Well, not only am I going to break
the old saying about not talking about religion and politics in mixed company
(since more than likely there will be disagreements and we can’t seem to
amicably handle those situations by agreeing to disagree agreeably), but I’m
also going to mix both religion and politics and talk about both here. And yes,
with the 2014 U.S. mid-term elections around the corner of the calendar, it
seemed appropriate timing.
Let me point out what I am not going to do here though. I have no intention of ever telling anyone how to vote and who to vote for, as I feel people are capable of making their own minds on that and should, empowered by careful research, follow their own conscience on such matters. I don’t endorse any particular candidate but Jesus Christ and I don’t endorse any particular party except for the one Jesus throws in Heaven with all the angels at just one sinner who repents. :-) I don’t even really endorse any particular ideology other than Christian theology entrusted to and enacted by hearts that have been set free by the crucifixion of Christ on the cross at Calvary and the glorious Resurrection of Christ that brings restoration, redemption and renewal.
In fact, I will go ahead and lay out my only bit of voting advice. Vote for whoever you think God wants you to vote for. Grammatical issues aside, I think that’s the only issue at hand when it comes to elections. As 1 Corinthians 10:31 tells us, we should do everything for God’s glory and as Colossians 3:23 tells us, we should everything as unto The Lord (that is, with our best effort.) Those two verses speak to two major things that should guide our voting. And to be clear, I do think we should take advantage of the right to vote in countries that afford this privilege. [Sadly, this is something to remember too- voting is a privilege as in many countries it is not an option for the people at all.] If we are doing everything for God’s glory, then this includes our voting at the polls. And that should be the guiding principle for everything in our lives, of course. Now I don’t know what this will translate into for anyone else as far as candidates and such goes, but I do know that we should look for candidates who truly represent the values that God holds dear as much as possible. I know that this is not fully possible as we also must acknowledge that we are all miserable sinners who fall woefully short of God’s glory and ultimately, we can only hope to find someone who labors to uphold God’s standards, though obviously they will not be perfect in those efforts. We must extend grace to our leaders and everyone else, for that matter, just as much as we are so quick to extend to ourselves. If God is willing to be gracious and forgiving, then so must we, as Jesus made very clear in His parable of the unmerciful servant. (See Matthew 18:21-35)
Ah, but the question is raised then- what of the circumstances when we can’t seem to find any leader that holds to and upholds God’s values? What to do indeed? Well, here is where our other guiding verse comes into play. As Colossians 3:23 says, we should everything as unto The Lord and offer our best to Him. (Many other verses make that principle clear- for instance, one of my favorites, Malachi 1:14, says it quite well. :-)) How can we offer our best to The Lord in the way we vote? I think this calls for discipline on our part to do good research on all of the candidates in the running and make informed decisions. As Hosea 4:6 laments, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge…” How true it is. So let’s make sure to do thorough research to find out, as much as possible, what the candidates really stand for and how it’s been played out in their lives thus far. An important distinction I want to make here is that I personally like to look at candidates and not party affiliations. I do not hold to the Republican party or Democrat party. Or the Green party. Or the Libertarian party. Or the Constitution party. Or the various parties that we tend to forget even exist past the big two. (Again, excuse my grammar there. ;-)) I don’t even hold to the Independent status. I am dependent on Jesus Christ and I hold on to Him above all else- and He is above all else- all political parties, all ideologies and philosophies, all kings and rulers, lords and gods- everything and everyone.
This leads into one other important point I want to make on politics and leaders and so forth. As much as we should try to think the best of our leaders rather than the worst and give them the benefit of the doubt as much as we give others and ourselves most of all, this doesn’t mean we shouldn’t hold them to standards. As a leader, they are given greater responsibilities and held accountable by God. In fact, Romans 13 specifies that it is God Who sets them in authority. And He’s The One Who takes them down as well. And because God has set them in power, out of reverence for God, we are called to respect and obey the government authorities that God has put in place. We are also called to love our leaders, as Jesus commands us to love everyone (John 13:34-35), and respect them as well and pray for them. (See 1 Peter 2:9-25 and 1 Timothy 2:1-2) And this means adhering to the rules and yes, paying our taxes. (Jesus gave us the example in Matthew 17:24-27 as He paid His taxes. Of course, He had that cool trick where He could tell Peter to go fishing and that he’d find a coin in the mouth of the first fish he caught. :-) But nonetheless, as Christ provided for Peter’s tax and His own, He can certainly provide for us in everything. And we must remember what He taught in the incident in Luke 20:19-26- “Render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s [insert the name of your country’s government here ;-)] and to God what is God’s.”
