There’s no doubt Rush Limbaugh was a mover and shaker in the media world and in the conservative movement. The world is a different place without him.
But how much difference did he really make?
That’s a question that will rub Rush devotees the wrong way, but let me tell you why I ask it. I want my thoughts to resonate especially with born again believers in Christ.
Rush was an extraordinary entertainer. He brought elements of top 40 radio to political talk radio. His show had more of that kind of entertainment value in the first several years than in the past few years.
I was a big fan of Rush early on, but my exposure to diverse sources of information over the years taught me that the world is bigger than the view through a Republican lens. Many issues are more nuanced than right versus left.
That said, Rush let conservatives know they weren’t alone. For several years he drew large crowds at his Rush to Excellence tours. People gathered in Rush Rooms at restaurants to hear his program together.
Does that remind you of anything?
Think of Donald Trump and the huge crowds he drew at rallies before and during his presidency. Some have said there would have been no Trump presidency if not for Rush.
Whether that’s true or not, what do we have to show from the popularity of either Rush or Trump?
People get whipped up by someone who says what they’re thinking. Or they get a certain amount of truth and wisdom from that dynamic personality.
We feel like we have power and influence with the government. But time and time again politicians have let us down. They don’t do what the majority of people want them to do.
In spite of whatever good things Rush Limbaugh and Donald Trump did, they did not keep us from sliding into totalitarianism and corporate fascism.
Is that too pessimistic? It ought to be instructive for believers in Christ.
Our hope is misplaced when it is in charismatic personalities. Our faith is misplaced when it is in so-called conservative politicians.
In fact, our faith is misplaced when we put it in “the people.”
Our only true hope is in Christ. In these strange and dangerous times, we need to grasp that truth more than ever.
I could quote numerous Scriptures to make my point, but I’ll only share two.
Consider the words of the Old Testament prophet Jeremiah from Jeremiah 17.
5. Thus saith the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD…
7. Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is.
The apostle Paul reminds us in Philippians 3:20 that our citizenship is in heaven.
20. For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ.
For more Bible centered perspective on Rush, I invite you to read a piece written by David Cloud of Way of Life Literature entitled, “Rush Limbaugh & Christian Dittoheads”.