Contemplative Bible Reading

1 Timothy 2:1-4 (New Living Translation)

1 I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them. 2 Pray this way for kings and all who are in authority so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity. 3 This is good and pleases God our Savior, 4 who wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth.

The United States of America is 250 years old today. That depends of course on how we count years and events. Nevertheless, this is supposed to be an important milestone. I am old enough to remember the bicentennial of America. I graduated high school that year (yes, I am that old).

In theses verses, Paul urges Timothy to pray for all people (A L L P E O P L E — I could write a few dozen posts on that concept). The second sentence specifically mentions kings, those in authority, and politicians by today’s standards. The desired result is we can live peaceful and quiet lives. Not so that we can relax in peace and quiet, but that we can live godly lives with dignity. Yeah, I like that.

We have that in America today. Sure, folks bicker and fuss and yell at one another. Sure, it seems that THEY are trying to ruin everything, but really, breathe a moment in godly dignity. Settle down. I am sure there are plenty of old sayings to write here.

I recently saw something on YouTube (the fount of all knowledge — not) that in elections in America, we are not voting for a savior. We already have a Savior. We merely vote for someone to represent us in our form of representative democracy. Many times we hold our nose due to the stench and vote anyways.

And per Paul’s urging, let us pray. Let us intercede on behalf of our elected representatives. Let us especially intercede on behalf of those representatives whom we did not favor with our votes. They need prayers. They need prayers almost as much as I need prayers. Let us not skip over the first phrase from Paul’s urging and pray for A L L P E O P L E. Please put me at the top of your list.