Obey the king’s command, I say, because you took an oath before God. Do not be in a hurry to leave the king’s presence. Do not stand up for a bad cause, for he will do whatever he pleases.
Ecclesiastes 8:2-3
King Solomon himself, head of state of the nation of Israel, is teaching us why we should obey government. It is not always easy to know how to obey or when a citizen should obey. There are many factors that would influence when and how this should be carried out.
The fact that obeying the government is sometimes difficult is also part of God’s program. As believers, we ought to understand that it is not always easy to know what God wants because He does not want it to be easy. We are not robots, given orders to go here or there, having no choice at all in the matter. Yet that is really what we are asking for when we say to God, Show me what you want me to do, and I’ll do it.
In other words, Compel me; give me orders and I’ll carry them out.
God does not do that because He wants us to struggle and puzzle over what we should do.
Another factor that influences us is found in verse 7: Since no man knows the future, who can tell him what is to come?
The results of our obedience to the government can produce uncertainty in our lives. One of the reasons we are not left up to our own devices as to whether we are going to obey the government is that we do not always know what God intends to work out by means of our obedience. He may have blessings for us that will come out of that obedience that we could not foresee.
As a young man in my twenties during World War II, I remember being faced with the very question of registration for the draft. At the time I was working for the railroad industry, which allowed me to be deferred, because that industry was essential to the war.
Eventually, I joined the navy. Although I was unsure whether I was doing the right thing or not, I felt I ought to join. What I did not understand or realize was that the action I took would open a door that gave me what was perhaps the greatest opportunity I have ever had to teach the Scriptures to those who were in desperate need of such teaching. I was stationed at Pearl Harbor, and through that great port there passed from time to time all the sailors of the Pacific Fleet, many of them Christian young men who had won others to Christ aboard their ships. Along with others, I had the opportunity to have great Bible classes, with hundreds of sailors involved. All this was opened up to me because I was a member of the U.S. Navy myself.
Furthermore, I did not know that at the end of the war I would be granted the G.I. Bill of Rights, which would give me enough money to pay for my seminary training. In fact, it was rather remarkable that the time I had served in the navy provided me with exactly the right amount to go through four years of seminary training. I could not foresee all that, but God did. So it is possible that unexpected results will follow from obedience to what God has set before us to do with regard to government.
Lord, I trust that You will work out Your plan for my life as I submit to the people you have placed in authority over me.
Obedience is sometimes difficult and produces uncertainty. Does God want us to struggle & puzzle over what we should do? What about trusting the government?
Daily Devotion © 2006, 2026 by Ray Stedman Ministries. For permission to use this content, please review RayStedman.org/permissions. Subject to permission policy, all rights reserved.
This Daily Devotion was Inspired by one of Ray’s Messages
2 Obey the king’s command, I say, because you took an oath before God. 3 Do not be in a hurry to leave the king’s presence. Do not stand up for a bad cause, for he will do whatever he pleases. 4 Since a king’s word is supreme, who can say to him, “What are you doing?”
5 Whoever obeys his command will come to no harm,
and the wise heart will know the proper time and procedure.
6 For there is a proper time and procedure for every matter,
though a man’s misery weighs heavily upon him.
7 Since no man knows the future,
who can tell him what is to come?
8 No man has power over the wind to contain it ;
so no one has power over the day of his death.
As no one is discharged in time of war,
so wickedness will not release those who practice it.
9 All this I saw, as I applied my mind to everything done under the sun. There is a time when a man lords it over others to his own hurt. 10 Then too, I saw the wicked buried—those who used to come and go from the holy place and receive praise in the city where they did this. This too is meaningless.
11 When the sentence for a crime is not quickly carried out, the hearts of the people are filled with schemes to do wrong. 12 Although a wicked man commits a hundred crimes and still lives a long time, I know that it will go better with God-fearing men, who are reverent before God. 13 Yet because the wicked do not fear God, it will not go well with them, and their days will not lengthen like a shadow.
14 There is something else meaningless that occurs on earth: righteous men who get what the wicked deserve, and wicked men who get what the righteous deserve. This too, I say, is meaningless. 15 So I commend the enjoyment of life, because nothing is better for a man under the sun than to eat and drink and be glad. Then joy will accompany him in his work all the days of the life God has given him under the sun.
