—John 7:24.—By Maria Maria #203 DO 2883 9/92

(Given before the 1992 U.S. Presidential election:)

1. DAD HAS REPEATEDLY SAID that Bush is drunk with power‚ warmongering‚ an egomaniac who is only interested in serving his own selfish interests & in making a mark for himself in the World. So how does this portrayal of Bush jive with the seemingly sympathetic & caring President Bush that our Miami teens saw when he visited victims of the Miami hurricane at the shelter set up for them, who wiped tears from his eyes when our teens sang for him & his wife, & who gave them all a warm hug & words of appreciation afterwards?

2. How could such a seemingly sweet‚ caring, warm individual who sympathises with the plight of the homeless, who visits the bedsides of the wounded & who is touched with emotion by our songs of love, be the selfish, power-hungry person that Dad has constantly referred to?—One who can so heartlessly & cruelly send half–a-million of his own young men & women into a war that risks every one of their lives, as well as actually killing & wounding hundreds of thousands of others purely for materialistic gain.—A man who has shown his lack of concern & sympathy for the poor peoples of the World time after time, & his lack of willingness to help the poor, suffering, tortured & maimed peoples of what used to be Yugoslavia.

3. It's the same struggle between the true & the false that is always being waged, & just another time when we have to choose what to believe. Are we going to believe by faith the Word that Dad has given?—Or are we going to believe what appears by sight to be true? Are we going to judge Bush by the Word of God's Prophet?—Or by his friendly, smiling‚ sympathetic personal reaction to folks who are homeless & pretty teens singing happily while the cameras roll & the photo opportunities look good during a crucial time on his re–election campaign trail.

4. We're very often faced with these kinds of choices: Will we believe what the Word says?—Or will we believe what our own eyes see, or what we think they see & how it seems to us?

5. You teens who personally sang for Mr. & Mrs. Bush may like this man as a person & appreciate the special attention he showed us‚ but don't allow that to cause you to doubt what Grandpa has said about him. This is an example of how Grandpa makes statements about one aspect of something—in this case, Bush's character—but he doesn't cover the entire subject and every facet of Bush's personality. Grandpa has given some very strong talks against Bush's actions as President of the U.S. He has condemned Bush's inhumane invasion of Panama & his cold & calculated slaughter of defenseless Iraqi civilians. But if you were to take what Grandpa said about Bush & compare it to Bush's apparent concern & compassion for the hurricane victims in Miami, it could look like a contradiction. You might think, "How can a man be so horribly wrong in one situation, yet appear to be so good & caring in another situation?" Seeing this gentle, caring side of Bush could even cause you to wonder if Grandpa has been wrong in his judgement of Bush.

6. There's also a distinction that needs to be made between a person's personality characteristics & his leadership characteristics. If we were to judge all politicians on their publicly displayed personalities, most of them would probably rate pretty high. This is particularly true of presidential candidates, because in order to be a candidate for the presidency, you usually have to be able to portray yourself as somewhat charismatic. You have to have some kind of personal appeal‚ some kind of personality, the ability to relate to people & get along with people, because most Americans, at least, judge candidates more on their personalities than on the political issues they stand for.

7. On the other hand, when we are talking about someone's leadership role & what they have accomplished or have not accomplished as a politician or leader, we are not necessarily criticising their personality & their personal traits of sympathy or kindness or tender-heartedness for their wife, their children & victims of natural disasters. Presidents & politicians & highly-placed leaders can appear to be very human & display some of the nicest, sweetest characteristics. That's part of their job! Of course‚ such displays are often politically motivated, but sometimes they do show their natural disposition & personality coming out, which works to their political advantage.

8. For example‚ a number of times Dad has said that in many ways Bush is a fine man. But then look at some of the absolutely horrible things he has done!—Slaughtered hundreds or possibly thousands in Panama, & hundreds of thousands in Iraq!—Many of whom were Christian!—In defense of anti-Christians! So you can't really say that many leaders are bad through & through, & that there is absolutely nothing good about them. Everybody has some good to them, some good characteristics, & some good things in their personality that are commendable or sweet.

9. Of course, we are pretty much convinced that whatever Bush does, he does out of political motivation for political gain, but that is not to say that he doesn't have a sweet side to his personality, & that when he gets in certain situations‚ that he is not genuinely touched by people & by suffering & by singing & by beauty. He is, after all, a person, & he is capable of the same emotions as all of us! Even big, rough, tough bullies can sometimes cry & be very touched by human tragedy or by some deed of kindness done to them. (—They have a lot to cry about!—D.)

