Trust God, Not Other Powers (James 5:12)

But more than anything else, true wisdom is defined by its trust in God alone. When James talks about swearing, it brings to mind the oaths that people make to all sorts of entities and principles to ensure their belonging and safety. True faith trusts God and God alone. The Bible is full of examples, however, with people who turned to earthly powers—kings, pharaohs, nations—for their salvation when they should have just trusted God. 

Things aren’t so different today. The church that should trust in God for their good, turns to political powers, people, and legislation to “ensure their rights.” As if the church was ever guaranteed any right or expectation in this world, other than to be hated and scorned by it. If we find ourselves on the side of any political power in this world, promising us safety and influence, we need to seriously ask ourselves where we have gone wrong. 

When Jesus was offered political power by Satan, if He would just bend His knee, He said no. We can do no better.