If there is one thing that I have seen politics do to the body of Christ it is this - divide it. If I were given the opportunity to name another thing that politics has done to the body of Christ, it would be this - alienate people.
As is the case with the rest of you, the country that we live in has been littered with propaganda for the past several months encouraging us to vote for one candidate or the other. Our 2 main choices being John McCain and Barack Obama. Two very different candidates with 2 very different sets of ideas on how to fix America.
This election has drawn me to Christ, to community, and to the Bible more than any other time I have voted (which is not that many times). My walk with Christ over the past 2 years has drawn me to a place where I am always asking the question, as cliche' as it might sound, "what would Jesus do in this situation?" I believe that Jesus was and is the ultimate example of how we should be conducting our lives while we are here on earth. You can argue relevanct of the times, translation of the Bible, or the context of his actions and words, but all that aside, Jesus is our example of true Christian living.
In the old testament, God set up the first King of Israel in the book of 1 Samuel. Israel had a desire to have a king to rule over them, because this was the trend among the other nations. so Samuel asks God if he should appoint a King, and God answers him with 3 points.
1 - the reason that the people want a king is because they rejected God and no longer wanted God to reign over them.
2 - Listen to what the people want, but warn them about what appointing a king will look like.
3 - Here are the things to know up front about what the king will be like. He will take your sons and make them serve with his chariots and horses, and they will run in front of his chariots. Some he will assign to be commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and others to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and still others to make weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to his attendants. He will take a tenth of your grain and of your vintage and give it to his officials and attendants. Your menservants and maidservants and the best of your cattle and donkeys he will take for his own use. He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his slaves. When that day comes, you will cry out for relief from the king you have chosen, and the LORD will not answer you in that day."
So Samuel told this to all the people, but they persisted in their want for a king, so God gave Samuel permission to appoint a king.
If you know the story of the Israelites, you know that from this point on in their history is quite the downward spiral. A few books later in the Bible, a prophet named Jeremiah is looking over the city and here is what he writes.
How deserted lies the city,
once so full of people!
How like a widow is she,
who once was great among the nations!
She who was queen among the provinces
has now become a slave.
Bitterly she weeps at night,
tears are upon her cheeks.
Among all her lovers
there is none to comfort her.
All her friends have betrayed her;
they have become her enemies.
After affliction and harsh labor,
Judah has gone into exile.
She dwells among the nations;
she finds no resting place.
All who pursue her have overtaken her
in the midst of her distress.
The roads to Zion mourn,
for no one comes to her appointed feasts.
All her gateways are desolate,
her priests groan,
her maidens grieve,
and she is in bitter anguish.
If you move to the new testament, Jesus comes along - God only son - the Messiah - our perfect example of how to live here on earth, and he sets up his rule. Isaiah the prophet talked about the coming of Jesus in the old testament, and he said that "the government would be upon His shoulders." Meaning that Jesus would be the ultimate ruler and even the highest of government would have no power over Him.
And one of the first things that Jesus does after he calls his disciples in the book of Matthew is to lay out one of the most incredible, and some believe the most important, instruction to his disciples. It goes something like this.
Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called sons of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
These are Jesus commands on how we should live, and on who we should be.
Later in Matthew some of the first and only questions about government are brought up to Jesus. He is asked about paying the temple tax, and commands Peter to go and catch a fish and take the money out of its mouth to pay the temple tax. No big deal.
He is later asked if, as Jewish people, they should have to pay taxes to Caesar, and he pretty much haphazardly answers them by saying "Give to Caesar was is Caesars and give to God what is Gods." and then Jesus goes on his way. He never goes into detail, never tells a parable, or mentions it again. The next mention of such things is in Romans and the government is described as "God's servants."
When Jesus stands before Pilate to be sentenced to death, he gives his final thoughts on government before he dies in this exchange found in the book of John.
Pilate then went back inside the palace, summoned Jesus and asked him, "Are you the king of the Jews?"
"Is that your own idea," Jesus asked, "or did others talk to you about me?"
"Am I a Jew?" Pilate replied. "It was your people and your chief priests who handed you over to me. What is it you have done?"
Jesus said, "My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place."
"You are a king, then!" said Pilate.
Jesus answered, "You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me."
Jesus plainly explains the lack of authority that the govenment has on spiritual things.
This blog has gotten crazy long, so I will go ahead and end it with my thoughts, and I'll tell you how I voted.
There is no time in Jesus life that he ever puts any stock in the government. If the Kingdom of God could be advanced by government, Jesus would have used those means, but He didn't. We never see any record if Him caring even in the slightest about any government rulers. Jesus lived in one of the most oppressive and gruesome governments that the world has ever seen. The Romans Empire ruled with an iron hand and was full of corruption and sin. Why would God choose to put Jesus in this place at this time. I think it is to show that the Kingdom of God will advance reguardless of who is in charge, because ultimatly all we need to worry about is our answer to God when we die. We are blessed when we are persecuted, we are blessed when peoplesay all kinds of things about us. We feed Jesus when we feed the least of these. We are blessed when we are poor in spirit and meek.
Jesus' desire is for us to be focused on things that are worth being focused on. We are to store up our trasures in heaven, and have our minds focused on things of His kingdom, not this world.
So who did I vote for this year? I didn't vote, because I want to make a statement that the way I live my life, the way I seek Christ, and the way that I seek to advance the kingdom has nothing to do with who is in the oval office. Gods kingdom will advance, and the church needs to be unified and needs to love one another as Christ loves us. This world will know us by one thing. Not our vote, not how much money we make, not party affiliation, and not even what country we live in or how much freedom we have. This world will know us by our love, so don't let this election divide. If you're brother voted for McCain and you don't agree, join arms with him and win souls for Christ. If your sister voted for Obama, and you don't agree, join arms with her and go serve the least of these. If your mother or father voted opposite your views, lift your hands together and worship. If you are oppsed to the war, or if you support the war, remember that the war we fight is not against flesh and blood. And as the world continues to unravel before our eyes reguardless of who is leading this country, remember that we are getting cloer to glory, and people need to know about Jesus and his saving grace.