New International Version
https://www.raystedman.org/daily-devotions/ecclesiastes/can-we-trust-the-government
Matthew 27:65-66 In this week’s lessons we note the futility of those who tried to keep shut the tomb that was soon going to be empty, and of the need for everyone to submit to the risen Lord Jesus Christ.
Theme
A Blinding Light
So the first thing Saul was trying to secure was his Judaism. But there was also a second item that he was desperately trying to secure, namely, himself. Later his situation during this period was described as trying to “kick against the goads” (Acts 26:14), like an animal fighting one who is prodding it to go in a right direction. This meant that, although Saul was fighting against the Christians with intense zeal, he was at the same time fighting an even more intense struggle within the secret chambers of his heart. In fact, his outward zeal may well be explained by the internal struggling. Saul had given his life to Judaism. But suppose the Christians were right? Suppose Jesus really was the incarnate Son of God? Suppose He really was the Messiah and that His death on the cross was God’s own vicarious sacrifice for His people’s sins? Suppose Jesus really had risen from the dead? Saul must not think about that. Not that! On with the work! Forward against the Christians!
In this divided mind Saul was making his way northward from Jerusalem to Damascus when suddenly a bright light flashed about him and he fell blinded to the ground. Those who were traveling with him saw the light and heard a voice, but only Saul understood what the voice said.
“Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”
“Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked. The way in which he answered the speaker showed that Saul sensed very well what was coming.
“I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.” the voice replied. “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do” (Acts 9:1-6).
When Saul, now Paul, obeyed and went into Damascus, God sent a disciple named Ananias to confirm him in faith and tell him of God’s call to world evangelism. As God said, “The man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel. I will show him much he must suffer for my name” (Acts 9:15, 16). This persecutor of Christians became the first great Christian missionary.
“Go, make your ancient religion, its traditions, your heart as secure as you know how.” That is right. Letters! Arrests! Trials! Executions! Make yourself secure against Jesus. Stamp Him out by your activity. Subdue Him by your zeal. Suddenly … there was a bright light and the reality of the resurrection!
Study Questions
Application
Reflection: How do people act, and what do they say, when they are trying not to deal with the claims of Christ upon their hearts and minds?
For Further Study: To look deeper into how religion can actually keep you from truly knowing God, download for free and listen to James Boice’s message from the book of Amos, “How God Views Religion.” (Discount will be applied at checkout.)
https://www.thinkandactbiblically.org/wednesday-a-blinding-light/
Matthew Henry’s “Method For Prayer”
We must acknowledge the great evil that there is in sin, and in our sin; the malignity of its nature, and its mischievousness to us.
The sinfulness of sin.
O that sin might be shown to be sin to me and appear in its own colors; and through the commandment may I see it to be sinful beyond measure, Romans 7:13(ESV) because it is lawlessness. 1 John 3:4(ESV)
By every willful sin I have in effect said, “I do not want this man to reign over me.” Luke 19:14(ESV) And, “Who is the LORD, that I should obey his voice?” Exodus 5:2(ESV) And thus have I reviled the LORD, Numbers 15:30(ESV) and cast his law behind my back. Nehemiah 9:26(ESV)
The foolishness of sin.
