The Texas House of Representatives' Rebellion Will Not Be Televised
Texas Republicans Have a Stark Choice Before Them in Choosing a Speaker Today
The Texas Legislature opens its 89th Regular Session today. I’ve been participating in the Legislature’s biennial shindig since its 71st session. And in all that time, I’ve never seen an opening day that brings to light the themes of Psalm 2 as sharply as today:
Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD and against his Anointed, saying, “Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us.”
He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision. Then he will speak to them in his wrath, and terrify them in his fury, saying, “As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill.”
I will tell of the decree: The LORD said to me, “You are my Son; today I have begotten you. Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.”
Now therefore, O kings, be wise; be warned, O rulers of the earth. Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled. Blessed are all who take refuge in him.
The nations and the peoples have been raging and plotting against God and His Son Jesus Christ since almost the beginning of time. Why? Because in their lusts, their malice, their envy, and their debauchery they have not been willing to submit to the Holy God who created us and everything around us.
This became so bad that at one point these rebels actually killed God’s Son on a cross in a vain attempt to “burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us.” However, they failed, as God raised Jesus from the dead and set Him on a throne at His right hand to rule over this world (“As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill”). Despite this failure, the rebellion continues, though it is still as futile as it has been throughout human history.
Why is this theme relevant today? Let me be clear, the rebellion is not a partisan issue: many individual Republicans, Democrats, and Independents stand in rebellion against Yahweh Elohim. Yet as bad as the Republican Party often is from a biblical perspective, it is increasingly obvious that American Democrats as a party have taken the cultural and political lead in the rebellion against God. Which is what makes it so disturbing that a number of House Republicans are seeking to elect Dustin Burrows as speaker of the Texas House by partnering with Democrats.
I thought this was a good time to go through some of the bills filed by Democrats in the Texas Legislature this session to bring to light who it is Dustin Burrows, Jeff Leach, Jared Patterson, Cole Hefner, Giovanni Capriglione, Greg Bonnen, etc. will be partnering with today. Because to paraphrase Gil Scott-Heron, The Rebellion Will Not Be Televised today. During the debate over who should be speaker, none of the Burrows Republicans will be talking about how they are taking counsel with the party whose policies seek to burst the bonds that humanity has with Jesus Christ. Instead, they’ll be talking about how conservative they are, the political courage it takes to do the right thing, the need to coexist with those who disagree with us, Burrow’s leadership experience, etc.
To bring to light some of the things the Burrow’s Republicans are trying to hide, here are a few examples of what Texas Democrats want to do this session:
Force Texans to pay for the murder of babies
Eliminate Christianity from materials given to families and replace it with junk science
Make more people dependent on the government by expanding welfare rolls and making Texans pay for it.
Subject Texans to prosecution, fines, and endless abuse for living the truth that God created us man and woman, that marriage is between only a man and a woman, and that “are all one in Christ Jesus.”
Increase government control over and spending on health care.
Create the Office for Health Equity.
Make it legal to kill certain babies in Texas.
Increase the cost of health insurance by mandating broader coverage.
Increase unemployment and the cost of doing business in Texas.
Make it easier for people not to work while still getting paid.
I could go on, but I hope you understand what is at stake. Some of the Democrat proposals are in direct rebellion against who God is and how He created us in His image. Others stand in contrast to how God designed the world to work. In either case, these are the ideas behind the people that Dustin Burrows and his cronies are partnering with in their pursuit of power.
While the rebellion will not be televised, it is quite possible that the defeat of the rebellion will be broadcast in living color in homes throughout Texas and the United States. If Burrows is defeated and a Republican speaker is chosen without being dependent on Democrats for his position, I believe we will immediately experience a palpable difference in how the Texas House operates and the policies they put into law. It will not be perfect by any means, but it will be much like we are seeing across the country following the election of Donald Trump as president. He has not even been inaugurated, yet we are seeing radical shifts in attitudes and policies everywhere we turn.
The Trump revival has not yet come to life in the Texas Legislature, but the defeat of Dustin Burrow and his allies today would take us a long way in that direction. It is important, though, to remember that the primary revival that counts, subjecting our lives to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, does not depend on the outcome of today’s vote for House speaker. Or on anything else the Texas Legislature does this session. Jesus is Lord and is making all things new. We must take refuge in Him, rest in Him, and wait on Him until the time that all the rulers of the earth serve Him with fear and rejoice with trembling.