I loved this sermon by PJ Smyth of Godfirst Church in South Africa. They’ve been doing a series called “What God would say to…” and one of the people was Jacob Zuma, president of South Africa… and he was at the church when it was preached. What God would say to him has broad applicability to any other leader of any human institution – Kim Jong-Il, Barack Obama, Sarkozy – and to all of us who are subject to human government.

One particularly good word:

There’s another reason why Paul is actually elevating the Gospel over government: It’s because he knows that you can never actually get a godly nation through government alone. Only the Gospel can produce godliness. Think it through. The government might ban racism, but only the Gospel can deal with hatred. The government can say “No,” can make a law against corruption – only the Gospel can deal with greed. The government can subsidize the poor, but only the Gospel can turn the hearts of the rich to compassion. The government might outlaw porn – it’s not going to fix lust.

This is worth watching twice over.

You can also watch the live interview they did with Jacob Zuma: