Matthew 6:33), because Christian hope overflows in charity in this life and only Christian charity can build a perfect society. Only love, with its power of intersubjectivity, with its ability to stand in solidarity with others, with its strength of forgiveness and mercy, can build a truly lasting society. Only a society placed in the hands of God, who is love (cf. 1 John 4:8), can last, just as only the man who hopes in the Lord will survive.

This perfect society, the Kingdom of God, is the work of Christ in and through man. It must be accomplished in the hearts of each man before it is able to spread throughout society. The conversion of every citizen is necessary. It may never be achieved in this life, but we place our hearts in the hope of the Kingdom of Heaven, for although there is nothing new under the sun, God is above the sun, its Creator. In Him alone will our souls find rest.

His Servant and Yours,

Micah