President Trump removes Resolute Desk from Oval Office

I will always remember sitting behind an exact copy of the Resolute Desk at the George W. Bush Presidential Center in Dallas, but not for the reason you might think.

The desk is one of the most iconic features of the Oval Office. Made from the oak timbers of the British ship HMS Resolute, it was gifted in 1880 by Queen Victoria to President Rutherford B. Hayes. It has been used by nearly every US president since.

It was therefore a bit distressing to read that President Trump has removed it from the Oval Office. I was glad to learn, however, that its absence will only be temporary. He explained that it is “being lightly refinished” and will then be returned to its place.

My experience with the desk had little to do with its history and everything to do with its significance. Some years ago, I was touring the Bush Center with a Cuban pastor who was my chief translator on my many trips to his island. He was in Dallas for a short visit and wanted to see the Bush Center. When we made our way to its Oval Office, an exact replica of the actual office when Mr. Bush was president, he sat behind its version of the Resolute Desk.

A photographer employed by the library offered to take my friend’s picture as a memento of his visit, but to my surprise, he refused. After we left the room, he explained that if the Cuban government saw a picture of him behind the desk, he could be in significant trouble when he returned home.

Advice I was given in Russia

My friend’s experience highlighted for me the freedom we experience in America and its uniqueness in the world.

When I was in St. Petersburg with a group of pastors some years ago, I was warned not to say anything in my hotel room that might alarm the authorities. Our guide explained that they routinely “bugged” the rooms of American guests in search of intelligence they could use against our country.

When I visited Beijing on a speaking tour, I was given the same warning regarding our hotel room and even the public spaces we visited. Comments overheard by others could be recorded and leveraged in the future, I was told.

Such surveillance is especially a fact of life in Cuba. On my many trips to the island, we were told to assume that everything we said, whether in a worship service, a Bible study, or an informal group, would be reported by Communist informants to their government. As Americans, we would likely not face repercussions for statements that displeased the authorities, but our Cuban friends could suffer consequences after we left.

What I taught about Marxism

When I taught philosophy of religion at various seminaries, I typically included a section on Marxism. My purpose was to help students understand the assumptions underlying a worldview that has enslaved millions over the years.

One key feature is Marx’s belief that the collective is more valuable than the individual. He claimed that we experience life in social classes and argued that the individual worker is exploited by the capitalist class. Only through collective action can we overcome such exploitation and change society, he asserted.

In this view, actions that favor the collective at the expense of the individual will eventually benefit the individual. This “rising tide lifts all boats” philosophy paradoxically empowers the government to act on behalf of the nation at the expense of its citizens. It enforces the authority of the authorities, ostensibly to promote the interests of the people as a whole.

As a consequence, individuals are monitored and policed lest they act in ways that violate the supposed welfare of the larger collective.

Christianity is especially threatening to this worldview because our faith emphasizes the sanctity of each person as made in God’s image (Genesis 1:27) and the necessity of preaching the gospel of individual salvation even in the face of persecution (cf. Matthew 5:10; 2 Timothy 3:12). America is a geopolitical threat as well, as our nation is founded on the creed that “all men are created equal” with “unalienable” rights to individual life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

As a result, American Christians are especially seen as a danger to the Communist worldview and its enforcement. My Cuban friend’s simple act of sitting behind the American president’s desk symbolized the ideological chasm between our world and his.

“Freedom is a fragile thing”

Three biblical imperatives follow.

One: Embrace with gratitude the unique freedoms our Founders forged and millions of our fellow Americans have died to protect. 

“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above” (James 1:17), including the gift of freedom we experience today.

Individual liberty is a precious and rare thing in human history. My freedom to write these words, and your freedom to read them, would not exist in much of the world today or for much of the world across the millennia. Now we are the custodians of this gift. Ronald Reagan was right: “Freedom is a fragile thing and it’s never more than one generation away from extinction.”

Two: Use our individual freedoms for God’s glory and the common good. 

We are taught, “Do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another” (Galatians 5:13).

You and I are living in this place and time by divine providence. We are missionaries to our culture and moment. God intends us to maximize our gifts and influence to bring as many to faith in Christ as we can and to glorify him in all we do.

Three: Work to lead as many as we can to the freedom found most fully in Christ. 

Jesus promised, “If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed” (John 8:36). Paul added, “Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom” (2 Corinthians 3:17).

Our ultimate freedom is being free from sin and death through the grace of Christ. This freedom transcends politics and political borders. As a result, I have witnessed the work of the Spirit in Cuba and China in ways that read like pages from the book of Acts. Believers in Russia are advancing the kingdom despite the pressures and opposition they face.

We enjoy freedoms they could not imagine. It falls to us to maximize the privilege of this moment to “seek first the kingdom of God” and lead others to do the same (Matthew 6:33).

Jesus taught us to pray, “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (v. 10).

How will you help answer this prayer today?