Sentilong Ozukum
My mother is convinced so.
“No matter what we do, the person whom God had chosen to lead the people will win the election in the end,” she said one morning as we sat discussing politics -Mokokchung’s favourite pastime.
I peeled an orange and offered half of it to my father sitting nearby.
“Do you agree with what mom said?” I asked him.
“Yes, your mother is right,” he replied as he always does. “No matter how much we fight or quarrel during elections, the person whom God has destined will win the election.”
I shifted in my seat, my hands quivering with irritation.
“Are all the present 60 MLAs of Nagaland chosen by God?” I asked both of them, raising my voice to an unpleasant pitch.
“Yes,” my mother replied without any hesitation. “Leaders are always chosen by God.”
I let out an exasperated sigh.
“If all the 60 MLAs of Nagaland have been chosen by God to lead the people of Nagaland, then God must be really bad at choosing MLAs,” I snorted and paused to study their reaction.
My mother stared at me horrified.
“I mean, if all 60 of them have been handpicked by God to lead us,” I continued, “Can’t he at least do us a favour and pick a few of them who genuinely pursue the righteousness of God and stand against corruption? So the only conclusion is that God is terrible at choosing MLAs.”
My father burst out laughing.
My mother, who has never lost an argument with anyone, dead or living, stared at me as though she was going to swallow me without even removing my clothes.
“Maybe God wants to see us suffering,” she replied, smacking her tamul-infested lips.
“But the God of the Bible isn’t a God who derives pleasure from the suffering of his people,” I replied. “He is a God of love, mercy and grace. Which father would want to see his kids suffer?”
“Then maybe God is punishing us for our sins through them,” she replied quickly. “Whatever it is, it is God who chooses leaders to rule over the people.”
I stood up from my chair and took a deep breath.
“So no matter how much of stone pelting, gun-firing, property destruction, booth capturing, proxy voting, vote buying, liquor distribution and other immoral activities we do, in the end, the candidate whom God has chosen will win the elections, right?” I asked, both my hands in the air.
“Yes,” my mother replied without batting an eyelid. “Nobody can change God’s destiny for someone.”
“Okay,” I said, shaking my head in disbelief and walked back to my room.
Many Naga Christians, like my parents, will swear on their ancestor’s graves that elected political leaders are chosen by God. I have witnessed so many programmes attended by the elected representatives, both cultural and religious, where the pastor pronouncing the invocation uses phrases like, ‘chosen by God to lead the people’, ‘destined by God to rule over his people’ and ‘anointed and handpicked by God’ while referring to our MLAs/Ministers. Where did we get this idea that all political rulers are anointed, appointed and approved by God? The Bible. God chose various kings to rule over Israel. Time and again, we hear sermons on God’s anointing of King Saul or King David to rule over Israel and we’re easily convinced that it is God who puts all Kings on the throne. But even in the Old Testament, not all the Kings of Israel were chosen by God. In fact, most of the Kings of Israel were chosen and mandated by the people and eventually turned out to be evil kings. In the book of Hosea 8:4 (NASB) God laments through the prophet, “They have set up kings, but not by Me; They have appointed princes, but I did not know it. With their silver and gold, they have made idols for themselves, That they might be cut off.” In the New Testament, a popular verse to justify that all leaders are chosen by God is Romans 13:1 which says, “Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.”
The Bible says and we know that all authority comes from God and no person rises to any position apart from God’s providence and knowledge. As Abraham Kuyper, the Dutch theologian and politician, once said, “There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry, Mine!” God’s providence and control is not in doubt. But the question we’re actually seeking to answer is this: Does God’s providence equal His approval? Romans 13:1 is clear that every governmental leader has been appointed, arranged or established by God. But does that mean every leader has been chosen by God?1 Samuel Chapter 8 describes how God allowed the nation of Israel to choose their own Kings after Israel rejected God as their King. The message to Israel was simple. They would be allowed to select their ruler, but it was not the ruler God wanted for them. The ruler would be an evil one who would oppress them. Yet God would establish his throne, but he would not be God’s choice.
One of the greatest gifts God has given us is the freedom of choice. Adam and Eve disobeyed God and chose to eat the forbidden fruit in the garden of Eden and God didn’t stop them. In life, we often make sinful choices and yet God rarely stops us. A few months ago, an alcoholic father of two passed away in Mokokchung town after years of reckless living. Somebody at his funeral commented that God had destined him to die on that very day. Did He? Actions have consequences. Many of us make a lot of unhealthy, bad and dumb decisions in life and ultimately when our choices result in a dreadful disease, debt or disaster, we blame God and sigh, “This is what God has destined for me.” This is bad theology.
Another reason why many Naga Christians believe that our elected leaders are chosen by God is because of the prophecies and predictions of our prayer warriors. In the absence of television exit polls in Nagaland, every five years, these supposedly ‘prophets of God’ take centre stage in politics and make predictions on who is going to win/lose the elections. It is a well-known fact that many contesting candidates seek their counsel while preparing and planning for elections. Not all their prophecies come true. During the 2018 elections in Nagaland, an intending candidate went to seek the counsel of a respected prayer warrior in Kohima and she laid her hands upon him and announced that God isn’t in favour of him. He would be losing the elections. When the results were announced, the candidate won the elections with a landslide victory. Interestingly such ‘prophets of God’ rarely have anymessage/opinions/warnings from God regarding the evil and immoral activities of Naga Christians during elections. A few days ago, a good friend of mine commented that the sitting MLA from a particular constituency in Mokokchung would comfortably win the 2023 elections as well because a prayer warrior in the village had apparently seen the 2023 election results in her dreams. I rolled my eyes in fascination. Even if the prophecies of the prayer warriors come true, it doesn’t mean that God has caused them to happen. God, as we understand, isn’t limited by time. He knows everything about the past, present and future. God knows who will be the next chief minister of Nagaland but that doesn’t mean God has already chosen the next chief minister of Nagaland. If you’re a chain smoker, I can predict that you will be diagnosed with lung cancer in the future. But that doesn’t mean that I caused the cancer. Prediction isn’t the same as predestination.
Is God sovereign? Yes
Does God know future events? Yes
Do we have a choice in the course of human events? Yes
Are we responsible for the choices we make? Absolutely.
As the 2023 state assembly election approaches, we can take comfort in the fact that God is in control amidst all the chaos that takes place around us. But, as Christians, we aren’t called to rest in God’s control but to display God’s character in the choices that we make.
Leaders may rise and fall under God’s providence but as long as we choose them, we will be held accountable whether they meet the approval of God.
