President’s Day - Make America Great Again?

Several possible definitions of greatness allow the speaker or listeners to apply the concept of overarching size or dominance differently. 

• The Ronald Reagan/Donald Trump call to make America great again is generally interpreted to mean economic and military pre-eminence in the world; affluence and unchallengeable military power.
• This aligns well with Jim Collins’ book Good to Great, in which greatness is operationally defined according to a number of metrics, most prominently financial performance that exceeds market averages by several orders of magnitude over a sustained period of time. 
• The Greatest Generation references our forebears who endured the Great Depression and then fought and won World War 2.  In his book, Tom Brokaw wrote, "it is, I believe, the greatest generation any society has ever produced,” because these individuals fought not for fame and recognition, but because it was the ‘right thing to do.’
• The sons of Korah sang of the attributes of God that emanate from His greatness. These include His stronghold being a joy to the earth, because human kings are terrified and defeated; the establishment of His city forever; His righteous judgments; His lovingkindness; His guidance of His people forever. (Psalm 48)
• Jesus, when asked about the great commandment of the Law, replied: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.” (Matthew 22:37-40) 
• The author of the epistle to the Hebrews makes it clear why Jesus is the great high priest over the house of God: “... we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh.” (Hebrews 10:19-21) This living way is the new covenant promised in Jeremiah 31:31-34 (Hebrews 10:16-17), and made possible by God through the death and resurrection of Jesus.

The ever-present danger of ambition is that we choose the wrong goal. Jesus did not exhibit greatness in any humanly recognizable form while He was on earth, nor exhort His followers to greatness. He defined greatness by service and self-sacrifice, becoming the least in human terms. (Mark 10:43) 

Getting past the personalities of current political leaders (it’s hard, I know), can we reach a social consensus of what a greatness looks like? Mother Teresa immediately comes to mind as a role model, but as Oliver North pointed out in Congressional testimony, “Mother Teresa doesn’t go to Tehran.” King David is perhaps a more appropriate role model, or perhaps George Washington or Abraham Lincoln. What were the core characteristics that made these people great leaders? 

• Most prominent is their unwavering determination to do the right thing, as Tom Brokaw observed. They had some human failures (Romans 3:23) but defined their public life by moral and ethical choices rooted in God’s character.
• They were committed to stay the course during dark days when ruin knocked on their doorstep. David fled from King Saul for many years. George Washington led his men through Valley Forge’s cold winter, also retreating from Boston and New York City. Abraham Lincoln dealt with an unbroken string of military defeats in the first two years of his Presidency.
• They opposed members of their own government who sought to compromise principle to gain practical advantages. They were going to achieve good ends solely by moral means.
• They focused, perhaps by circumstances of their times, on righting the most important wrongs. It may be that the times make the man - that great crises produce great men - but these leaders were distinguished by rising to the challenge, both moral and social.

Is our perception of great political leadership is forged only in war or national calamity? Despite the goals of President Johnson’s ‘Great Society’, his name is seldom mentioned in a list of great presidents. FDR is more commonly (but not by universal acclaim) noted as great, because he led the nation through both the Great Depression and World War 2. Although King Solomon led ancient Israel to prosperity, built the temple, and epitomized wisdom, few classify  him in the same level of greatness with his father, King David. 

Looking beyond President’s Day and individual heroes, is greatness found in a society that is just, generous, tolerant, compassionate, and so forth, or in a society that challenges each individual to rise in moral character? Mother Teresa exhibited compassion and generosity, and challenged her fellow nuns and her donors to likewise rise to this standard (as per Matthew 25:35-40). I do not know if her ministry encouraged the objects of their charity to rise to moral excellence. When people are borderline starving, should Jesus’ sheep go beyond feeding them to share with them the empowerment of the gospel, to be free from the penalty and power of sin through the blood of Christ and the indwelling Holy Spirit? Are such qualities already the norm among the homeless living on the edge of starvation?

It is not the role of Caesar to share the gospel, and any effort by any human government to force Christ-like behavior would be both tyrannical and ludicrous. From this perspective, it is impossible for any governing authority - politician, law, or court - to make a nation great. While we have a concept of in loco parentis, usually applied to schools or foster parents, it would be effectively a dictatorship to extend that role to the government as a whole. Since the greatness of God’s character (holiness and love) only rises in individuals by their voluntary decisions,   the challenge of our time, and of every age, is how to encourage these choices. We share Jesus’ greatness only when we follow in His footsteps.