Now I must also acknowledge that there are times when the government might require unfair taxes from us and times when we may feel pushed to do things that go against God’s Word. And ultimately, if it comes down to the government vs. God, I’m going to go with God over the government. As Peter said in Acts 5:29, “We must obey God rather than men.” Until it is at that point, I think there are times when we as Christians are called to let ourselves be taken advantage of and remember that God sees all that is done and vengeance is His and He will repay people for their deeds. (Matthew 5:38-48, Job 34:10-11) It may also help us to remember the context of the verses that command us to respect and obey the government authority that God has established. First of all, as I said earlier, we particularly obey the government authority and respect it out of respect for God Himself and in obedience to Him, just as we do with our parents, teachers, pastor and other positions of leadership. But think about the people in Peter’s and Paul’s day. They were under the tyranny of Nero, who used Christians for nightlights! In a time when Christians were being thrown to the lions to be eaten for the Romans to enjoy as sport and when Christians were being burned at the stake- all because of their faith in Christ- this is when they are hearing God’s command to respect and honor the government institution of their day- which mean respecting and obeying Nero and the laws his government had established. (Except, of course, as noted before, when it came to laws that directly went against God’s Word.) If Christians then could obey this command and Christians in communist countries that live in dictatorships instead of democracies can obey this command, then I think American Christians and Christians in democratic countries particularly can obey this command. (And of course, our circumstances don’t really matter- we are still commanded to uphold and obey all of God’s Word whether we like it or not and no matter what the circumstances.) [Note: As a caveat here, I realize this last statement could lead into discussions over upholding the spirit of the law over the letter of the law and honoring the greater moral value (key examples being Rahab and the Israelite spies and the midwives serving Pharaoh at the birth of Moses, etc.), but that’s a discussion for another blog, perhaps.] [Also, please note: I am NOT making any comparisons whatsoever of any leaders to Nero. I am just pointing out different circumstances.] And ultimately, it’s all through Jesus’ power- we rely on His strength and His love to work in us to obey His Word and love, respect and honor others- even leaders that we may not totally agree with all the time.
I know that some say that respect must be earned rather than given freely. However, I don’t feel that this is a Biblical attitude. Though I agree with the sentiment in some regards and I do think people should make the effort to earn respect through their lives, I also think that their seeming virtue or lack thereof (and by the way, we all have a lack thereof- the only virtue and good any of us have is from Jesus, if we are in Him) has nothing to do with the respect we owe them as people made in the image of God and loved eternally by Him. (Genesis 1:26-27, Jeremiah 31:3, Ezekiel 18:23, 2 Peter 3:8-9, Romans 5:8, John 15:12) We are called to love regardless- and love keeps no record of wrongs. And Jesus loved and gave Himself for us when we were yet sinners- and we can do no less for others. This is what we are called to do.
And as we ponder all these things at the polls, we also know that ultimately God is in control of all these events and He knows what is to come- He laughs while the nations rage. (Psalms 2) He is in control of all things and He is the One we must trust above all else. Stop putting your trust in man, who has just a breath in his nostrils. [Which God gave him to begin with!] Of what account is he? (My quote/paraphrase of Isaiah 2:22). This is why I’m not really concerned too much with who gets elected and who is in charge. I know my King is always on the throne- and He’s King of Kings and Lord of Lords. (Revelation 19:16) And He reigns forever over all. And He will put all things to rights in His time. So take heart- we’re going to have trials and tribulations and of course, death and taxes, in this world- but Jesus has overcome the world! (John 16:33) So put your hope in Him and praise Him- His will will be done. Jesus rules! (And I mean that literally). :-)
Let me point out what I am not going to do here though. I have no intention of ever telling anyone how to vote and who to vote for, as I feel people are capable of making their own minds on that and should, empowered by careful research, follow their own conscience on such matters. I don’t endorse any particular candidate but Jesus Christ and I don’t endorse any particular party except for the one Jesus throws in Heaven with all the angels at just one sinner who repents. :-) I don’t even really endorse any particular ideology other than Christian theology entrusted to and enacted by hearts that have been set free by the crucifixion of Christ on the cross at Calvary and the glorious Resurrection of Christ that brings restoration, redemption and renewal.
