There are times recently when it tempts me greatly to withdraw from society and live in seclusion.

Too often in these last months I have been attacked by Christians who insist I honour the President of the United States as a deity who can do no wrong. I cannot.

Or I have been attacked by others for not accepting that the Prime Minister of Canada is a devil.

I have also been nose-to-nose with those who take the opposite position in both these cases and demand I become a disciple of their view.

I have been confronted in similar ways about the Premier of my province.

The president cannot save America. The Prime Minister cannot destroy Canada. The Premier hasn’t all the answers.

The words Augustine wrote down say it clearly (well, it is an old translation so the words are a little archaic):
All Authority Comes from God: Moreover, he will destroy every dominion and authority through the express manifestation of the kingdom of the Father so that all may know that no ruler and no authority, whether they are heavenly or earthly, have possessed any dominion and authority of themselves but by him from whom are all things, not only in respect of their existing but also in respect of their ordering. For in that appearing there will remain no hope for anyone in any ruler or in any person. This is said even now by way of prophecy: “It is good to hope in the Lord rather than to hope in people; it is good to hope in the Lord rather than to hope in princes.” [Psalm 118:8-9] Thus, with this meditation, the soul rises up even now to the kingdom of the Father, neither placing much value in the power of anyone besides him, nor, to its own destruction, flattering itself about its own.
‘On Eighty-three Varied Questions 69.4.’ in Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture – Old Testament VIII: Psalms 51-150.

I will show due deference to leaders as God asks, but I will not stand as an eternal judge on them nor will I join a fan club that ignores their human condition.

“It is better to depend on the LORD than to trust mortals.
It is better to depend on the LORD than to trust influential people.”
(Psalm 118:8-9 God’s Word Translation©)