By: Orean Brown
Saints it’s that time of year and season, no I’m not talking about the Fall season. I’m talking the about Presidential Election, and what some call the POLITICAL SILLY SEASON. Political silly season is when people lose all rational thought and common sense. When political candidate would do anything to gain an advantage such as increasing their lies, smear campaigns, empty promises, and ugly fights which increase division along party lines. As Christians we should not get caught up in this worldliness. Hear me clearly, I’M NOT SAYING WE SHOULDN’T BE INVOLVED IN POLITICS. What I am saying is that we can’t let the political climate of the times, affect our Christian walk. With the election approaching, I wanted to look at the relationship between Christianity and politics. I sense a growing fear as the uncertainty of our future draws near. We feel like we must fight for our rights, expose the opposing side, and defend our candidate. Really, we are just reacting out of fear of the opposing side/person gaining power and the damage they will purportedly do. It concerns me how Christians engage in politics. But what concerns me even more is the hope many Christians place in their political party and leaders. I understand that as citizens of this country we have the right to be involved in politics. The problem isn’t our involvement. The problem is that Christians increasingly derive their hope and identity from a political leader or ideology, and not from God.We need to take a step back and look at where our true allegiance lies. In 2 Tim 2:3-4 the bible states, verse 3 “You therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. Verse 4 No man that wars entangles himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who has chosen him to be a soldier.” Paul tells us that Christians are soldiers in Christ’s Army, if we are soldiers then that means Christ is our General, and our only allegiance is to Christ. Furthermore, Paul tells us that as soldiers we shouldn’t entangle ourselves in the affairs of this world. That means our focus needs to be on our General’s priorities over all else. How much time, thought, and energy have we given worrying about who is going to win an election, when we should be focusing on winning the battle for King Jesus. Every day we have the opportunity to show the people around us the love and hope that we have in Christ. Yet by and large, we fail at doing this in the arena of politics. Many Christians have placed their hope in their political candidate rather than in God. I know your gut reaction is probably, That’s not me. But check your heart: Where have you really placed your hope? What if your party loses this election; how will you react? While we have the opportunity to show the hope we have in Jesus, all too often we display fear, anger, and worry. Instead of resting in the peace God gives us, we worry about what we cannot control. Daniel 2:20-22 states, “Daniel answered and said, Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever: for wisdom and might are his:And he changes the times and the seasons: he removes kings, and sets up kings: he gives wisdom to the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding: He reveals the deep and secret things: he knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with him. Here is my point we shouldn’t be fearful, angry, or worry about who wins in November, GOD IS IN CONTROL. If the winner is a Republican? GOD IS IN CONTROL! If the winner is a Democrat? GOD IS IN CONTROL! Whether they vote Democrat or Republican 99% of the people that vote in this country are not Christians, that should be our main focus. You see when we put our hope in something other than Christ, we will eventually be let down. Maybe not today, but one day we will be. If your hope is in the next political candidate, some political ideology, or making sure that person doesn’t get elected, you will be let down. Even if your candidate gets (re)elected and makes incredible improvements, at some point, politics will still fail you. They simply cannot give you what they promise. Only one person can do that, and that’s Jesus. When we place our hope in something or someone other than God, we build our lives on a faulty foundation. And it will collapse—maybe not today, but one day it will, and it will cost us dearly. In Matthew 7:24-27, Jesus tells us that we must choose which foundation to build on. We have a choice, to put our hopes on man and build a foundation on sand. Or put our hopes in Jesus and build a foundation on the rock. Again, I’m not saying you shouldn’t vote or care about what’s happening in this country. You should. I’m cautioning us to be aware of where our heart lies. An increasing number of Christians are willing to sacrifice their faith for their political beliefs, nationalism, and (ironically) religious freedoms. I hear this argument regularly as to why someone would never support anything the opposing party does. Supporting a party is not an all-or-nothing approach. At least, it shouldn’t be for Christians. The fact of the matter is that no political party has a monopoly on Christ. The Republicans are wrong. The Democrats are right. In some areas. The Democrats are wrong. The Republicans are right. In some areas. Both Democrats and Republicans are wrong. In some (or many) areas. Here’s what I’m getting at: we need to look past our party lines. There is truth on both sides, and there is evil on both sides. If you are a Christian, you must support truth. On BOTH sides. If you are a Christian, you must stand against evil. On BOTH sides. In 1 Timothy 3:15 the bibles states, “But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.”As the church we a grave responsibility to Believe, Obey, Preserve, Transmit, and most importantly STAND for the truth. Here is a little secret ALL POLITICIANS LIE, not just because they are politicians but because they are sinful humans. In essence when people argue over political parties and politicians, they are arguing over which lie they like better. We are the examples of Christ and Truth to the world. You see people don’t learn how to be a Christian just from reading or listening to the Bible, they learn through our example. As Christians, our hope is not found in the next President. The next social program. The next law. Or anything else the government can do. Whatever happens next in this country (good or bad). God will still be in control, and our hope in our Savior will give us peace.