Forgiving Your Political Leaders Doesn’t Mean What You Think It Means!
by Michael Desgrosseilliers, Elijah House President
These are unique times. Without much effort, all of us could come up with a few obviously sinful, offensive things that leaders in the United States have recently done.
Maybe it is the clear negligence happening in East Palestine, Ohio, following the train derailment. Or maybe it is that some of our leaders seemingly set a trap for U.S. citizens on January 6, 2021, and then arrested them and threw them in prison without trial for two years. (The sin of this situation has become even more apparent with the recent release of the 40,000+ hours of video footage.)
We may not be the direct recipients of these injustices, but they still affect us personally to some degree. Whenever an injustice is committed, there is a need for forgiveness—because forgiveness is a matter of justice. When we choose to forgive, we let go of our desire for vengeance and trust the Lord to step in and correct the matter.
And that is exactly what we want and what we are crying out for in the United States—for God to come and correct certain things.
The decision to forgive political leaders doesn’t mean what most of us think it means. Specifically, it does not mean letting injustice go or acting like we don’t care about what our leaders are doing. Oh no. God invites us to forgive as an act of warfare against the darkness.
We need to guard our hearts right now.
People in positions of authority are saying and doing things that are hurtful, treacherous, unlawful, and even cruel, and we are waiting for the justice of God to come. We know it is coming—but we are still waiting for it in hope.
As we wait and pray, we need to keep in mind that sometimes there is a distinct difference between our version of justice and God’s version. When a Samaritan village would not receive Jesus, James and John asked, “Lord, do You want us to command fire to fall from heaven and destroy them? You know Elijah did this in the past.”
Jesus replied, “I did not come to destroy people. I came to save them.” Sometimes our idea of justice can be wrapped up in human emotions. We want to torch those who have made bad decisions, and God wants to save them, even if they have rejected Him. Jesus died on the cross so God’s judgment could be 100 percent fulfilled—and it was.
As people who are sensitive to the Spirit of God, we need to keep an eye on our hearts, because how we react to what our leaders are doing is a seed we are planting that will grow and produce a harvest for us in the future. Left unchecked, unforgiveness in our hearts can lead to what Hebrews 12:15 warns of: a root of bitterness springing up and causing trouble. It can lead to many becoming “defiled,” including ourselves!
Yes, there are leaders who are doing outrageous and clearly evil things. But even when the evil is so profound and plain to see, we need to beware of reacting in ungodly anger and resentment.
Judging someone to condemn them is not the heart of God. Judging them to discern what is right about their actions and what is wrong about their actions and then choosing to love the person anyway is forgiveness.
When another person intentionally sins against us, it is easy to react in hatred, a desire for revenge, or an unwillingness to be Christlike. But the sin sowed by an ungodly response will eventually produce a harvest, like any other seed we plant. It goes into the ground and returns as a growing plant intent on producing more seeds.
The biblical principle of Galatians 6:7 is surprisingly political in nature—not just for those who have set themselves up as our enemies, but also for us as believers.
For whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. (Gal. 6:7 NKJV)
In times of intense trauma, vicious darkness, and the bitterness of betrayal, we need to remember we will reap whatever we sow. A harvest is coming, but we get to decide what that harvest will be. When we respond with forgiveness, not condemning the person or writing them off, we provide no place for sin to set up camp in our hearts. Where there is forgiveness, the seed of unforgiveness cannot be planted.
We can see injustice and judge it according to our own ideas and human abilities, or we can see injustice and respond like Jesus, planting seeds of righteousness and hope. We always have those two choices.
Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. (Luke 6:37–38 NIV)
Unfortunately, many of us hesitate to forgive our leaders because we believe some things about forgiveness that are not true.
- Forgiveness does NOT mean letting our leaders off the hook for their actions.
If someone in authority sins against our nation in a criminal way, God wants us to forgive them for what they did, but their actions still warrant consequences. When we choose to forgive leaders who hurt us, we are not saying, “God, I no longer want justice.”
No. Choosing forgiveness does not mean letting go of our heartfelt cries for God to come and right all wrongs. It means we believe what God said in Scripture: that vengeance belongs to Him, never to us.
