When was the last time you were in the hot seat?
Were you in the passenger seat of your parent’s car as they drove you home from somewhere you knew you weren’t supposed to be, doing something you knew you weren’t supposed to do? Or maybe the last time you were in the hot seat it was across the desk from your boss…or across the table from your spouse. When was the last time you were in the hot seat? What was under scrutiny or discussion? From a spiritual perspective, the Enemy is always trying to trap us in the hot seat.
I’ve had that all in mind as I’ve been watching coverage of the Senate confirmation hearings. Some endure the hot seat better than others but to this point, several of Trump’s appointees have been confirmed including, Scott Beesent, Treasury; Doug Burgum, Interior; Sean Duffy, Transportation; Pete Hegseth, Defense; Kristi Noem, Homeland Security; John Ratcliffe, CIA; Marco Rubio, State; and Lee Zeldin, EPA.
Yesterday, Kash Patel, who Trump nominated to head up the FBI, and Tulsi Gabbard, nominee for Director of National Intelligence, were both in the proverbial hot seat.
Without getting into the political gamesmanship that is always center stage at these events, I want to alert you to something you may find curious from a faith perspective. You will have to discern whether or not it matters and if so, how much it matters. But that’s the drill in applying the mind of Christ to the matters of the day!
Remember all the fuss – just a week ago – when the President did not place his hand on the Bibles his wife Melania was holding during his swearing in? We acknowledged then that it was not a requirement and that others actually use books other than the Bible. That will be notable if Tulsi Gabbard is confirmed. She was the first US congresswoman to take her oath on the Bhagavad Gita, the Hindu scriptures containing teachings of a man called Lord Krishna. She carried it with her during her deployment in Iraq. And as she sat in the hot seat many wondered whether or not questions would be raised about her particular beliefs and practices. Does what a Cabinet nominee believes about God matter?
Tulsi Gabbard grew up in a household that followed a religious order that some have referred to as a cult. Others see it as a branch of Hinduism. She has often credited her religious upbringing as the basis for her views and refers to Hindu concepts of dharma, or duty, and seva, the selfless service outlined in the Gita.
In 2016, she told a crowd during the 50th anniversary gala of the International Society of Krishna Consciousness that “Real spiritual understanding, or real religion, transcends sectarianism.” She went on to say that “Each and every one of us, whether we call ourselves a Muslim, a Christian, a Hindu or any other designation, we each have this intrinsic opportunity to cultivate our own personal loving relationship with ‘god.’”
Now, stop and ask yourself: is that true? Can god be anything and if god can be anything anyone imagines or believes then is god really god at all? And if so, then what kind of god is a god like that? How would the God revealed in the Bible respond to such a claim? And, does it matter?
When Tulsi Gabbard refers to god in this way, does it matter? When she pledges allegiance to “one nation under God,” what does she mean and does it matter? When she places her hand on a book other than the Bible and asserts that her religious views are the basis of her views on everything else, a totalizing worldview, does it matter?
According to reporting in the Wall Street Journal,
Gabbard was raised in the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition — a sect, or sampradhaya, with a special affinity for Lord Vishnu’s incarnation of Krishna — a blue-skinned deity often pictured with his consort, Radha, and with his favorite instrument, the flute. Gabbard’s particular branch of the sect is the Science of Identity Foundation, a group founded by Siddhaswarupananda, also known as Chris Butler, who broke from ISKCON — a Gaudiya Vaishnava group more commonly known as the Hare Krishnas — in 1974. Her father converted from Catholicism and led the family into the Science of Identity foundation.
Gabbard worked for the religious group, married a fellow member and has hired others from the group to serve on her team. Does it matter?
Abbreviated with the acronym ISKCON, the sect calls Gabbard a great friend who “regularly sends messages of goodwill and hope” on holy days, offers her “appreciation of Lord Krishna’s sacred teachings” and “often mentions (ISKCON founder) Srila Prabhupada as one of those from whom she seeks wisdom and guidance.” In fact, the NYTimes and the Wall Street Journal both covering this story this week say that Gabbard has allegiance to the sect’s founder and leader, Chris Butler. She refers to him as her “guru dev,” or divine teacher. Does it matter?
People familiar with the group describe Butler’s demands for absolute fealty. Does that matter? Followers who attain a certain status in the group are initiated in a ceremony and given a new name, former disciples said. At least four former adherents said they believe that Gabbard was initiated and received the name Shraddha Dasi. Does that matter?
Discernment is all about sifting through the noise and deciding what matters as we connect seemingly random dots into meaningful patterns. Thoughts, words, images, ideas all create a patchwork or mosaic or unified picture as we discern what matters. Not just what matters to us in the present moment or what matters to the country where we live— but also what matters to God. So, what matters today as you consider the matters of the world? I pray you apply the mind of Christ to all the matters of the day even to those things that others say don’t really matter.
