DeSantis of God? Hardly: On Psalm 72 and 74.
Field Notes From a Religion-Less Christian
January 15, 2023
Governor Ron DeSantis Says He Is of God and From God! Hardly, to Put it Kindly.
A Leon County Florida Circuit Judge Jan. 13th rejected a request filed by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ administration to dismiss a lawsuit filed after the State flew 50 migrants from Texas to Massachusetts in September (cf. The Orlando Sentinel, 1-14-23).
Just before the November election when DeSantis was re-elected his campaign ran an Ad that painted the picture of DeSantis being sent from God to save the people of Florida from the evils of, well, whatever!
Just what is the cause of God?
“Arise, O God, maintain your cause” is how Psalm 74 puts it. What is God’s cause? What is God pushing? What is God’s agenda? What is God’s platform?
We get an intimation from this: “never forget the lives of your poor” (Psalm 74). And this, [although speaking of the political King of Israel, we can connect this cause of the King to the cause of God since this plea is made: “Give the King your justice, O God, and your righteousness to the King’s Son; that he may rule your people righteously and the poor with justice” (Psalm 72)]: for he shall deliver the poor, who cries out in distress, and the oppressed who has no helper. He shall have pity on the lowly and poor; he shall preserve the lives of the needy” (Psalm 72). The political leader’s job is to maintain the cause of God and that cause is distributive justice for the poor.
Contrast that cause with our Governor DeSantis shipping refugees/migrants off to Martha’s Vineyard in order to, what, highlight the need to help the poor? Hardly. But this: to highlight the need to shut them out. And so, a double affront to the cause of God: one, exploiting these people and their condition, using them as pawns in a game in order to, two, further a victory in the battle to shut them out of our country.
That political campaign Ad by DeSantis declared, indeed, proclaimed, that he was individually sent by God to do God’s bidding. This is an offense against God as well as personal hubris. God’s cause is distributive justice where every person has everything they need for a safe and secure life. Every person. The cause of Jesus (who, as DeSantis, an avowed Christian, confesses, is God) for the least, the last, the lost, the little and the dead while not calling for the rich to be poor does call for the rich to make the concerns and livelihood of the poor their priority.
When I pray Psalm 72 I usually think of the U. S. President and pray that he be the one who leads the “people righteously and the poor with justice.” I need to shift my Psalm 72 prayer to include the Governor and indeed, all of our elected and appointed leaders. Governor DeSantis needs our prayers: that he would shift from the cause of DeSantis to the cause of God.
