“…that in all things [Christ] might have the preeminence.”
—Colossians 1:18b
James A. Garfield was president of the United States of America, taking office March 4, 1881.
A member of the cabinet insisted that the new president call a meeting on his first Sunday in Washington following his inauguration to discuss a matter that threatened a national crisis.
The president refused to call this meeting for that Sunday on the grounds that he had another appointment. The cabinet member then insisted that the national matter was of grave importance and that Mr. Garfield should break his engagement, but Mr. Garfield refused to do so.
Then the cabinet member remarked: “I would be interested to know with whom you have an engagement so important it cannot be broken.”
President Garfield replied: “I will be as frank as you are. My engagement is with the Lord, to meet Him at His house at His table at 10:00 tomorrow morning, and I shall be there.”
This story is both inspiring and condemning to me. Condemning because I have in my life given in to pressures to do things that were not what I believe God wanted me to be doing. In other words, I have been guilty of telling God, “You will have to wait; something more important than You has come up and it requires my time.”
It sounds shocking when I say it that way, doesn’t it? But that is exactly the message I conveyed when I didn’t make God the absolute prime importance and put any and everything aside for Him.
It is inspiring to see a man with such intense pressure upon him stand his ground and say, “I’m sorry, nothing is even close to being as important as my appointment with God. He comes first; all other things will just have to wait, even a national crisis. If that makes you angry with me so be it; better that you be angry with me than that God be angry with me.” I desire the devotion to God that Jesus commands of us, a devotion that would forsake even the burying of a beloved parent in order to follow the Lord (Luke 9:59-60).
What a blessing it would be to have leaders with such devotion and priorities. How different our government, country and society would be if this were the case. This should encourage us to follow Paul’s instructions to pray for men in every station in life, especially those in authority (I Timothy 2:1-3). After all, the king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord, and He can turn it as He sees fit (Proverbs 21:1).
Rather than fretting and complaining about the leadership and decisions of local, state, federal, business and even household leaders, we ought to be praying for them. God can guide their thoughts and decisions in a way that is godly and beneficial.
The very reason we are to pray for those in authority is so we can live a “quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.” We are told that rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil ones (Romans 13:3-4).
God tells us that He uses rulers to execute His judgment upon evil. If things in our governments are not what they ought to be, maybe we should look in the mirror and ask ourselves if we are giving God the priority in our life which He deserves.
The greatest benefit we can be to society, our community, our family and ourselves is to make sure our “heart is not right in the sight of God” (Acts 8:21).
It would be a wonderful blessing to have leaders with the priorities of President Garfield, but it would be an even greater blessing if I, and all of the saints of God, was always diligent to give Christ the absolute preeminence in everything (Colossians 1:18).
- Philip Green is pastor of Greenwood Primitive Baptist Church.
