Quick Post - The Power of Words

Story (unnecessary, but here's the link): Stocks dip on Bernanke's sobering words

How is it that billions of dollars and the financial future of numerous investors can be affected by one man's words at a dinner party, but the Word of God can be read and not affect anyone in our society?

It's amazing how much power words have...but what words (or Word) are we letting affect our lives the most?

--Jason

Our Citizenship – Heaven or America?

I would first like to apologize for the break in posts; it’s been a busy couple of weeks for my family, and priorities being what they are, the blog was on the back burner.

I continue to explore political issues on the blog, but I intend to do so from a Biblical perspective. As an International Studies/Political Science major who no longer works in the field, I enjoy discussing these topics. Here we go:

I find that professing Christians in America are extremely myopic when it comes to the place that a President (not to mention the United States itself) plays in eternity. To begin, I would like to lay out a few statements that lay the groundwork for this essay/post:

• Neither “America” nor “the United States” appear anywhere in the Bible. Does this mean that we are insignificant or our nation does not have profound worldly influence? Of course not…it just means that our country (and more importantly our political leaders) has no significant impact in the fulfillment of Biblical prophecy.
  
• No matter who is in office, be they Republicans, Democrats or Communists, The Bible commands Christians to render unto our government what is due, whether it be taxes, submission, or honor. (cf. Luke 20:25, Romans 13:1-7)
  
• I am a proud citizen of the United States. I believe that we enjoy a degree of prosperity, safety and freedom that world history has seldom seen, and I appreciate the sacrifices made by millions of men and women to make our country what it is today. There is nowhere on Earth that I would rather live. (Well, maybe Costa Rica…but that’s another post!)
  
• When I use the term Christian, I do not refer to it in the fill-in-the-bubble-sheet, my-parents-are-so-I-must-be, Joel-Osteen-isn’t-that-bad form of “faith”. That is not Christianity. I am speaking about repentance, submission, and regeneration through our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
  
• A Christian President of the United States can and would have a profound impact on our country. If he or she were a true believer, willing to submit to Christ over party affiliations and activist groups, he/she could do much to bring to light the unbiblical policies that have beset our country. However, the Executive is only one of the three branches of government, and a sizeable majority of the Congress and Supreme Court would also have to be filled with Christians in order to enact real change.

With these premises in place, why do Christians (and their organizations) in America spend such time, energy and money in a political process that has no bearing on Christ, the church, or their eternal salvation? Do they believe that if a certain undesirable candidate is elected into office, the grace of God would cease? Would we somehow accelerate the coming of the end times? Will God “remove His blessings” from our “great nation”?

This reality would not be as repulsive were these brothers and sisters lifting up a candidate that adhered to the Bible as the one true source of Truth, and applied its teachings and principles to mold their political philosophy. Undoubtedly, there would be other characteristics of this candidate that may not coincide completely with Scripture due to the nature of the office (adherence to the American versions of equality and justice requires a degree of “tolerance”), but he would not blatantly contradict or ignore the Word of God in his words and deeds (2 Tim. 3:16-17).

Adding fuel to the fire is the idea that because one candidate is particularly repulsive, or at the very least belongs to the wrong “party”, we must rally behind the most likely candidate to defeat them, regardless of the latter’s faith, policies, etc. The idea that “Christian Right” organizations are considering backing a Mormon candidate or a former NYC mayor that is a staunch advocate for infanticide (read: abortion rights) simply because their party affiliations place them in opposition with a popular, young Illinois senator or former First Lady is ludicrous, and exposes those organizations for the worldly, ineffective and utterly useless institutions that they are.

Since our nation lives in wanton sin and rebellion to God, as all nations and peoples do, a Christian candidate who stands firm with God will not be popular (cf. 2 Tim. 3:12-15). In love, he would stand firm for Christ (cf. Col. 4:5), but would be rebuked and hated for it (John 15:18). Unfortunately, our election system is no more than a glorified popularity contest. Our education system and reliance on the spoon-feeding of mass media outlets has effectively eliminated informed decision-making in our society, and nowhere is that more evident than in our political process.

As a result, this great “melting pot” of ideas and cultures that is the United States has shamefully been galvanized into two competing yet often indistinguishable factions: Republicans and Democrats. The old stereotype goes as follows: Republicans are at best advocates of personal responsibility, financial progress and minimal government, and at worst they are uncaring, buck-toothed Bible-thumping racists that cause wars and Hurricane Katrina. Democrats are at best progressive, caring, tolerant and intelligent; at worst, they infringe on personal rights, destroy the motivation to succeed and have a desire for the government to control and administer everything a la Karl Marx.

These stereotypes have been debated and propagated ad nauseam, and I don’t intend to continue on those lines. Despite the fact that their policies intersect much more than they differ, most Americans find their way conveniently into one of the two camps. The problem lies not in their desire to associate with a party that most closely represents their personal values; rather it’s the submission to the “party line” over the Bible that is the problem. Each of the parties espouse policies that are unbiblical, yet Christians can be found in both camps, thoroughly entrenched in the activities and candidates of their chosen group.

