Growing up as the son of a preacher, I was never further than a question to my parents, as well as a variety of other Godly influences, from what I thought I was supposed to believe about any spiritual matter. But as time passed, I studied God's word for myself and was challenged by all of them to do so. On some questions, my personal study only reinforced what I'd heard as a child. On others, I found that I differed somewhat from what I'd been taught along the way and that my understanding of scripture lead me to a few different places. (I'm not going to tell you whether my parents and I disagree on any of these questions. If you want to know that, you've TOTALLY missed the reason for the blog series or the challenge to you behind it!) I read 1 Peter 3:15, which says, "But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect..." I felt that this directive was calling me farther past just my hope of salvation, but about anything for which I felt a conviction within my faith. So I posted a series of questions on Facebook recently, challenging Christians to not debate issues, but to search for the WHY behind their convictions to these answers. I purposefully never posted my answers till now. This blog is not THE answer. It is MY answer according to my personal Bible study. I challenge you to find yours.
For me, when I posted this question on Facebook, I honestly did not have a WHY for me on any "side" of this question. As an American, I believe in the rights granted to us by the Constitution, Bill of Rights, and other governing documents. I am of the opinion that we have gotten some things terribly wrong in our interpretation of those documents.
An example of bed interpretation would be the "Separation of Church and State." Most Americans do not know or realize that this "right" is NEVER MENTIONED in ANY governing document! Here is what the First Amendment actually says: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances."
The phrase "Separation of Church and State" comes from a letter by a man named Jefferson that was cited by the Supreme Court and was originally used and intended to keep Christian principles a part of American government. For more information about this letter and the origin of the phrase, I would strongly encourage you to take a moment and read the article found by clicking here.
One must also remember their history lessons from school. One of the things England did that drove our founding fathers crazy was the imposition of the Church of England! There was only one denomination that was allowed and it was controlled by the English government. So the free exercise of religion was taken away. The founding fathers left and came here to escape this among many other things. So when they sat down to write our first documents, these things were still fresh in the minds of the authors, thus included in the documents. Given this information, I HAVE to come to the conclusion that the original intent of the founding fathers was to keep the government out of the church, not the church out of the government!
I've found, however, that any organization's greatest strength is also it's greatest weakness. Our strength is our freedom. We fight and die for it, and live it out with every passing day. But we see that enemies, including our main adversary the devil, conjures ways to expose and pervert that strength away from its original intent. It's a "what's good for the goose is good for the gander" problem. If Christians have those freedoms, then by using the governing documents alone to define our freedoms, so does every other religion. That can be a problem when it comes to such "religions" as ISIS.
My personal weakness in recent election seasons has been magnified on social media. And I've noticed that I'm not the only one. There is a need in us as Christians to jump on the defensive when we feel that Christ is being threatened. It's natural. The disciple, Peter, felt the same urge when he drew his sword and cut off the ear of the Roman soldier as he was about to arrest Jesus. But just as Peter was admonished for his actions by Jesus, so I think I would be...and you would too if you've spoken out as I have in the past.
In order to arrive at where I believe the truth lies to this question, let's first start with what scripture says in a couple of places regarding our reaction to and role in our government as believers:
"1Everyone must submit to governing authorities. For all authority comes from God, and those in positions of authority have been placed there by God. 2So anyone who rebels against authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and they will be punished. 3For the authorities do not strike fear in people who are doing right, but in those who are doing wrong. Would you like to live without fear of the authorities? Do what is right, and they will honor you. 4The authorities are God’s servants, sent for your good. But if you are doing wrong, of course you should be afraid, for they have the power to punish you. They are God’s servants, sent for the very purpose of punishing those who do what is wrong. 5So you must submit to them, not only to avoid punishment, but also to keep a clear conscience. 6Pay your taxes, too, for these same reasons. For government workers need to be paid. They are serving God in what they do. 7Give to everyone what you owe them: Pay your taxes and government fees to those who collect them, and give respect and honor to those who are in authority." Romans 13:1-7 NLT
The way that I read this passage tells me that whoever is in authority, whoever is President, is instituted by God. Even those who are "men of God?" Yup. Remember Saul? He was Israel's first king. Rebellious to the core, lazy, insecure, attempted to murder David out of jealous anger more times than I can count, was basically not someone would not want to be your mentor in the area of Godliness. Yet he was ordained of God. Even David, the man who was the target of Saul's jealous anger, admonished his men when David returned with a piece of Saul's garment in a very crappy cave. :-)
Our submission to authority does not lie on the person, but in the office. Don't get mad at me! I didn't say it, God did. Let's look further.
