No Kings

Several weeks ago, Progressives organized a counter demonstration they termed “No Kings” in over 2,000 cities throughout the country as a counter-protest President Trump’s Military Parade held on June 14, 2025, in Washington, DC coinciding with the Army’s 250^th anniversary. The Progressives maintained that they had no issue with the U.S. Military but wanted to express their concerns with what they regarded as President Trump’s monarchial and authoritarian tendencies. With that said, I seriously doubt that the Progressives will express any monarchial and authoritarian concerns if a future President Gavin Newsome or JP Pritzker holds an ostentatious march and celebration in Washington, DC during Pride month to celebrate the LGBTQ+ agenda or some other aspect of the Progressive agenda. And woe be unto anyone who would dare object to an event like this and risk cancellation in their professions, careers, and social circles!

Regardless of one’s political leaning and world view, is this concern about Kingship a new or novel concern? I am here to tell you that it is not. Scripture in both the Old and New Testament is very clear in warning about monarchial and authoritarianism in civil government. In I Samuel 8:10-18 the Prophet Samuel made very clear that the request by the Elders of the nation of Israel for a King to lead the nation was misplaced. The Elders wrongly believed that a King would eliminate the undesirable effects of nepotism, graft, and corruption currently besetting the nation of Israel. God made it clear to Samuel that a King would only exacerbate these problems. In summary, Samuel warned the Elders that a King would pursue unwise military campaigns and conscript the young men of Israel to fight in these campaigns; conscript young women to serve as domestic servants; and a king would impose heavy taxation on the citizens and confiscate their property if taxes were insufficient to accomplish his narcissistic aims. Does anyone see a parallel with Vladimir Putin and his relentless pursuit of Russia’s bloody war of aggression against Ukraine? Jesus also warned of the dangers of authoritarianism in the New Testament. In Mark 10:42:45 Jesus admonished his disciples that they should not emulate the governmental leaders of their day who ruled over citizens with an iron hand.

In today’s fragile and polarized culture, how should Christians and even non-Christians in America seek to understand and pursue good and effective government, elect honest and capable elected leaders, and strive to create a society that is just and livable? I believe Psalm 146:3 is a good starting point with the warning to not place ultimate trust in human leaders who are, by definition, imperfect and will always make mistakes. It is God and God alone who is worthy of our complete trust and allegiance. Until Jesus Christ, the King of Kings, returns, we will continue to live in a fallen world beset with the ravages of hunger, murder, corruption, disease, and the entire menu of sin. While we should not be surprised at this reality, we should never cease in our efforts to make our communities and our nation a better place to live. We should not give in to the temptation to disengage and withdraw from the world around us and deem it a hopeless cause unworthy of our effort and involvement to improve. Instead, we should engage our communities at the local, state, and national level and seek to elect good leaders and pray for them as Paul advises in I Timothy 2:1-3. We should also seek to live in a way that promotes a safe and healthy community. Paul’s words in Romans 12:14-21 provide an excellent roadmap for this approach: Strive to live at peace with others to the extent this is possible; avoid being arrogant and vindictive; extend kindness and compassion to those who have suffered adversity in their lives; be generous to lend material support to those in need even if we have opposing world views; and seek to overcome evil with good.

God bless you and thank you for the privilege of your time in reading my blog.