10. So you need to realise that there is often more than meets the eye, & in evaluating such people, the most important thing is to keep the Word in mind. And even if what you read in the Word seems to conflict with what you see with your eyes—or what you think you see—you must realise that the Word is the most reliable thing that you have to stand on. The Word is the Truth, & even things which don't seem to agree with it will fit somewhere. In other words‚ they won't contradict what is in the Word. Even if it may seem that something contradicts the Word, it will not once you understand the situation. What you see or experience may offer you another perspective or aspect of things that you weren't aware of or that you hadn't thought about, but it won't contradict the Word.

11. There have been many human interest stories of even great villains who have shown themselves to be very sweet & kind with their wives or their mistresses or their children. People are just amazed & say, "Oh, how could that possibly be true when they were such villains?" Well, people can do terrible things & be great villains without being evil clear across the board. They almost always have at least some good qualities, some kindness or consideration or love or compassion. They can be sweet with somebody‚ even if it's just loving their pet puppy dog, if they can't love anybody else! There is always some part of them that is good & kind & sweet & considerate. It may not show very often, but there's almost always a soft spot there somewhere.—So how much more can they be touched by suffering & by human emotion, & be able to laugh & sing & cry & smile.

12. But just because they can do that‚ it doesn't mean that all of a sudden they're ideal people & that they can't do anything wrong & they can't conduct great wars on people, & they can't selfishly impoverish the rest of the World for their own gain & that of their country. Anybody who could be the head of the CIA & all the things that Bush was must have a very bad & unscrupulous side to their character, because those people are very hardened & can treat those who get in their way very cruelly. But when it comes down to personal relationships with others, they can be very sweet, very loving, very lovable & very personable. In some cases it's almost like schizophrenia!

13. They seem to get demon–possessed with power & with greed in the great leadership positions of the World, which I think is pretty much confirmed by Scripture.—That World leaders can be influenced & motivated by very strong, dark spiritual forces. The Devil is given the kingdoms of this World to rule (Luk.4:5–7), & of course he is going to be ruling the kingdom of the U.S.A. & controlling its head! But that doesn't mean when acting on a personal basis that its leader can't be sweet & lovable & smile & greet you warmly & like Christian songs & all kinds of nice things!

14. No matter how cruel & egotistical & proud & selfish & self-serving & warmongering they are, most of these men can at times appear to be pretty nice people. If you just met them on the street & you didn't know who they were & you sat down to talk to them, some would probably be quite warm & personable, even charismatic individuals. So don't be misled & believe that just because someone is sweet & says nice things to you, that he is going to be that way all across the board, & be upright & righteous & unselfish & caring & concerned for the whole World too. To think that would be a serious misinterpretation or misapplication, & drawing the wrong conclusions‚ to say the least!

15. Just because they respond to your offers to pray for them with, "Oh‚ thanks, I really need it," does that make them the kind of ideal heads of state that they should be? When they say, "I need your prayers," they of all people ought to know how much they need prayer, because they know just how bad off they are, & how controlled by powerful people or organisations they are! They're just pawns most of the time, & they can hardly do anything on their own. Not only do they have a lot of human influences & organisations surrounding them that are calling the shots, but they also have all these heavy‚ tremendously powerful, dark, spiritual forces controlling them as well. So when they say they need your prayers, they know they really do! But that isn't necessarily a clear indication or "proof" that they are Godly or spiritual, or that they are in the habit of praying or looking to the Lord for His direction.

16. They may even go to church, sing some hymns & stand up & pray at a prayer breakfast, but why should you let that mislead you? It says, "These people call unto Me with their mouth, but their heart is far from Me!"—Mat. 15:8. Look at all the instances of such supposedly religious people in the Bible. Even though they may smile at you now, there may very possibly be a time coming where they will kill you, thinking they do God service!—John 16:2. Some may have even received Jesus at one time, but they've turned their back on the Truth & rejected His control in their life.

17. Some of them do know the Lord. Look at Dan Quayle, I believe he is sincerely born again. And who knows? Bush might have even accepted the Lord at some time or another. They say Abraham Lincoln was a Christian too, & look what he did. Just look at Deborah & some of our backsliders; I don't doubt that they had received Jesus too‚ but look at the horrible & demonic things they've done!