God tells us here to pray for those who are in authority. And God threw in that pesky little word, "all." That means that our prayers are not to be slanted one way toward some, and another way toward others, but that we should pray the same for all. He even says to "give thanks." Oh no. Really? That's a hard one, especially in today's economy and leadership. (Just keeping it real here, people.)
And finally...
Notice that Paul did not get instruction from God to add the words "as long as he's a godly king or a Republican. Though someone from the Tea Party might could squeeze by too. Just leave those Democrats alone!" God didn't tell Paul to add that. He just said, "respect the king." You may not agree with what I'm saying to you, I'm just telling you what the Bible says. You can do with that what you will. Just know that what you post on Facebook and other social media is a reflection of what's in your heart. So when I and others read it, we see where your heart is in regard to following the guidelines laid out in scripture. NOT ONE TIME does scripture say we have to AGREE with our king! But it DOES say we have to respect him and pray for him. Why? Look again at 1 Timothy 2, "...so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity."
I've not found one place in scripture where it says anything against Christians taking an active role in political matters. But if we do, the roles should be taken with the guidelines expressed here and not vindictiveness, anger, vengeful hearts, fear, or malice toward anyone. Notice I included "fear." If God is in control, who have we to fear? No one. Not Al Qaeda, ISIS, or anyone else. Government is a God-instituted entity. It is ordained by Him. And we must honor God by respecting that entity and its authority over us.
My opinion is that our country has indeed gone away from God. Do I like it? ABSOLUTELY NOT!!! But our role as Christians is ill focused. We rant and we rave about the President and how Godliness is gone from America and its government. We do this blindly thinking that a Godly person in the White House will get us back on the right track. Yet everywhere in scripture, I see God telling us to honor those in authority over us. He knew there would be those in authority over us who would not honor Him. Again, remember Saul? But with all my heart I believe that God Almighty is MUCH more interested with who is God in OUR HOUSE than who is God in the WHITE HOUSE!
If we get OUR HOUSE right, the WHITE HOUSE takes care of itself. That's the way God taught us to handle things in scripture. Get YOUR heart right, YOUR house in order, YOUR priorities straight, and He will take care of the rest. We have a history of thinking we have a better plan than God. But He laid out the plan long ago: "Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land." 2 Chronicles 7:14 NLT. So why do we keep aiming at the government when the fault is our own? We didn't do what God asked to have the result we say we want. It's an obedience issue. A heart issue. Not a President issue.
If we get OUR HOUSE right, the WHITE HOUSE takes care of itself. That's the way God taught us to handle things in scripture. Get YOUR heart right, YOUR house in order, YOUR priorities straight, and He will take care of the rest. We have a history of thinking we have a better plan than God. But He laid out the plan long ago: "Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land." 2 Chronicles 7:14 NLT. So why do we keep aiming at the government when the fault is our own? We didn't do what God asked to have the result we say we want. It's an obedience issue. A heart issue. Not a President issue.
In my book that will be released before too long (hopefully), I talk about the fact that Christians have begun using the Bible as a window more than a mirror. Sure, we are to be fruit inspectors of others, but when we focus on the fruit more than the reflection, we have become judges rather than inspectors. And at that point, we are way out of line!
