This past Sunday, I preached a lesson on this very subject. Seemingly, it was well received. I felt that it was necessary to address the topic as many people get so consumed with politics and turn their politics into a matter of faith. One thing that we must all remember is that God is neither Republican or Democrat and that a Christian doesn’t have to be one or the other in order to be considered a faithful Christian. Like everyone, I have some strong opinions regarding politics, but I should never allow political opinions to damage a relationship with a fellow brother in Christ. Without going into depth on every point, let me share with you my main points from my lesson.
#1: God is in control. Too often, we believe that our country is going to doom and gloom when our candidates do not win and/or when some other candidate wins an office that we fear will not do a good job. I know many Christians who were very upset with the results of the election in 2008. Friends, we need to remember that God is still on His throne (Rev. 4:1-11) and is in full control of what is taking place. As a matter of fact, what is taking place is the will of God (Rom. 13:1). That’s right, President Obama is in office because it is God’s will just like it was God’s will when President Bush was in office. They are in the office, but God is still in control of all things. Because of that fact, we shouldn’t be so worried about politics.
#2: Be good citizens of the earthly kingdom. Based upon Romans 13:1-7 and 1 Peter 2:13-17, we have certain responsibilities toward our government. Here are some suggestions from these passages and others: 1) Submit unless it violates the will of God (Titus 3:1; Acts 5:29); 2) Pay your taxes (Matthew 22:21); 3) Honor and respect your leaders (Acts 23:5; Titus 3:2); 4) Pray for your leaders (1 Timothy 2:1-2); 5) Vote your conscience (Romans 14:23); 6) Make your voice heard in loving and legal means (Ephesian 4:15).
#3: Be passionate about the spiritual kingdom. We our citizens of heaven (Philippians 3:20) and we should set our minds on things above (Colossians 3:2). I have seen too many people get consumed with politics and spend a lot of time and energy trying to change Washington. As Christians, we aren’t called upon to change Washington, we are called upon to change souls (Matthew 28:19-20). We should be spending more time in the study of God’s Word that in listening to radio and television political talk shows. We should be spending more than in evangelism than in campaigning for some candidate. We have more important issues. We are soldiers of Christ and must not get entangled in civilian pursuits (2 Timothy 2:3-4).