18. So don't be misled by people's outward appearance & how much they pray or they quote Scripture or they go to church or they sing hymns or they smile at you & tell you that you're doing a great work. That doesn't necessarily mean they're living for Jesus. If they really knew everything you stood for & the full message of the Family & they still commended you for the great work you were doing & told you how much they loved you, that would be a much better indication that they are genuine Christians & headed in the right direction.

Public versus Private Personalities!

19. (10/92) We need to be able to distinguish between a person's personal, human reactions to things, & their behaviour in their public responsibility as a public servant, & what responses they make in a position of power.—The political choices they make, the World choices they make that affect people's lives. We need to discern what the motivations behind them are, the wisdom (or lack of it) they have in judging righteous judgement & discerning between the good & the evil, the true & the false.

20. Of course, only God can give the wisdom to choose between the true & the false, the good & the evil. In the matters of great countries & World relations‚ one person couldn't possibly have the wisdom that that takes, & if they're not in tune with God & His Will & His Word, then in most cases they're going to be in tune with the Devil & his will & his word, & they're going to make the wrong choices without even realising it. They don't have God's wisdom to see what's right; but even if they could see & discern the right choices, they would not have the Godly motivation to follow the proper course of action. With most of them‚ their understanding is darkened & their motivations are selfish, because they worship the "god of this World" who has empowered them to help him run it.—Eph.4:18; 2Cor.4:4; Mat.4:8-9. So "because they have rejected the Truth, He has sent them strong delusion, that they might believe a lie."—2Th.2:10-12. They become oppressed or even possessed by strong spiritual forces which control them to do their bidding in the great affairs of state, decision-making that affects millions in their own country & even billions in the World community.

21. Many politicians have a remarkable talent for dramatics & acting & playing a role‚ & they can play that warm, kind, public image very skillfully‚ when in actuality their heart is far from it & it is just an act. On the other hand, there are some who are sincerely touched by the feelings of others & who do care about people & their plight. One of the best ways to tell if they are really sincere & really caring individuals would be to know what they are like in private on a consistent basis, to have known them personally & intimately over a long period of time. So it would be very difficult to make accurate judgements as to the sincerity of an individual. But it's enough to know that all people, no matter who they are, have some good human qualities & can be sweet & kind & loving & considerate & sympathetic upon occasion.

22. What has bothered Dad about George Bush is not his personal qualities. What Dad has criticised is his horrible wars that have killed or maimed & impoverished thousands upon thousands of already poverty-stricken people, for self-serving & greedy motivations. It's the hurt that he & his government have continued to cause the poor of the World in Panama, in Iraq, in Jordan, & who knows how many other countries throughout the World that are suffering because of decisions made by the U.S. president & his government‚ who favour their rich over the poor of the entire World.

23. Bush is just the present pawn, the figurehead of a great worldwide bully government, which through its power‚ wealth & influence has been responsible for a phenomenally shocking amount of hurt & suffering to the poor people of the World. Bush is not the only one to blame, he is only a symbol for the evil American government, a representative who does their bidding. Of course, as an individual he is also to blame, because the Lord holds each one of us personally responsible for our deeds, or at least the part we play in them.

24. A government or organisation is composed of individuals, & if these individuals collectively make the wrong decisions‚ each of them are partly to blame, & the Lord judges according to how great or how small their parts in the misdeeds are, & what their motivations are.

The Standard of the Word!

(After the election:)

25. (12/92) With the Currents Letter on Clinton being published (ML#2827, GN 535), I'm concerned that you teens who sang or witnessed to Bush & Clinton may not have sufficient understanding of the situation, & that you could possibly become confused or even doubtful of the Word. There seem to be many Christians in the U.S. nowadays, & from what I've heard, both Bush & Clinton profess to be Christians. In a country where there are so many Christians & so many Christian churches, & the whole society & culture is rooted in Christian principles, it is to a politician's advantage to try to curry the favour of the large Christian voting block. Therefore, if he can act Christian, go to church, quote verses in his speeches, say "God bless America" & maybe pray a little prayer sometimes, it puts him in a very good light with the Christians.

