Up front: I am VERY thankful to live in the USA and feel incredibly blessed by God and grateful to all who've sacrificed (even their lives) for our freedom and for many of our founding values. I'm very thankful for those who serve our nation with integrity and honor and for those who are called to the political arena as a vocation or in specific ways to make a difference (like our own Bill Cooper in West MI -- I was so proud of him and so disappointed that he did not win the primary -- I believe he would've made a difference!). I believe that Christians should invest in the good of the nation where God has placed them. They should be knowledgeable and participate as good citizens.
That said, driving today and listening to a Christian radio station spending hours on political issues reminded me about how much emphasis many Christians, churches, and Christian organizations are increasingly putting on politics -- denegrating politicians and mounting campaigns of various kinds. I'm conservative, always vote, and have strong feelings about many candidates and political issues. But I feel passionately that the primary focus of Christ-followers and the church must be to fulfill Jesus' Great Commission by our proclamation of the Gospel by our words and good works.
I'm very concerned that we have traded our mission for one which is vastly inferior to Jesus' Great Commission (Matthew 28:18ff) and the advance of His kingdom and which won't make any difference in a thousand years. Many Christians are far more passionate about their political concerns than about the Gospel, the kingdom of God, the eternal souls of men, and the holy Scriptures.
The first century church made an astonishing impact on their world and spread the Gospel/church throughout the Roman empire in one generation. Their impact was not political. They did it by preaching and living the Gospel. They did not focus on changing laws or getting their candidates and values in place through political means. They understood that Jesus' kingdom is not of this world (John 19:36) and that we do not use "the weapons of the world" (2 Cor 10:3ff). They changed lives by the power of the Gospel, not political action.
Throughout history, when the church has married the state, it has always been a horrible marriage with devastating results.
2 comments:
As a member of your church and a member of a local political organization, it is difficult for me to comment. On one hand, I do understand the call that God charges me with as a believer in Christ. And if I were to compare the demands on my time that I allow to happen, I must admit I have spent much more time lately on political issues. It just seems as though this time before the election is ripe. And, under the current administration, things need to be made known for people to make the best choice for political office. Be that as it may, I am not very evangelistic and some of the venues I used to minister to people have closed. Being out of regular work also has been trying on my soul. I guess the way I boil it all down to is the fact that if those who call themselves true Christians were to pull back entirely from politics our country would go to hell in a handbasket quicker. And I just don't want that to happen.
I agree that too many are giving their time to changing the STATE and not enough time to help the citizens change their heart by trusting Jesus Christ as the King of their lives. I am concerned that we are losing the freedom to be a part of the Great Commission.
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