Listen to the cat-fight that is Washington, today. Accusations and condemnations being hurled back and forth, across the aisle. Each political party claiming the High Road of honesty and integrity, all the while illustrating just the opposite.
Of course, it's not limited to Washington. We see and hear it in State Houses and City Halls all across the country. It's become so common that most of don't pay much attention to it anymore. We've come to expect elected officials to be corrupt or at least self-serving.
For Christians, however, the problem has become that we tend to support a policy, a person or a Party, when we ought to be supporting what's Right!
Take Health Care. What's right about the Federal Government taking over health care? The answer is: Nothing! So, why are we supporting one version of the Bill or another?
The Constitution does not support National Health Care. Our Founding Documents point us more toward individual responsibility. Any and all versions of a National Health Care Program threaten both our fiscal well being and the level of service we receive. Listen to the debate: To cut costs, services will be limited and providers will receive less.
Let me suggest something radical: Why don't we just do right?
"Right" is following the rules, being honest, listening to the people, creating a safe, productive environment within the bounds of decency and integrity.
"Right" is a government that protects it's citizens from foreign enemies, illegal immigration, unsafe products or practices and destructive inequities. This includes government intrusion into private affairs, unjust limitations on what citizens can do and say, confiscatory tax structures and "entitlement" programs.
Enthusiastic Christians are at risk of being co-opted and marginalized when they hitch their wagons to one political party or another; one political policy or another. The Bible calls this, zeal without knowledge.
Christians should be advocating for doing right, not for choosing one destructive idea over another. We are able, as a nation, to help those who are truly needy. We are NOT able to take care of everyone and doing so is morally and socially destructive.
No amount of lipstick is going to make this pig look good!
Showing posts with label Politics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Politics. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Christian Patriotism
As we watch our beloved America being swallowed up by governmental totalitarianism and socialist philosophy, what, if anything, is a Christian to do?
Many Christian organizations have sought to force America back to her Christian roots through political activism. A New Breed is preaching a “Kingdom Now” philosophy which has The Church ushering in the Millennium through social activism.
Others are saying that The Bible teaches Christians are to stay out of politics on the basis that Jesus said His kingdom was not of this world and the fact that The Bible characterizes all countries, other than Israel, as “The Nations.” A group that will be judged during the Great Tribulation.
I believe the answer is rooted in the scriptures. Human government is ordained of God. Believers are commanded to “obey them that have the rule over us “ (Rom. 13). In most cases this has meant Kings and Dictators, who make the laws. In our case we are ruled by The Constitution. In America we have no King. No one is above the law.
When unjust men seek to subvert the Constitution, godly men have a responsibility to hold them accountable, by legal means. We would not hesitate to take a neighbor to court, should he erect a fence 20 feet inside our property line. Or continually violate the law in an effort to establish himself at our expense.
The argument that we are not of this world is offered by those who would defend their worldly rights by suing the uninsured motorist who recklessly destroyed their property and/or inflicted serious bodily harm and refused to make it right.
Christians have the right (responsibility) to defend against those who seek to undermine the law of the land....at least to a point.
We dare not violate God’s Word in a vigorous defense of liberty.
We dare not break the law to defend the law.
And we dare not let this earthly pursuit interfere with, or rob us of, heavenly pursuits.
In the end, should the laws change, we would be required to live in harmony with whatever they are, as long as they did not require us to violate God’s Word or our conscience. (Acts. 5:29)
Whatever we do and however far we go depends on the individual, the circumstances and sound reason. As important as this battle may be, it is not to be waged at the expense of our testimony or stability.
Many Christian organizations have sought to force America back to her Christian roots through political activism. A New Breed is preaching a “Kingdom Now” philosophy which has The Church ushering in the Millennium through social activism.
Others are saying that The Bible teaches Christians are to stay out of politics on the basis that Jesus said His kingdom was not of this world and the fact that The Bible characterizes all countries, other than Israel, as “The Nations.” A group that will be judged during the Great Tribulation.
I believe the answer is rooted in the scriptures. Human government is ordained of God. Believers are commanded to “obey them that have the rule over us “ (Rom. 13). In most cases this has meant Kings and Dictators, who make the laws. In our case we are ruled by The Constitution. In America we have no King. No one is above the law.
When unjust men seek to subvert the Constitution, godly men have a responsibility to hold them accountable, by legal means. We would not hesitate to take a neighbor to court, should he erect a fence 20 feet inside our property line. Or continually violate the law in an effort to establish himself at our expense.
The argument that we are not of this world is offered by those who would defend their worldly rights by suing the uninsured motorist who recklessly destroyed their property and/or inflicted serious bodily harm and refused to make it right.
Christians have the right (responsibility) to defend against those who seek to undermine the law of the land....at least to a point.
We dare not violate God’s Word in a vigorous defense of liberty.
We dare not break the law to defend the law.
And we dare not let this earthly pursuit interfere with, or rob us of, heavenly pursuits.
In the end, should the laws change, we would be required to live in harmony with whatever they are, as long as they did not require us to violate God’s Word or our conscience. (Acts. 5:29)
Whatever we do and however far we go depends on the individual, the circumstances and sound reason. As important as this battle may be, it is not to be waged at the expense of our testimony or stability.
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