In fact, I will go ahead and lay out my only bit of voting advice. Vote for whoever you think God wants you to vote for. Grammatical issues aside, I think that’s the only issue at hand when it comes to elections. As 1 Corinthians 10:31 tells us, we should do everything for God’s glory and as Colossians 3:23 tells us, we should everything as unto The Lord (that is, with our best effort.) Those two verses speak to two major things that should guide our voting. And to be clear, I do think we should take advantage of the right to vote in countries that afford this privilege. [Sadly, this is something to remember too- voting is a privilege as in many countries it is not an option for the people at all.] If we are doing everything for God’s glory, then this includes our voting at the polls. And that should be the guiding principle for everything in our lives, of course. Now I don’t know what this will translate into for anyone else as far as candidates and such goes, but I do know that we should look for candidates who truly represent the values that God holds dear as much as possible. I know that this is not fully possible as we also must acknowledge that we are all miserable sinners who fall woefully short of God’s glory and ultimately, we can only hope to find someone who labors to uphold God’s standards, though obviously they will not be perfect in those efforts. We must extend grace to our leaders and everyone else, for that matter, just as much as we are so quick to extend to ourselves. If God is willing to be gracious and forgiving, then so must we, as Jesus made very clear in His parable of the unmerciful servant. (See Matthew 18:21-35)
Ah, but the question is raised then- what of the circumstances when we can’t seem to find any leader that holds to and upholds God’s values? What to do indeed? Well, here is where our other guiding verse comes into play. As Colossians 3:23 says, we should everything as unto The Lord and offer our best to Him. (Many other verses make that principle clear- for instance, one of my favorites, Malachi 1:14, says it quite well. :-)) How can we offer our best to The Lord in the way we vote? I think this calls for discipline on our part to do good research on all of the candidates in the running and make informed decisions. As Hosea 4:6 laments, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge…” How true it is. So let’s make sure to do thorough research to find out, as much as possible, what the candidates really stand for and how it’s been played out in their lives thus far. An important distinction I want to make here is that I personally like to look at candidates and not party affiliations. I do not hold to the Republican party or Democrat party. Or the Green party. Or the Libertarian party. Or the Constitution party. Or the various parties that we tend to forget even exist past the big two. (Again, excuse my grammar there. ;-)) I don’t even hold to the Independent status. I am dependent on Jesus Christ and I hold on to Him above all else- and He is above all else- all political parties, all ideologies and philosophies, all kings and rulers, lords and gods- everything and everyone.
This leads into one other important point I want to make on politics and leaders and so forth. As much as we should try to think the best of our leaders rather than the worst and give them the benefit of the doubt as much as we give others and ourselves most of all, this doesn’t mean we shouldn’t hold them to standards. As a leader, they are given greater responsibilities and held accountable by God. In fact, Romans 13 specifies that it is God Who sets them in authority. And He’s The One Who takes them down as well. And because God has set them in power, out of reverence for God, we are called to respect and obey the government authorities that God has put in place. We are also called to love our leaders, as Jesus commands us to love everyone (John 13:34-35), and respect them as well and pray for them. (See 1 Peter 2:9-25 and 1 Timothy 2:1-2) And this means adhering to the rules and yes, paying our taxes. (Jesus gave us the example in Matthew 17:24-27 as He paid His taxes. Of course, He had that cool trick where He could tell Peter to go fishing and that he’d find a coin in the mouth of the first fish he caught. :-) But nonetheless, as Christ provided for Peter’s tax and His own, He can certainly provide for us in everything. And we must remember what He taught in the incident in Luke 20:19-26- “Render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s [insert the name of your country’s government here ;-)] and to God what is God’s.”