- Forgiveness does NOT mean forgetting.
All of us have heard people say, “Time heals all wounds,” but that is a bald-faced lie.
A much truer proverb is this: “Those who forget the lessons of history are doomed to repeat them.” Forgiveness does not mean forgetting somebody’s sin. “If I forgive this person, I have to pretend the injustice never happened.” No. We get to listen to the Holy Spirit, have healthy boundaries, and walk in God’s wisdom.
- Forgiveness does NOT mean offering unsanctified mercy or justifying why the leader did what they did.
Unsanctified mercy looks like dismissing someone’s actions or talking ourselves out of the pain they caused. For instance, if we had an abusive father, we offer unsanctified mercy when we say things like, “My dad did the best he could” or “I was a difficult child to deal with” or “He didn’t know better.”
Though those statements may be technically true, they are not forgiving our dad for what he did. Unsanctified mercy, by definition, cannot lead to real forgiveness.
Real forgiveness looks like choosing to release the other person from the spiritual debt they owe us due to the sin they committed. We give up our “right” for vengeance, for apology, for the other person to realize they wronged us, and for any other thing we feel we are owed—and set these things in God’s hands, so He can deal with them.
Nowhere at any point in this process do we erase our cry for justice. God’s perfect justice will be fulfilled in His timing.
Our choice to forgive our leaders releases painful circumstances and any people involved with those circumstances to God, who avenges us.
Think about a particular injustice, lie, or act of lawlessness that sits heavily on your heart today. The choice to respond the way Jesus would respond allows you to give the situation to the Lord.
Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men… Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, ‘Vengeance is Mine, I will repay’, says the Lord. (Rom. 12:17–19 NKJV)
Prophetically, we know He is coming to save the United States. We know He is shaking the earth right now, and He’s going to change everything for the good of His people. Our choice to forgive allows us to set this nation in His hands, so He can avenge us.
Throughout Scripture God tells us that He will respond to what we choose to do.
If we do “this,” He will do “that.” Human action, good or bad, is followed by divine response. Deuteronomy 30 and God’s promise to reward the good is an excellent illustration of this principle.
Not everything the United States has done is evil. Over the past 120 years or so, there has never been an altruistic nation like the United States. Whenever disaster happens in the world, like an earthquake or a large volcanic eruption, the US arrives fastest with the most help, even when the hurting nation is our enemy. We often contribute much more than all other nations combined. Following World War 2, the US spearheaded massive rebuilding projects with Germany and Japan, their vanquished enemies. These nations were quickly restored to first world status; otherwise, they likely would have languished as third world nations for a long time.
Yes, the US has planted seeds of sin and unrighteousness, and the nation will reap a harvest from those seeds. But God also sees our righteous acts and will repay us with blessings. Because of Deuteronomy 30 and other passages, I know there is a promised blessing of the Lord that the US has not yet realized, and I believe it is coming very soon.
Our choice to forgive is a potent part of seeing the blessings of God.
HOW do we forgive our leaders? What does it look like?
The following steps are what I call “The Circle of Forgiveness.”
- The Holy Spirit reveals a specific issue so we can see it and respond. “God, I can see that my heart toward this leader is not Your heart toward them.”
- We forgive the leader or leaders who hurt us. “I forgive this person for how they have treated me, my city, or my nation.”
- We seek forgiveness from God for our sinful reactions: bitterness, hatred, condemnation, etc. “I repent for the hatred I’ve carried in my heart toward this leader. I repent for my assumption that You don’t (or can’t) love them.”
- We forgive ourselves for what we’ve held over our own heads in unforgiveness, guilt, and shame. (The presence of any guilt or shame is evidence of unforgiveness toward ourselves.) “I forgive myself for not responding with the love of Jesus in this situation.”
If we can keep our hearts clean before the Lord this way, He will move on our behalf—in a season when we really need Him to move on our behalf.
Vengeance—God’s perfect justice—is His. He will repay. We can trust Him to do so and allow Him to carry the weight of the burden of injustice, as we get ready for an amazing harvest.
Do you have a heart for intercession? Do you deeply desire to see the kingdom of God come in your nation? Check out Healing the Nations by the Sandfords.