O God, you know my folly; the wrongs that I have done are not hidden from you. Psalm 69:5(ESV) I was foolish in being disobedient, Titus 3:3(ESV) and my desires are senseless and harmful. 1 Timothy 6:9(ESV)
Folly was bound up in my heart when I was a child; Proverbs 22:15(ESV) for though vain man would be wise, he is born like the wild donkey’s colt. Job 11:12(KJV)
My path has been one of foolish confidence, Psalm 49:13(ESV) and in many instances I have done very foolishly. 2 Samuel 24:10(ESV)
I have been brutish and ignorant, and even like a beast toward God. Psalm 73:22(ESV)
| Wednesday, February 18 | Philemon 1 On the Go? Listen Now! |
| A marriage changes relationships. When a man and woman join in marriage, they form a new family. Relationships may change, as their loyalty shifts from their birth family to their new family. But an even deeper family change happens when we are born again. Salvation puts us into a new family, the family of God, and that means relationships change deeply.Onesimus was a young man who ran away from slavery. As a fugitive, his prospects were limited. But he encountered Paul who led him to Christ. As a result, Onesimus was placed into a new family by the Holy Spirit. What did this change of family mean? It meant new relationships with everyone, including his legal owner.Notice that Paul does not ignore the reality that there were customary obligations to be acknowledged. He could not just take Onesimus for his own purposes; he needed Philemon’s consent (v. 14). However, notice also that Philemon must be reminded that a fundamental change in relationship has taken place (v. 16). Onesimus simply could not be considered a slave anymore, he was a brother!United in Christ, Philemon and Onesimus were brothers. They would spend eternity together. They would share the joys of heaven together. While he was being diplomatic, Paul also acknowledged that this new reality had consequences. Philemon would suffer a loss in some way; he would lose a slave. On the other hand, he would gain a dear brother because of Christ.Surely some must have heard about this and reminded Philemon of his rights or of the law. They might have been quick to emphasize the cost he would suffer and ask about his plan to recoup this loss. Paul focused on none of that. He reminded his readers about this change in family status that changed everything. Onesimus is your brother! |
| Go Deeper How did becoming a Christian change your relationships? Have you considered that every true Christian is your brother or sister in Christ? Extended Reading: Philemon |
| Pray with Us Holy Spirit, we pray for unity and love in our churches and Christian organizations. May we see true believers as our brothers and sisters in Christ and love our neighbors with genuine humility. |
Kistemaker, S. J., & Hendriksen, W. (1953–2001). Exposition of the Acts of the Apostles (Vol. 17, pp. 155–156). Baker Book House.
4:12 The statement that there is no salvation “in any other” reveals the exclusive nature of the theology of the early church. There was, and there is, “no other name” through which men can be saved than the name of Jesus. YAHWEH does not operate with two standards or avenues for salvation, one for the Jews and one for the believers in Christ. Only faith in Jesus of Nazareth saves Jew or Gentile (Rom. 4:16ff.). Two standards would require two scarlet threads instead of the one made crimson by the blood of Christ. In an era of religious pluralism, this verse indicts the modern spirit and requires a reassessment of dangerous trends which undermine the basis for global evangelism.
Criswell, W. A., Patterson, P., Clendenen, E. R., Akin, D. L., Chamberlin, M., Patterson, D. K., & Pogue, J., eds. (1991). Believer’s Study Bible (electronic ed., Ac 4:12). Thomas Nelson.
4:12 Peter’s statement that there was salvation in no other name was an implicit invitation to the Sanhedrin to place their faith in Jesus. It was Jesus’ name that brought physical deliverance to the lame man (3:1–10)—the same powerful and exclusive name that brings eternal salvation to all who call upon him. Peter emphasizes this by saying that it is the only name under heaven (that is, throughout the whole earth) by which a person can be saved. Further, there is no other name among men (that is, in all of human society) that saves. On Christ as the exclusive way of salvation, see also Matt. 11:27; John 3:18; 14:6; 1 John 5:12. This verse also suggests that salvation comes only through conscious faith in Jesus.
Crossway Bibles. (2008). The ESV Study Bible (p. 2088). Crossway Bibles.
4:12 no other name. This refers to the exclusivism of salvation by faith in Jesus Christ. There are only two religious paths: the broad way of works salvation leading to eternal death, and the narrow way of faith in Jesus, leading to eternal life (Mt 7:13, 14; cf. Jn 10:7, 8; 14:6). Sadly, the Sanhedrin and its followers were on the first path.
MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (2006). The MacArthur study Bible: New American Standard Bible. (Ac 4:12). Thomas Nelson Publishers.
† 4:12 — “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
If God knew that Jesus really did not have to die, then He is an uncaring monster for sending Him to the cross. And if He thought Jesus had to die when He really didn’t, then He wouldn’t be God.
Stanley, C. F. (2005). The Charles F. Stanley life principles Bible: New King James Version (Ac 4:12). Nelson Bibles.
Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee; he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved. (Psalm 55:22)
It is a heavy burden; roll it on Omnipotence. It is thy burden now, and it crushes thee; but when the Lord takes it, He will make nothing of it. If thou art called still to bear, “he will sustain thee.” It will be on Him and not on thee. Thou wilt be so upheld under it that the burden will be a blessing. Bring the Lord into the matter, and thou wilt stand upright under that which in itself would bow thee down.
Our worst fear is lest our trial should drive us from the path of duty; but this the Lord will never suffer. If we are righteous before Him, He will not endure that our affliction should move us from our standing. In Jesus He accepts us as righteous, and in Jesus He will keep us so.
What about the present moment? Art thou going forth to this day’s trial alone? Are thy poor shoulders again to be galled with the oppressive load? Be not so foolish. Tell the Lord all about thy grief and leave it with Him. Don’t cast your burden down and then take it up again; but roll it on the Lord and leave it there. Then shalt thou walk at large, a joyful and unburdened believer, singing the praises of thy great Burden-bearer.
https://www.vcy.org/charles-spurgeon/2026/02/18/burdens-cast-on-him/
Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. (Matthew 5:4)
By the valley of weeping we come to Zion. One would have thought mourning and being blessed were in opposition, but the infinitely wise Savior puts them together in this Beatitude. What He has joined together let no man put asunder. Mourning for sin—our own sins, and the sins of others—is the Lord’s seal set upon His faithful ones. When the Spirit of grace is poured upon the house of David, or any other house, they shall mourn. By holy mourning we receive the best of our blessings, even as the rarest commodities come to us by water. Not only shall the mourner be blessed at some future day, but Christ pronounces him blessed even now.
The Holy Spirit will surely comfort those hearts which mourn for sin. They shall be comforted by the application of the blood of Jesus and by the cleansing power of the Holy Ghost. They shall be comforted as to the abounding sin of their city and of their age by the assurance that God will glorify Himself, however much men may rebel against Him. They shall be comforted with the expectation that they shall be wholly freed from sin before long and shall soon be taken up to dwell forever in the glorious presence of their Lord.
https://www.vcy.org/charles-spurgeon/2026/02/18/the-mourner-comforted/
Although, as a Louisiana girl, I’ve had a decades long love affair with king cake, and I totally support the increased availability of fish entrées at local restaurants and getting a few days off school or work, I’m not a big fan of Mardi Gras and Lent.
The intrinsic philosophy behind Mardi Gras – a day of revelry, indulgence, and debauchery to get it all out of your system before you have to start “being good” for Lent – is patently unbiblical.
The practice of Lent often is, as well. Lent is the forty day period, beginning with Ash Wednesday and ending with Easter Sunday, observed by Catholics and some Protestants. Originally, it was simply a time of fasting, prayer, and worship in anticipation of Easter, and for Christians who continue to observe it this way, it can be a valuable and meaningful time of respite and renewal with the Lord.
For many, however, Lent – particularly the aspect of giving something up for Lent in an act of self-denial – is nothing more than an empty religious ritual, or worse, works righteousness. Giving something up for Lent because, “I’m Catholic and that’s what good Catholics do,” or to atone for your sins, or to curry favor with God, or to flaunt your self-righteousness flies in the face of grace alone, faith alone, Christ alone biblical Christianity.
If you give something up for Lent, why do you do so? If it’s for one of the aforementioned unbiblical reasons (or others), or even if you don’t observe Lent at all, I’d like to challenge us all to give up the things below for Lent:
2. Give up attending any church that requires the observance of Lent in a sacramental way and find a doctrinally sound one.
3. Give up thinking your good behavior earns you right standing with God.
4. Give up the idea that there’s any such thing as truly good behavior.
5. Give up thinking your good deeds could ever outweigh your sins.
6. Give up willfully indulging in sin as long as you “make up for it” later.
7. Give up the notion that penance or self-denial can pay for your sins.
8. Give up thinking that penance or self-denial curries favor with God.
9. Give up the idea that repentance and obedience belong to a certain season on the calendar. We are to walk in repentance every day.
10. Give up the concept that Christmas and Easter are Christian “high holy days.” We celebrate Christ’s incarnation and resurrection every Sunday, and should prepare ourselves all during the week. Every Sunday is a high holy day for the Christian.