Now I must also acknowledge that there are times when the government might require unfair taxes from us and times when we may feel pushed to do things that go against God’s Word. And ultimately, if it comes down to the government vs. God, I’m going to go with God over the government. As Peter said in Acts 5:29, “We must obey God rather than men.” Until it is at that point, I think there are times when we as Christians are called to let ourselves be taken advantage of and remember that God sees all that is done and vengeance is His and He will repay people for their deeds. (Matthew 5:38-48, Job 34:10-11) It may also help us to remember the context of the verses that command us to respect and obey the government authority that God has established. First of all, as I said earlier, we particularly obey the government authority and respect it out of respect for God Himself and in obedience to Him, just as we do with our parents, teachers, pastor and other positions of leadership. But think about the people in Peter’s and Paul’s day. They were under the tyranny of Nero, who used Christians for nightlights! In a time when Christians were being thrown to the lions to be eaten for the Romans to enjoy as sport and when Christians were being burned at the stake- all because of their faith in Christ- this is when they are hearing God’s command to respect and honor the government institution of their day- which mean respecting and obeying Nero and the laws his government had established. (Except, of course, as noted before, when it came to laws that directly went against God’s Word.) If Christians then could obey this command and Christians in communist countries that live in dictatorships instead of democracies can obey this command, then I think American Christians and Christians in democratic countries particularly can obey this command. (And of course, our circumstances don’t really matter- we are still commanded to uphold and obey all of God’s Word whether we like it or not and no matter what the circumstances.) [Note: As a caveat here, I realize this last statement could lead into discussions over upholding the spirit of the law over the letter of the law and honoring the greater moral value (key examples being Rahab and the Israelite spies and the midwives serving Pharaoh at the birth of Moses, etc.), but that’s a discussion for another blog, perhaps.] [Also, please note: I am NOT making any comparisons whatsoever of any leaders to Nero. I am just pointing out different circumstances.] And ultimately, it’s all through Jesus’ power- we rely on His strength and His love to work in us to obey His Word and love, respect and honor others- even leaders that we may not totally agree with all the time.
I know that some say that respect must be earned rather than given freely. However, I don’t feel that this is a Biblical attitude. Though I agree with the sentiment in some regards and I do think people should make the effort to earn respect through their lives, I also think that their seeming virtue or lack thereof (and by the way, we all have a lack thereof- the only virtue and good any of us have is from Jesus, if we are in Him) has nothing to do with the respect we owe them as people made in the image of God and loved eternally by Him. (Genesis 1:26-27, Jeremiah 31:3, Ezekiel 18:23, 2 Peter 3:8-9, Romans 5:8, John 15:12) We are called to love regardless- and love keeps no record of wrongs. And Jesus loved and gave Himself for us when we were yet sinners- and we can do no less for others. This is what we are called to do.
And as we ponder all these things at the polls, we also know that ultimately God is in control of all these events and He knows what is to come- He laughs while the nations rage. (Psalms 2) He is in control of all things and He is the One we must trust above all else. Stop putting your trust in man, who has just a breath in his nostrils. [Which God gave him to begin with!] Of what account is he? (My quote/paraphrase of Isaiah 2:22). This is why I’m not really concerned too much with who gets elected and who is in charge. I know my King is always on the throne- and He’s King of Kings and Lord of Lords. (Revelation 19:16) And He reigns forever over all. And He will put all things to rights in His time. So take heart- we’re going to have trials and tribulations and of course, death and taxes, in this world- but Jesus has overcome the world! (John 16:33) So put your hope in Him and praise Him- His will will be done. Jesus rules! (And I mean that literally). :-)
Extra bonus points if anyone's interested- this article from Christianity Today kind of sparked my interest in doing this blog. http://www.christianitytoday.com/gleanings/2014/october/religious-nones-pastors-politics-pulpit-freedom-sunday.html
ReplyDeleteWhile I do think churches have the freedom and should have the freedom to speak to political issues- and they should do this in accordance with God's Word- I also don't think it's very Christlike to snub their noses at the IRS in open defiance. And I personally really don't like it when churches endorse any particular candidate or party- I think that is a personal choice that everyone should make in their own conscience, as guided by The Holy Spirit. (1 Corinthians 8 and 10 and Romans 14 speak to this concept.)
Amen. For any fleshing out of whom and what to vote for, these are good guiding principles.
ReplyDelete