Somewhere in a forest, a lion steps up to the microphone, looks out over a crowd of sheep and deer, and makes his pledge: “Once I’m elected, I will become vegetarian.”
And the sheep are listening.
That’s the joke, and it lands because we’ve all been the sheep. Every election cycle, the podium fills up with candidates promising to become something they’ve never been. The career insider will drain the swamp. The man who never balanced a checkbook will balance the budget. The one who got rich off the system will tear the system down. Everybody’s going to change, right after they get what they want.
The ridiculous part isn’t that politicians make promises. It’s that we keep acting surprised when the lion is still a lion on day one in office. Nature doesn’t change because of a campaign slogan. A lion doesn’t need your vote to eat you. He just needs you to walk closer.
And look at the crowd in that picture. Nobody’s running. Nobody’s asking questions. The deer in the back look a little suspicious, but the sheep up front are all in. That’s what politics does best: it gets the herd to face the same direction and stop thinking. Red sheep, blue sheep, it doesn’t matter. The trick works on both sides of the aisle, and both sides are sure it only works on the other one.
Here’s the thing. The Bible doesn’t tell us the lion will never lie down with the lamb. It says that day is coming. But it never says a politician brings it. Isaiah points to a King who isn’t running for anything, because He already holds the throne. Peace between the lion and the lamb doesn’t come from a ballot. It comes from a changed nature, and only God changes natures.
So by all means, pay attention. Read past the headlines. Ask what a candidate has actually done, not just what he says he’ll become. Be wise as serpents and harmless as doves. But don’t put your hope in the podium. Don’t hand your peace of mind to anybody wearing a mane and holding a microphone.
The lion’s speech is funny because it’s impossible. The sad part is how many times we’ve believed it anyway.
“The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.”
Isaiah 11:6 (KJV)
By JC
JC is a Birmingham-area musician, writer, and founder of We Rock Network. He writes about music, faith, and the stuff that makes you laugh and think at the same time.
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