11. Give up rote participation in church rituals. Search the Scriptures and see if they’re biblical first.
12. Give up thinking God concerns Himself strictly with your external behavior rather than the condition of your heart.
13. Give up “sounding a trumpet before you” with humblebrags on social media and in real life about giving things up for Lent, fasting, giving offerings, or any other good works you might do. You just lost your reward, baby.
14. Give up approaching church attendance as punching the time clock for God. The Christian’s entire life, our very beings, belong to Christ, not just a couple of hours on Sunday.
15. Give up the delusion that you’re basically a good person. You’re not.
16. Give up biblical ignorance and become a good student of God’s word.
17. Give up forsaking the assembly and become a faithful, serving member of your local church.
18. Give up thinking that everyone and everything that calls itself “Christian” actually is.
19. Give up the desire to have your itching ears scratched and long for the truth of God’s word. Even when it’s hard to hear.
20. Give up neglecting the daily study of God’s word.
21. Give up rejecting parts of the Bible you don’t agree with. We don’t sit in judgment over Scripture. Scripture sits in judgment over us.
22. Give up neglecting your prayer life.
23. Give up making excuses for failing to memorize Scripture. You can do it!
24. Give up being a non-serving member of your church.
25. Give up being a non-giving member of your church.
26. Give up thinking you’re hearing God speak to you. If you want to hear God speak to you, open your Bible and study it. God has spoken in His word and many are largely ignoring what He has already said.
27. Give up following false teachers and be a good Berean.
28. Give up being afraid to share the gospel and just do it.
29. Give up thinking you can please God apart from faith in Christ.
30. Give up basing your doctrine and beliefs on your own (or anyone else’s) opinions, experiences, and feelings, and base them on correctly handled Scripture instead.
31. Give up following your wicked and deceitful heart, take up your cross daily, and follow Christ.
32. Give up thinking you have to do big things for God in order for Him to be pleased with you and “aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands.”
33. Give up worrying and trust God.
34. Give up neglecting to fear God’s wrath if you don’t know Christ.
35. Give up fearing God’s wrath if you do know Christ.
36. Give up the idea that “God is love” means God is a pushover who won’t judge you.
37. Give up thinking you’ve been so bad that God could never forgive you.
38. Give up thinking you’re so good that you don’t need God to forgive you.
39. Give up refusing to forgive others when Christ has forgiven you so much.
40. Give up everything and be saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, and walk in His ways, all the days of your life, to the glory of God alone.
Holly Pivec warns of the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) that is gaining popularity among Christians and how it seems to be allowing churches to cover-up abuse.
In the service of the imposition of ashes, as the pastor marks my forehead, he says something that always cuts through whatever else is in my mind and gets my attention: “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”
Now that I have passed my allotted three score years and ten (Psalm 90:10), those words have become very real to me. I am going to die.
This is a memento mori, a reminder of death. The Latin phrase means “remember that you have to die.” That’s a healthy topic to contemplate, according to the ancients, and it has long been a theme for devotions.
This remembrance gives perspective. All of the trivial things we get so worked up about, all of the little worries and petty antagonisms, become much less important when facing up to death. Reflection on the impending fact of our death also turns our attention to eternity and to eternal truths.
In the Roman triumphs, the massive parade and celebration that honored a conquering hero, in the chariot along with the person receiving all this adulation would be a slave constantly whispering in his ear: “Memento mori!”
It was important for the hero, at this moment of glory, to keep in mind that he is a mortal. To forget that is to commit superbia, or, in the Greek, hubris. That is, an overweening pride, which sets a mortal in conflict with the immortal gods. As the heroes in classical tragedy learned, hubris brings on Nemesis, the goddess of retribution, who harshly punishes human beings who think too much of themselves.
The Bible too urges us to remember the fact of our death.
Psalm 90, the prayer of Moses, is a reflection on the transience of human life, and it asks God to “teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom” (Psalm 90:12).
Isaiah 40 is a memento mori, but it goes on to show what that remembrance properly teaches:
All flesh is grass,
and all its beauty is like the flower of the field.
The grass withers, the flower fades
when the breath of the Lord blows on it;
surely the people are grass.
