A Prayerful, Informed Vote

The Church has a purpose in this world - we have been given the Spirit of God, in order that we might do God's will and glorify Him, so that He might be seen in us. 1st Peter 2 gives us our marching orders:
9 But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;
10 who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.
11 Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul,
12 having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation.

Because we have been called and chosen by God, because Jesus lives in our hearts, we have the capability to conduct ourselves honorably, according to verse 12.  We can be people of conviction, yet we can be devoted to being men and women of compassion.  Because of our love for people, expressed by God through us, we can speak and act in a way that shows them the way they should act, that demonstrates the compelling nature of a walk with Almighty God.

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David was on the run - in 1st Chronicles 12, we find that he was camped out at Ziklag, and a large group of warriors came to show their allegiance to him. We read that men from the tribes of Benjamin and Judah came, and we can read beginning in verse 17:
17 And David went out to meet them, and answered and said to them, "If you have come peaceably to me to help me, my heart will be united with you; but if to betray me to my enemies, since there is no wrong in my hands, may the God of our fathers look and bring judgment."
18 Then the Spirit came upon Amasai, chief of the captains, and he said: "We are yours, O David; We are on your side, O son of Jesse! Peace, peace to you, And peace to your helpers! For your God helps you." So David received them, and made them captains of the troop.

Men from a variety of tribes of Israel, including the tribe of Issachar, about which we read in verse 32:
32 of the sons of Issachar who had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do, their chiefs were two hundred; and all their brethren were at their command...

We are in a spiritual battle, and God does not call us to sit on the sidelines - we have to, as these brave men did, choose the side aligned with God - they rejected the ways of Saul and gravitated to David. They made the choice, and Issachar was especially notable because they understood the times, they knew "what Israel ought to do."  We need that type of discernment.

Next Tuesday, May 24 - one week from today - is primary Election day in the state of Alabama.  And, as I have encouraged you throughout the years, make sure that you go to the polls and make a prayerful, Biblically-informed choice for the candidates that most resemble your Christian worldview perspective. 

It seems that the issue of Christian involvement in politics has become a divisive issues in churches these days.  I believe that we are called to take our Scriptural principles into every area of life, and political choices are very important, because we have the chance to be used of the Lord to select governmental authorities. Romans 13 shows us that these authorities are ordained by Him.

The Daily Citizen of Focus on the Family recently highlighted two articles that examined Christian involvement in politics; one article profiled a pastor who left his church, ostensibly because the parishoners did not believe he was political enough. In the other, a situation was explored involving two churches in one city with a differing approach to political involvement. The Daily Citizen article opens up this way:

Certainly, the effectual spread of the Gospel is of paramount importance to all Christians. But to read numerous articles in elite publications today, one would think the precious Gospel of Jesus Christ is being dangerously crippled by the nastiness of current partisan politics. Just this week, The New York Times warned in a lengthy article “a ‘Seismic Shift’ Fractures Evangelicals” because of politics and The Atlantic, which seems to run such doomsaying articles about every 6 months, explains “How Politics Poisoned the Evangelical Church.”

If these folks are to be believed, Christians involved in politics is the Gospel’s greatest hinderance today. But what these journalists fail to understand is their neighborly “the sky is falling” warning to faithful Christians is nothing new at all. Nor is it helpful or particularly insightful. Discerning readers know this to be true. The reasons are many.

The article, compiled by the Daily Citizen staff goes on to enumerate those reasons.  

#1 is this: "First, the elite press has been predictably apoplectic for decades now about any and every movement of biblical Christians’ involvement in politics. Thus, their warnings today ring hollow." The piece notes that, "Yes, we grow tired of the elite media’s faux concern for something it despises: the effectiveness of the Gospel. It also fails to understand basic citizenship."  

My take: isn't it interesting that we have so-called Christian leaders and commentators that run to the New York Times and Washington Post to take potshots at the church, rather than use that platform to share Biblical truth about the issues of the day?  We have to assume that these publications do not want the Church to be a force for good in this world.  And, of course, we know that the enemy has a vested interest in dividing the body of Christ. 

The #2 reason for our political involvement is that...

...all Christians are citizens of the nation in which they were born or legally reside. Being proud of the nation God has placed one in and getting involved in the politics of that nation is not so-called “Christian nationalism.” It is called vibrant citizenship and democracy. Nations are stronger when everyone gets involved and brings their full conviction and participation to the public square. Even religious conviction. This is not the death of democracy, but the exact opposite.

My take: as I've said before, in our approach to politics, we start with the Word of God.  Our devotion to Scripture and its principles should inform our views on matters of policy, not the other way around. If we start with politics and try to fit the Scriptures in, then we have made politics an idol, in a sense. 

And, reason #3 from The Daily Citizen to support Christian involvement in politics is this: "to think Christians have no business getting deep into the politics of their respective nations fails to understand basic Christian history. Let’s start with the Christianity’s first evangelist: John the Baptist. He way mixed politics and Gospel ministry. He did so to the point of death." The article points out that Jesus was "...put to death by the State under enormous political pressure. But He was not concerned about the entanglement, knowing His Gospel was more powerful than the messiness of those politics."  It goes on to say:

The early church fathers were extremely outspoken politically on the issue of abortion. O.M. Bakke, in When Children Became People: The Birth of Childhood in Early Christianity, explains early Christian apologists like Athenagoras and Tertullian “had addressed their texts to Roman governors and emperors” likely influencing the criminalization of abortion there. This saw this, not as a competition to the Gospel, but the very work of the Good News itself. They could walk and chew gum.

Throughout the history of the Church, Christians have unapologetically engaged politics at great cost to themselves, their ministries and reputations. They did so to defend God’s definition of marriage and family, to protect children, to battle slavery, to elevate women, to protect the vulnerable and secure justice for those with different skin colors. This is all a profound part of the history of Christianity.

The Church has enormous potential for good in this world; but the world doesn't necessarily see it that way.  We have to make sure that we are taking our cues from the Lord rather than the world. One avenue God has given us to make an impact is to be involved in the selection of leaders; another is to engage with those leaders in prayer.  And, as God leads, Christians can be bold to speak truth to power regarding legislative proposals.

And, just a note - David Closson, the Director of the Center for Biblical Worldview at Family Research Council, who is involved with equipping pastors and churches to deal with issues Biblically, said this on Twitter: "I’ve said this for a while now, but I travel quite a bit and spend time with a lot of pastors and in a lot of churches..."  He expressed that what was being characterized in the Atlantic article as "a large scale problem doesn’t line up at all with what I’m seeing on the ground." Fact is, the Atlantic article was a classic case of taking an isolated incident and extrapolating it to a much larger group and using it to denigrate huge segments of evangelical Christianity.  So was the Times story.

We also have to guard against marginalizing those who apply Scripture to cultural issues by saying that they are bringing politics into the Church.  Again, as the Daily Citizen article brilliantly points out, the realm of the political is a fact of life - Jesus dealt with it, John the Baptist did, too; so did other leaders throughout history.  We always must discern that our positions are supported by Scripture.