Thanks to this blind allegiance, come November 2008 we can expect to see Christians lined up at the polls to vote for a Mormon because they don’t want a certain woman (who proclaims to be Methodist) in the White House. Instead of voting for a candidate that is a professing, Bible-based Christian, they willingly cast a ballot for a man who believes that a mystic swindler named Joseph Smith is a prophet of God. Why would they do that?

Their answer would undoubtedly be: “Well, I don’t want (woman candidate) in the White House, so I’m voting for (Mormon candidate).” Why wouldn’t you vote for a Christian candidate, even if it means voting for a third party? “That would be throwing my vote away.”

Rationally speaking, my hypothetical voter is right. A “Third Party” option is a nice idea in theory, but in practice it has never worked on a national level; no third party candidate has ever won the U.S. Presidency. Not only are third party votes essentially “throw away” votes, they often have a profoundly negative effect (in the eyes of their supporters); whichever of the two main parties is more ideologically matched with the third party loses votes to that party, causing the opposing party to win the election. Notable examples of this are the elections of 1912, 1992 and 2000. Teddy Roosevelt, Ross Perot and Ralph Nader all drew votes away from their “big brother” parties, allowing the opposition to come away with the victory. History has taught many people a lesson, and no matter how attractive a third party candidate may be, a vast majority of voters cannot bring themselves to vote for a candidate that they believe has no chance of winning (self-fulfilling prophecy, anyone?).

It sounds like Christians are stuck between a rock and a hard place: “Do I vote for someone with whom I don’t theologically agree to prevent a truly undesirable candidate from winning the White House, or do I risk ‘shooting myself in the foot’ by throwing my vote away on a third party candidate, even though he is a Christian?

What should we do?

As with every situation in our earthly lives, we are obligated to search the Scripture for the answer, and pray that God strengthens our resolve and dedication to Him to carry its direction out in our lives. As with every situation in our earthly lives, we are obligated to search the Scripture for the answer, and pray that God strengthens our resolve and dedication to Him to carry its direction out in our lives. Some passages that I believe can help us include:

Hebrews 12:28-29 - Our heavenly King and His kingdom will not be shaken; no president, congress, lobbyist group, or social activist can do anything to Christ's reign. Why then would someone worry that if a certain candidate gets into the White House, Christianity is doomed? In China, Christians are jailed for distributing the Bible in secret house churches...and we're worried about a 4-year term of one person in a country with a heritage of Christian values?

Amos 8:9 - The Lord demonstrates His power at His own will. Empires much larger and more dominant than the United States have fallen at the sound of His voice. But notice how the Lord saves the house of Jacob? He protects those whom he wishes, and he judges those he wishes. God is sovereign. Plain and simple. In our culture we have reduced God to little more than Big Brother making sure were "doing the right thing"; many Christians have fallen victim to this as well. They act as if we influence God's plan for them, America, and the rest of the world. That's called Open Theism; that God isn't powerful enough to "see" the future. That is heresy. He has counted the hairs on our head (Matt. 10:30), and He has the days of America's existence planned out as well.

Romans 1:18-32- This passage has often been used to describe America and our love of sin. Much like the people Paul describes in this section of Romans, we have the law of God written on our hearts, yet we choose to ignore it. Instead of doing our best to vote for Christian men who are "unashamed of the Gospel," we have allowed political partisanship and earthly, short-sided issues like taxation strategy and government spending to become the major issues in this country. Distracted by these eternally insignificant issues, real issues like the murder of thousands of innocent children, the condoning of same-sex relations, and the moral degradation of our public education system have become peripheral issues only discussed during the election, and are soon forgotten. Instead of uplifting true Christian leaders that will lead humbly, prayerfully and dutifully, we allow men (or women) who merely label themselves as Christians (because their focus groups told them it was the right thing to do) to enter the office and subsequently ignore God's Word.

What is the solution then? It's simple.

• Your citizenship in Heaven is infinitely more important than your American citizenship. While we have a duty to participate in the system, we must keep "looking up" as we carry out our earthly life. Never let the latter overrule the former.
  
• If the candidate of your particular party does not meet the Biblical requirements of a leader, or he does not stand firm for God, then you should not not to vote for that person.
  
• If there is a Christian third-party candidate that stands for your values, then you should vote for him. God knows your heart, He knows who for whom you are voting, and He knows why. Don't let the American election system dilute your values. He most likely won't win, and maybe he will end up getting someone of the opposing party elected...but you will have stood up for God...and He knows that.
  
• In the end, it does not matter who is in the White House. Christian President or not, our kingdom is not of this world. This world is dying, falling into sin and corruption more and more each day. A Christian leader could make our country more honoring to God, but would it slow or reverse progress toward God's judgment and Christ's return? Hardly.

I pray that this article works in the hearts of some of our brothers and sisters that are considering candidates other than those who line up their political platform with the Word of God. Any comments or questions are welcome!

In Him,

Jason