26. Also, a politician may have been brought up with good Christian training & had Christian values ingrained in him so that they have become a part of his heritage, & he may automatically follow certain Christian habits that he has formed, which may not be entirely insincere. He may very well have received Jesus at some time in his life. But don't forget: Everyone who has received Jesus does not live like Jesus! In fact, this includes most Christians. When Dad speaks so negatively of Clinton, he is not saying that Clinton has never received Jesus.

27. Just because a person receives Jesus does not mean that they always do what's right. Receiving Jesus is a free gift that anyone, no matter how bad they are, can have. It doesn't have anything at all to do with their works. If you need proof of this, just look at some of our major backsliders who have attacked us so viciously. No one disputes that they accepted Jesus into their heart, & even that the Lord greatly used them while in the Family. However, now they are trying to destroy us, "thinking they do God service."—John 16:2.

28. So there are many Christians who are very seriously off-track‚ having not accepted the Truth & having "received strong delusion that they might believe a lie."—2Th.2:10-12. So no matter how good Clinton might look on the surface, & how nice he might sound, & no matter whether he has received Jesus into his heart at some time in his life or not, we have to believe God's Word through His Prophet—that Clinton is definitely on the wrong track & leading the United States in the wrong direction.

29. Even though there may be Christians in his administration, we all know that most of the poor Christians are pretty deluded because they are not obeying & they don't know the Word, so it's hard for them to tell what's right & what's wrong. So just because a person is a Christian, just because they have at some time in their life received Jesus into their heart, that alone does not make their actions right.

30. Bush & Clinton could both be very personable & very friendly & even very well-meaning. A person can even be sincere, but sincerely very wrong. Bush has been very wrong in many things, but not as wrong as Clinton is. This does not mean they cannot be sweet people to be with & talk to & to sing for. This does not mean that they have not received Jesus, although we don't know for sure. This does mean that‚ like most people in the World today who do not know & follow the Word, they are very off–track. And if they are in power & authority, they are most likely influenced by the Devil & leading people astray. (See ML #961, "Satan—King of Empires!")

31. This is a very evil, wicked World (1Jn. 5:19), & if someone isn't on God's side, they're on the Devil's side, even if they don't realise it. And especially with presidents of great countries‚ the powers of this World & the Devil are working overtime to control & direct them to do what the Devil wants them to do.—And what the Devil wants them to do is evil. He doesn't mind if they do a little bit of good along the way to confuse & mislead people if ultimately it will help them to more effectively accomplish his evil long-term plans.

32. So remember, while you look on the outward appearance, God looketh on the heart (1Sam.16:7), & there is often a very great difference! This is something that we often have to take by faith‚ because as human beings we naturally tend to look on the outward appearance & judge things by what we see, & to think, "How could my eyes deceive me?" In a certain sense, what you see may be true: You may see a warm, caring individual. But what you see on this personal level may not be an accurate reflection of the person's overall behaviour & action on a much greater, more important level, such as in the affairs of state & World decisions. There are a lot of things in the World that are not what they seem to be, or what they look to be‚ & the only way we can figure out what is true or false is by the standard of the Word. It takes faith to believe the Word, but the more we read it & the more we absorb it, the more we will believe it. "Faith cometh by hearing‚ & hearing by the Word of God."—Rom. 10:17.

33. So just as we have taught you that you can't trust your feelings, neither can you entirely trust your senses, for "we walk by faith & not by sight!"—2Cor.5:7. Hasn't someone sometimes said something to you & you could have sworn they said one thing when everyone else heard something different? Have you ever looked at someone who you are witnessing to & thought they looked so nice they must be sheepy, & later they turned out to be quite a goat? You can probably think of many more examples where your senses failed to give you the right signals, where they didn't always tell you the truth.

34. The only thing that we can really rely on & the only standard that we can trust is the Word! The Word says, "There is a way which seemeth right unto a man‚ but the end thereof are the ways of death."—Pro.14:12. There are many sweet, personable, charming people in the World who think they are doing the right thing & going the right way, but because they haven't yielded their lives to the Lord to obey Him & His Word, they are seriously off-track & going in the wrong direction, which will end in death. Even very good people who try to keep the rules & do all the things they should, if they're doing it in their own strength & trusting in their own arm, they are doomed to failure & doomed to be led astray by the Devil. (They may just be, as Jesus said, "Wolves in sheep's clothing!"—Mat.7:15.—Beware! God bless & keep you wise!—We love you!—D.)

Copyright (c) 1998 by The Family