If the Foundations Be Destroyed: A Biblical Reflection on Zambia’s Parliament and Bill 7
By Dr Mwelwa
“If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?” — Psalm 11:3
“The scepter of the wicked shall not rest upon the land allotted to the righteous; lest the righteous put forth their hands unto iniquity.” — Psalm 125:3
There comes a time when a nation must stop arguing over politics and remember who watches over her gates. Zambia, a land that daily declares itself Christian, must look at its Parliament not merely as a house of numbers but as a foundation stone for righteousness and justice. If that stone cracks, the whole house trembles.
Psalm 11:3 asks a terrifying question: _What can the righteous do when the foundations are destroyed?_ This is not just a question for prayer meetings — it is a question for our MPs, party leaders, and every Zambian voter who sees Bill 7 and wonders whose hands are on the chisel and hammer.
When our lawmakers amend the Constitution without pure motives, they pick at the very stone on which the people’s trust rests. Every clause twisted for advantage, every seat gerrymandered for power, every silent threat to a dissenting MP is a blow to that foundation. If the foundation is eroded by secrecy and selfish ambition, the righteous — the ordinary, God-fearing Zambian — stands powerless, paying the price through instability, expensive by-elections, and endless court battles.
Psalm 125:3 reminds us that God Himself hates it when the rod of the wicked rests upon the lot of the righteous — for it tempts good people to also sin, to bend the law to survive, to cheat because they feel cheated. When Parliament becomes a theatre of manipulation instead of a sanctuary of fairness, we turn our villages and cities into classrooms of corruption. We teach the youth that power is to be captured, not earned; that laws are made to be bent for the powerful and broken by the powerless.
Today we hear talk of Bill 7 — the amendments, the new constituencies, the promises of representation for the marginalised. Yet behind every beautiful phrase lurks a test of our spiritual foundation: will this law be written in truth or in treachery? Will it bind us closer as one people under God, or sow seeds of silent injustice that will sprout in tomorrow’s violence and division?
The Bible is clear: the righteous must resist when foundations are threatened. Resistance is not only protest in the streets — it is the courage of MPs who say “No” to a party whip when their conscience says “Yes” to their people. It is the prayer of the church that refuses to bless unjust laws. It is the voter who remembers in 2026 what their MP voted for in 2025.
If the Parliament is the foundation of our democracy, then Bill 7 is a stone being tested in the furnace of public scrutiny. If it is pure, let it stand. But if it carries hidden cracks — loopholes for greed, tools for oppression — then the righteous must not be silent.
Zambia’s hope does not rest on clever politicians but on a just foundation. If that foundation holds, the scepter of the wicked will not rest upon our land. But if we destroy it with careless amendments, then even the righteous will find themselves forced to bend just to survive.
Let every MP who loves the Bible remember: “If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?” The answer is clear — build wisely now, or answer for the ruins tomorrow.