Many who are first will be last,
and many who are last will be first.
—Matthew 19:30
An incumbent politician has a huge advantage: name recognition, media access, fundraising edge.
In every area—politics, sports, theater, business—the advantage belongs to the entrenched. We expect winners to keep winning.
The prevailing belief was that wealth was a sign of God’s pleasure and favor, so Jesus’ disciples were dumbfounded when he said, “It is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.” He turned their presumptions upside down, saying that on judgment day, “Many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first.”
Someone said, “The kingdom of God doesn’t play by the rules.” Well, actually, it does—in fact, it sets the rules. It’s our culture that doesn’t play by the rules—kingdom rules, that is.
Kingdom values and
culture values seldom mesh.