HARPING ON A TRIFLE

From My Perspective - - -

We have learned something new and special in the world of politics. According to Senator Durbin (Democrat from Illinois), on Tuesday, the subject of God and Jerusalem as the Capital of Israel was “harping on a trifle.” On Wednesday, the Platform Committee of the Democratic Party decided that God and Jerusalem should be reinserted as part of their Platform. It would require a two-third vote of a quorum present. Any fair-minded observer would conclude that they had neither. That did not stop the declaration of the Chair that two-thirds had voted to amend the platform. It would be fair to describe this decision and procedure a mess.

What exactly do words mean? When a U.S. Senator uses the term “harping”, what is he trying to convey? When he uses the term “trifle”, what is he asserting? The word origin of “harping” has a brief usage, namely, “to talk overmuch about". The Thesaurus is equally brief indicating that it means “to nag”. The possible synonyms are, “dwell, reiterate, repeat.” The word “trifle” is defined in the World English Dictionary as “a thing of little or no value or significance.” If we are to understand what a U.S. Senator thinks is important as a statement in a political declaration of what the Democratic Party believes and is committed to is merely “to dwell on something that is of little or no value or significance.” If words mean anything, and politicians use many of them, the mention of God, as in “God-given potential” is of little or no value or significance.” Additionally, Jerusalem as the Capital of Israel is also of little or no value or significance. Really? Is that a credible and viable policy? Is that what our nation wishes to project in the world as our core belief as a “christian” nation?

Should one who chooses to mention God in public and political discourse be categorized or demeaned as one who is “harping on a trifle”? Is this an admission that our nation is very much at home in the post-Christian world and lifestyle? Historically, other nations foolishly made the decision to ignore God. Around 1500 BC, Egypt and the Pharaohs set out on that course and enslaved the Jewish population. In His time, God asserts Himself in that political arena when He purposes to deliver His people. Amid their reluctance, Egypt finally concedes to let God’s people go. In their journey toward the Promised Land, there is evidence of the miraculous hand of God in the affairs of the people. There is also the need for a God-Consciousness to prevail among the people. An expression of this is given in Exodus 20:2-5, “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me.  You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God…” That nation, like ours, needed to know that speaking of God was not “harping on a trifle.”

The issue of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel should be a no-brainer. From the beginning of the united kingdom of Israel, Jerusalem was central to their way of life. There is an interesting lament given by Jesus Christ in the Olivet Discourse, Matthew 23:37-39, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! See! Your house is left to you desolate; for I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!" Was Jesus “harping on a trifle” in His lament? Jesus wasn’t in the first century, nor should we be in the twenty-first century. We’re rapidly losing our way and our values. Don’t view matters of faith and practice as merely “harping on a trifle.” Believe and practice the foundational truths now!  Don’t become a generation that wishes you had stood strong and firm in God’s truth. The time to stand for God and His Word is now. God and His Word does not constitute “harping on a trifle.” Consider these things with me!