The grass withers, the flower fades,
but the word of our God will stand forever. (Isaiah 40:6-8)
Reflecting on our transience turns into reflecting on what is not transient–namely, the Word of God, with its message of salvation. That chapter in Isaiah is also full of gospel:
Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.
Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,
and cry to her
that her warfare is ended,
that her iniquity is pardoned. (Isaiah 40:1-2)
Christians took all of this to heart. Seventeenth century portraits often included a skull as a reminder of death. As in this portrait by the Dutch artist Frans Hals:
The great Christian poet John Donne took this sort of thing to an extreme when shortly before his death he posed for a sculpture of himself by putting on the shroud he would be buried in. Though some have called this macabre, it was anything but that. The statue was to be the monument on his grave. Today at St. Paul’s cathedral where he was buried you can see this memorial. Instead of showing him lying down in death, Donne’s shrouded image is standing up, wearing a half smile. What Donne, the author of the poem Death Be Not Proud, wanted portrayed was the moment of his resurrection.
The Ash Wednesday exhortation also points to our resurrection.
It quotes the curse of Adam: “By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return” (Genesis 3:19). On this beginning of the penitential season of Lent, we should remember that death is the consequence of sin. The reason we will die is that we are sinners. So in facing up to our death, we are confronted by God’s law, leading to repentance.
But St. Paul picks up that verse and transposes it into gospel:
The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven. As was the man of dust, so also are those who are of the dust, and as is the man of heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven. (1 Corinthians 15:47-49)
Christ’s death leads to His resurrection, so when we are in Christ, our death leads to our resurrection! When the pastor makes the sign of the cross in ashes on our foreheads, it recalls the sign of the cross that was made on our foreheads at baptism. (At least for those baptized according to the traditional baptismal liturgy, as I was not. Still, the symbolism holds.) Baptism is about death and resurrection. Christ’s and ours:
Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. (Romans 6:3-5)
Ash Wednesday begins Lent, a season of repentance for sin leading up to the commemoration of Christ’s death for that sin, but culminating in the celebration of Christ’s resurrection from the dead. According to St. Paul, we have been with Him all the way. In our baptism, we died with Him; we were buried with Him; and we were resurrected with Him.
And on the last day, after we have returned to dust, He will remake us from dust, breathing into us the breath of life as He did with Adam (Genesis 2:7), and making us part of His New Creation that will last forever (Revelation 21:1-5).
Art credits:
Performing the Ash Wednesday Ceremony via PickPic, Public Domain
Portrait of a Man Holding a Skull by Frans Hals (1615) – Unknown source, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1170209
John Donne Monument, St. Paul’s Cathedral in London, by Nicholas Stone (1631), photo by Tilman2007, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
Spurgeon, C. H. (n.d.). The treasury of David: Psalms 27-57 (Vol. 2, p. 44). Marshall Brothers.
“From The Patriot Post (patriotpost.us)”.
“The name of American, which belongs to you, in your national capacity, must always exalt the just pride of Patriotism, more than any appellation derived from local discriminations.” —George Washington (1796)
The Editors
The Executive News Summary is compiled daily by Jordan Candler, Thomas Gallatin, Sterling Henry, and Sophie Starkova. For the archive, click here.
Emmy Griffin
Twenty-two-year-old decorated freestyle skier Eileen Gu is competing in her second Winter Olympics. So far in her Olympic career (Beijing and Milan/Cortina), she has won five medals. Not only that, but she is a model and a student at Stanford University with a near-perfect SAT score. The American media has fawned over her since her first Olympics in 2022.
There’s just one very big, very obvious problem: Gu is an American citizen, born and raised in San Francisco, California, yet she has chosen to represent her mother’s home country of China. That prompts a question: Why on earth is the media gushing over her?
She’s not our athlete. In fact, she represents our biggest geopolitical enemy, communist China, all while reaping the benefits of living in a free market economy and a constitutional republic.
Perhaps it’s a question of following the money. While Chinese companies do not directly own any part of news organizations like NBC that give Gu attention and air time, there is enough of a relationship to wonder whether money has exchanged hands.
Perhaps it’s the beauty factor. Gu is very attractive, charismatic, and evidently intelligent.
