Politics

Sadly, in our world, politics has become a very divisive issue, even in the church. How involved should the church be in politics is always up for debate, so how should we deal with this hot topic? In the book of Jeremiah, we see a call for God’s people to flourish where they are placed. The Lord tells His people to plan, build houses, and give in marriage. This is even while they are in captivity in Babylon. We see that the people of God were not called to rebellion, but to make things better where they were planted.

We are fortunate in the country in which we live because we have a say in who our leaders will be, albeit a small voice; it is more than most people in this world get. In many parts of our society, politics has become a religion to many; this should not be so with the church of Jesus Christ. Yes, we should participate in the process, but we should not be consumed with politics to the point of division in the church. I understand that many of us have strong feelings about policies and the morality of those who represent us, and my wish is that followers of Christ have such passion about leading people to Jesus.

As believers, how should we navigate through such volatile waters? We see an answer to this in I Timothy 2:1-2, “First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, 2 for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity.” Paul gives us a great strategy when it comes to politics: pray for those leaders who hold a position. There will always be times when there is someone in leadership that we do not particularly care for their policies or ideologies. What do we do? Do we get on Facebook and rant about how much we dislike the person? Do we stop associating with those who disagree with our position?  Do we stop inviting family members to holiday get-togethers, or even refuse to go to one ourselves? I hope not. As followers of Jesus Christ, we are called to be above all the nonsense that non-believers get wrapped up in.

Paul tells us not to rebel but to pray. If there is someone in a position that clearly does not behave like a follower of Christ, we are called to pray for them. We should pray that they come to salvation, to acknowledge Jesus as Lord, and then we will have a godly leader. We will have one who will make decisions based upon the foundations of God’s word. We must not allow politics to take us from the very call that the Lord has placed upon all our lives, and that is to see all people come to Jesus, not just those we think are worthy.  If we want to defeat satan in the government of our nation, then we must be a powerful army of prayer to the Glory of God.