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Re: In Service to the President

"Now this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and 
Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who are you?   He confessed, and did 
not deny, but confessed, I am not the Christ...   Then they said to him, 
Who are you, that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do 
you say about yourself?   He said: I am the voice of one crying in the 
wilderness: Make straight the way of the Lord, as the prophet Isaiah 
said." (~Jn1:19-23)

Ari Fleischer, the recently resigned Bush White House press secretary 
was on the David Letterman show the other night. (7/17/03) Whatever we 
may be coming to realize about Bush, it has seemed that he has had many 
good people working for him. And interestingly enough, several of them 
have also been resigning from service to him.

The interview was what one would expect when such a nationally famous 
figure is appearing on a show such as Letterman. The jokes, the serious 
stuff. If all a person had to go on was that interview, one would easily 
assume that Mr. Fleischer is a "good man", as people go.

Now, the part that caught my specific attention was the very end. 
Typically, when a host has a guest, the guest is introduced with fanfare 
appropriate to the show and the guest. Similarly, closing comments by 
the host are typically designed to 'honor' the -guest-, and bestow some 
last bit of 'praise' and thanks for having appeared on the show. In this 
case, Letterman did so by -praising- 'Ari Fleischer'.

What was Fleischer's response? Oh, thank you so much! It was a great 
pleasure and honor of mine to be on your show and to be given this 
recognition. ... ?? ... No!

Mr. Fleischer, while having just resigned as White House press 
secretary, and no longer in that position; yet, being honored as having 
been such; his closing comments were in praise and honor of the 
President of the United States. NOTHING (zilch) -about- 'Ari Fleischer'! 
In today's climate of self-esteem and self-aggrandizement that permeates 
society, I thought that was just simply...INCREDIBLE!  Such an attitude 
is typically unheard of these days!

Letterman was closing by praising the man. The 'man' was saying, 
essentially: Don't look at me. I'm nothing special. My job was nothing 
for my praise. I'm not important. I was representing the President. The 
President is the one in office. Now, if I may just slip out of here....

What is the position called, White House Press Secretary? It is the 
White House's 'mouthpiece' to the world. For most things, where the 
president doesn't take time out from his busy schedule to answer news 
reporters personally, when the President wants to make executive 
declarations of information known to the world, it is the Press 
Secretary who does the speaking. He is not in that room to give his own 
opinions. He is there to disclose what is on the president's mind, what 
is being discussed and done by the administration.

Like John the Immerser...Who are you? I'm nobody. "I'm [a] -voice-... 
crying in the wilderness..."  Who are you? I can't find your name 
anywhere! How can I know if what you have to say is right, if I don't 
know your name? The prophet/watchman does not serve himself. He is 
commissioned by the Almighty. "Son of man, hear what I say to you...open 
your mouth and eat what I am giving you...you shall speak My words to 
them..." (~Ezek2:8,7)

If you are a minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, remember this. This 
is what you were called to. You do not serve yourself. You do not even 
serve man, to please man; because if you are proclaiming "thus says the 
Lord Jehovah", most of them will not hear you, for they are 
"rebellious". (Ezek ch3) You serve the Almighty. You speak for the Most 
High. Remember that!

"You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, I am not the Christ, but, 
I have been sent to go before Him...  He must increase, but I must 
decrease.  He who comes from above is above all; he who is of the earth 
is earthly and speaks of the earth. He who comes from Heaven is above 
all." (~Jn3:28-31)  

Amen!

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