Not All That Glitters Is Gold, But Gold Still Does Glitter Too

Thinking about the historic vote for House Speaker yesterday and today, a quote from J.R.R. Tolkien's The Fellowship of the Ring comes to mind.“All that is gold does not glitter,Not all those who wander are lost;The old that is strong does not wither,Deep roots are not reached by the frost.From the ashes a fire shall be woken,A light from the shadows shall spring;Renewed shall be blade that was broken,The crownless again shall be king.”Kevin McCarthy, the Republican Congressman from California, has now failed to gain the necessary votes five times, due entirely to concerns held by at least twenty of his colleagues, that he is too much that status quo which Americans are tired of, and which we need less rather than more of. Despite what former President Trump is saying, or perhaps because of it, I am reminded that not all that glitters is gold.Yet gold does glitter too, and we need to remember that. Leverage the fact, against fatalism and cynicism, which is always too ready to abandon rather than support honorable men, as well as worthy causes. This is not to say that McCarthy is the man who should be supported, but it is a general truth that we need to not grow weary in doing what is good, or supporting others who do.Consider Ron DeSantis, just sworn in for another term as Florida governor. What if he is the real deal, and not just another politician who will disappoint us, saying what sounds good, but sure to renege on his promises once he is empowered? Weariness in doing good will guarantee a bad outcome. That much is sure. And the Lord loves a cheerful giver, who does what is right, and operates from pure motives. But that can mean just as surely that we bury our roots deep, to protect them through the winter, just as we are commanded to guard our hearts. It might not mean that we throw our endorsement behind someone who appears at a distance to be a good goose for the gander.On the other hand, one of the benefits of our all living through the last few years of COVID madness is that we can look at track records, and how various persons handled the crisis, whether to steer us through it, or else to exploit it.Shame on us if those who did the former will be lumped in with the latter if now they look the better to us, and reap thereby a kind of benefit. Or, what? Will we hope for an excuse to throw in the towel, or leave it, once thrown, where it lies, the hope for a better tomorrow for ourselves and our posterity? God forbid.To be sure, "Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits."Moreover, as Proverbs 18 also says, "The name of Yahweh is a strong tower; the righteous man runs into it and is safe."That is, even just calling on the name of Yahweh is a security against those who seek our lives. May all the rest of our words be worthy of calling on the name of the Lord, or else let us pray that God would have mercy on us when they aren't.