A regent king is one who represents the true king in his absence or in times when he is not able to meet his duties. It is, of course, of utmost importance that a regent king takes great care to represent his king’s interests well and to be dutiful in his work, or else he will face the king’s wrath upon his return.
Sticking with the medieval theme, let’s also think about the court jester. Originally, the jester held a position where he could speak truth to power — albeit from a bit of a goofy perspective. Over time, the court jester moved from speaking truth to power in a unique way to simply being a clown brought out for entertainment.
You may be wondering what this has to do with anything, but unfortunately, it seems to be quite pertinent to Iowa politics at the moment. You see, in a recent KCCI interview, Speaker of the Iowa House, Pat Grassley, cavalierly proclaimed that addressing the mass murder of babies in the womb (abortion) will not be a priority this year.
Instead of seeking to establish justice and protect the most innocent among us, Grassley believes we need to work on “the other side” of the issue and improve foster care and the adoption process. Here is his quote from the article:
“Things like looking at adoption tax credits, making sure the foster care system is very strong — I think you’re going to see us focusing on a little bit more of that side.”
As someone who has gone through the foster care and adoption process multiple times as a parent in Iowa, I can certainly say that a higher tax credit would be appreciated, and a stronger foster care system may well be in order. However, none of these things justify our state allowing the murder of babies in the womb!
While playing regent king, Rep. Grassley has completely taken his eye off the ball and failed to recognize who the real King is — Jesus Christ. Many Christians go around chanting “Christ is King” or will use the cliché slogan ad nauseam: “Whoever becomes president, just remember Jesus is King.” While I completely agree with each statement at face value, the problem is that we, as Christians, rarely act like it. Christ is King, and He will be coming back, so we had best warn these regent kings who have gotten way too big for their britches that they must serve Christ because He is coming back with a sword to make war.
Rep. Grassley has forgotten that, as a regent king, the true King is coming back. He has also forgotten that he is supposed to be a representative. Not only is he making the great blunder of failing to represent those who are in the womb — no baby has ever advocated for its own intentional destruction — but he is also failing to represent the Republicans of Iowa, who have kept him in power for far too long.
This is the first plank of the 2024 Iowa State Republican Platform under the section on Life:
We believe that life begins at conception and must be protected until natural death. We believe all such issues protecting the right to life belong under the constitutional authority of the state, and not the federal government.
While I certainly believe murder should be illegal at the federal, state, and local levels, it is clear that the Republicans of Iowa believe it is the duty of the state government to protect life from conception to natural death. This is something that Grassley is refusing to even make a priority in 2025.
Where do the court jesters come in? As I am sure you recall, we started with regent kings and court jesters. The jesters show up in the same article and go by the title of The Pro-Life Movement.
Why would I say such a thing? Well, in the midst of the continued slaughter of babies in our state — even post-Roe v. Wade — what are the priorities of the pro-life movement here in Iowa? To make abortion pills prescription-only and to put forth required education. Here are the quotes from the article so you can read it yourself:
“Dewitte (Executive Director of Pulse Life Advocates) says Pulse Life Advocates also plans to introduce two other bills during this session.”
“Dewitte says one of the plans they’ve developed would restrict prescription abortions by requiring anyone seeking the drug mifepristone to obtain a prescription. To obtain the prescription, the person would also be required to undergo a medical exam. It would also require that any adverse effects experienced by the patient as a result of using the drug be reported. Dewitte says the requirements would not extend to Levonorgestrel EC pills, commonly known as the ‘morning-after pill.’“
“She also says Pulse Life Advocates has plans to introduce an education bill. Dewitte says it would require schools to include certain aspects of prenatal development in their public education requirements.”
I certainly know that the regent king Grassley is entertained by this. Can you imagine him in his back room with his hoard of establishment lackeys laughing as they say to each other, “They keep trying to tell us it is murder, but their solution is to make high schoolers watch a video and require a piece of paper signed by a Planned Parenthood doctor to do it.”
The pro-life movement was, perhaps at one time, a people who spoke truth to power and demanded that abortions stop. But today, it has sadly degraded into the laughingstock of political influencers and lobbyists — all because they have given up their ability to speak truth to power by undercutting their own position with misguided bills that end with, “and then you can murder the baby.”
In a land of regent kings and court jesters, where do we turn, and what do we do? We turn to the Word of God, and we warn of the coming King while we uncompromisingly proclaim His message.
The message we should be proclaiming to Rep. Grassley is this:
“Now therefore, be wise, O kings; Be instructed, you judges of the earth. Serve the LORD with fear, And rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, And you perish in the way, When His wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him.” (Psalm 2:10-12)
Rep. Grassley, you must serve the King and uphold His standard. Abortion must be abolished in Iowa — you must make protecting our pre-born neighbors a priority. If you do not heed this advice, remember: the King is coming, and He will be angry with you.
Author: Sam Jones
Pastor Sam Jones currently serves as Senior Pastor of Abundant Life Christian Fellowship in Humboldt, IA. He married the love of his life Sarah in 2013; they have two sons Thomas and Henry. He is most known for his teachings on the 4 spheres of delegated government and being a voice for the pre-born. In addition to his Pastoring schedule, Pastor Sam is an avid podcaster and has been known to dabble in radio as well. His political commentary has appeared in dozens of news outlets across the country including: The New York Times, Chicago Tribune, USA Today, and The Iowa Standard. Pastor Sam is the author of 5 Steps to Kill a Nation. He is also a co-author of Social Injustice, Church and State, and Enemies Within the Church Bible Study.