Whatever the reason, elevating her instead of focusing on the accomplishments of our own American athletic representatives in Italy is yet another reason the media is a hypocritical cesspool. They jumped all over skier Hunter Hess for saying that he has mixed feelings about representing the U.S. — even though they asked him about politics — and now they’re happy to promote a Chinese athlete as inspirational.
“Charisma and good looks cannot fully explain the almost complete absence of a sense of betrayal or disloyalty in the American media’s extensive coverage of Gu,” podcast host Mike Pesca observes in The Free Press. “The skiing star’s decision to compete for America’s most important geopolitical rival has been almost completely frictionless — bringing in its wake only great celebration and remuneration. This would have been hard to imagine at any other time in U.S. history.”
Syndicated columnist Rich Lowry was even more pointed when he explained, “Gu skis for China, a choice that is a little like deciding to represent a fascist country during the 1930s.”
We have slightly more recent history to consider than Nazi Germany. Gu’s choice to represent China is akin to an American during the Cold War choosing to represent the USSR. It’s a bad look that should give any patriotic American heartburn. Russia, whose goal during those Cold War years was to present its culture and communist political system as premier, would have loved such a coup.
Zituo Wang, a USC-based researcher and Chinese national, told Pesca, “Even if [the Chinese people] know she was American, they think China is so strong that they can turn an American girl to represent us. That shows the strength of China.”
China loves its American turncoat athlete and pays her millions to represent its deleterious values and win medals on the world stage. Gu was the fourth-highest-paid female athlete in 2025. According to The Wall Street Journal, Gu and a fellow American competing for China, figure skater Zhu Yi, have received a combined $14 million over the past three years.
While it’s not outright legal treason, it’s “adjacent to treason,” posits National Review’s Charles C.W. Cooke, himself a naturalized citizen who emigrated from England. “She chose to represent a communist dictatorship over the United States. That is the wrong call.”
There is also a question about the legality of Gu competing for China while still retaining her U.S. citizenship. China does not allow dual citizenship, yet Gu is an American citizen and, apparently, a surreptitious Chinese one as well. Otherwise, how would she be allowed to compete in the Olympics representing the ChiComs? According to Olympic bylaws, “Any competitor in the Olympic Games must be a national of the country.” Gu routinely avoids these citizenship questions, and how this is allowed is a mystery.
Eileen Gu has made her choice and profited from it. And the legacy media that is pushing this “All-American Girl” story should be loudly rebuked. Gu is not an inspiring figure. She is a mercenary who chose to represent a communist dictatorship over the free Republic that raised and nurtured her. Celebrating that decision is why we call leftists unpatriotic. They give more grace and nuance to actual authoritarian regimes than they do to their own people and our coequal system of government. It’s truly disgusting.
For more of today’s columns, visit Right Opinion.
A Trip Down Memory Lane
“Let’s admit the truth. Everywhere people go, they’re asked for a Social Security card. In fact, one way to prove you’re a bona fide person who can have a job is to ask for a driver’s license and a Social Security card. This is an anti-fraud amendment.” —Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), who’s anti-SAVE Act, in 1996 regarding the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act
The BIG Lie
“For 50 years, the religious Right, a political movement — that is the perfect description for it — they convinced a lot of our fellow Christians that the most important issues were abortion and gay marriage. Two issues that aren’t mentioned in the Bible. Two issues that Jesus never talked about.” —Senate candidate James Talarico (D-TX), who falsely claims to be a devout Christian
Spin Doctor
“Ted Cruz calling a dyslexic person illiterate is a new low, even for him.” —California Gov. Gavin Newsom after Senator Cruz called him “historically illiterate,” which has nothing to do with dyslexia
Here in the Real World
“Rent’s due, mortgage is due, and all these bills are due at the beginning of the month. And so that’s when it really hits home.” —TSA employee in Utah on the effects of the Democrat shutdown
Double Standards
“For years, the media ignored or ridiculed anyone who said mass migration was straining resources — from Springfield, Ohio to border towns. They even attacked Texas for trying to build a border wall. Now they’re worried about detention centers overwhelming towns in red states?” —Lydia Moynihan
Political Futures
“[Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez] is to strategic thinkers what Gayle King is to astronauts. She projects all the authority of an International Relations 101 student who didn’t realize that there was going to be a pop quiz before spring break.” —Rich Lowry
“This is a woman with some political talents and political gifts. It’s just that knowledge doesn’t seem to be one of them.” —journalist Brit Hume on AOC
“The dirty little secret about politics and politicians is that if they solve a problem, they no longer have an issue to run on. Keeping their place in office with all its perks has become the primary objective of too many members.” —Cal Thomas
Re: The Left
“Whether the scene is Minneapolis today or Seattle six years ago, what’s happening in America’s cities is not just a revolt against law enforcement — it’s an attempt to establish different laws, different borders and a different kind of government, not through anything like a democratic electoral process but by directly seizing power in the streets.” —Daniel McCarthy
For more of today’s memes, visit the Memesters Union.
