Thoughts on The Government & The Election

Thoughts On The Government and The Upcoming Election

Every four years the people of the United States vote on the Presidency. Along with this decision we vote on other political offices. All the way from school board members, to city council, to mayor, state senators, state representatives, Federal Senators, and Federal Representatives the people decide who will occupy other offices. At times we may get stressed out due to the fundamental choices that are being made by the electorate of this nation. Here are some things we need to remember.

Christians have dual citizenship but our primary one is in the Kingdom of Heaven . “For our citizenship is in heaven” (Philippians 3.26). We have one King and that King is the Son of God, 1 Timothy 5.15. As long as we keep His word and do His will, we will be ok. That does not mean we may not suffer harm and even persecution from our own government in the future but the faith will receive the crown of life, 2 Timothy 4.8.

Our relationship to the government and the government’s responsibility to us is laid out in the New Testament.

We are told to pray for our leaders. Specifically we are told to pray that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence, 1 Timothy 2.2. Fortunately we have been blessed with all of these things. We are able to worship God and bring up our families in the way of God without persecution.

Paying taxes is part of the cost we face in having a government. Jesus said to render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and to God the things that are God’s, Luke 20.25. Paul makes this point in Romans 13.6 as he says we are to pay taxes to our government.

We are to use our influence for good. Salt and light are used by Jesus to describe our influence in this world, Matthew 5.13-16. Our primary influence is upon those closest to us. Our children, spouse, extended family, brothers/sisters in Christ, and others in our community are the ones that see us from day to day. However, we can also influence our government by demanding our leaders rule in a way to please God. Neither political party is inherently evil or righteous, we should not blindly vote for one party of another. We should never defend sin or uphold those advocating sinful activities.

Government responsibility to us is primarily to protect the innocent and punish the unrighteous. “For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same. For he is God’s minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God’s minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil” (Romans 13.4-5). At times it seems as if our government seeks to punish those doing good and rewarding those doing evil. We have seen homosexual rights expanded, pornography protected as free speech, and “same sex marriages” legalized in at least three states. Most of this expansion of sin has come under the guise of political correctness and tolerance. It is our duty to expose sin and stand up for God’s word. This duty does not exist just during the election but every day of every year.

It has not been my purpose to endorse any particular candidate but we need to be consistent with our rhetoric and our actions. If we say we love God and keep His commandments we should stand up for those commandments and demand our leaders do likewise. – Dennis Tucker

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