| ON THIS DAY in 1885, Mark Twain published the first American edition of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, which had been published in England three months earlier. The sequel to The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is among the most treasured American novels. |
“From The Patriot Post (patriotpost.us)”.
NEW YORK CITY — New York City residents have reported that the warmth of collectivism feels weirdly similar to a crushing tax increase.
Fox News contributor Jason Chaffetz tears into Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s ‘total incompetence’ and discusses its media coverage on ‘The Evening Edit.’ #fox #media #breakingnews #us #usa #new #news #breaking #foxbusiness #theeveningedit #politics #political #politicalnews #government #aoc #alexandriaocasiocortez #jasonchaffetz #media #bias #democrats #democraticparty #democrat #congress #lead
Source: ‘RUN THE VIDEO’: AOC’s fumble needs no media ‘spin,’ critic says
Rep. Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla., discusses the SAVE America Act and explains why he voted against funding DHS on ‘Mornings with Maria.’ #foxbusiness #morningswithmaria
Source: HEATED EXCHANGE: Bartiromo confronts Democrat over REFUSAL to condemn anti-ICE agitators
Christian Solidarity International
On today’s Quick Start podcast:
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NEWS: A massive avalanche buries backcountry skiers in California’s Sierra Nevada, leaving 10 missing as rescuers battle whiteout conditions. Plus, New York City’s socialist promises meet a $5.4 billion deficit — and middle-class taxpayers may foot the bill.
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FOCUS STORY: In a stunning move, San Francisco’s teachers union urged parents not to homeschool during a strike — fearing students might thrive without the system. When education becomes leverage, who really holds the power?
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MAIN THING: Myanmar’s hidden humanitarian disaster — churches burned, pastors arrested, believers displaced. Dr. Sasa joins us with firsthand accounts of the “systematic” persecution of Christians that much of the world is ignoring — and why action matters now.
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LAST THING: 2 Timothy 3:12 — A reminder that those who seek to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will face persecution — but they are not alone.
PRAY WITH US! Faithwire.substack.com
SHOW LINKS
• Faith in Culture: https://cbn.com/news/faith-culture
• Heaven Meets Earth PODCAST: https://cbn.com/lp/heaven-meets-earth
• NEWSMAKERS POD: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/newsmakers/id1724061454
• Navigating Trump 2.0: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/navigating-trump-2-0/id1691121630
Source: Media Ignore Disturbing Christian Genocide, Teachers Union Makes Shocking Admission, 2 Timothy 3
Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., discusses former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s comments at the Munich Security Conference on ‘The Evening Edit.’ #politics #political #politicalnews #government #republicans #gop #democrats #democraticparty #democrat #hillaryclinton #aoc #alexandriaocasiocortez #gavinnewsom #munich #conference #tennessee #congress #houseofrepresentatives #election #leadership
Source: GOP rep slams ‘WASHED UP’ Hillary Clinton, AOC: ‘And Gavin Newsom just needs a WASH’
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt is scheduled to hold a press briefing at 1:00 pm ET. Tune in for more news from the White House! Join RSBN LIVE at 12:00 p.m. EDT on February 18, 2026
Source: LIVE: White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt Holds a Press Briefing – 02/18/26
Join RSBN LIVE as we cover President Trump’s participation in a Black History Month Reception in the East Room. Tune in at 2:30 p.m. ET on February 18, 2026
Source: LIVE: President Trump Participates in a Black History Month Reception – 02/18/26
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