Politics and the Christian Part 4

This is another post on the subject of politics, as it relates to Believers. I usually detest talking about the subject of politics, and I loathe the subject of politics when that discussion is framed as to which party is more in line with the things of God. Here is why.

God is the full embodiment of holiness and righteousness. We know that He is eternal (Was not created); He is omnipotent (Not confined by any time or space continuum); He is omniscience (All knowing); He is holy (completely set apart and perfect in every way); and He is immutable (He does not change with evolution of the cultures and is consistent in His application of righteousness).

In short, He is not confined by any of the limitations of understanding, intellect, purity, or consistency (although we humans are capable and often succeed at being consistently sinful) that plagues humans. And it is these qualities, among others such as His grace and mercy, which allows us to have an honest and open relationship with Him. A relationship in which He seeks to “prosper us, not harm us”. (Jeremiah 29:11). 

Now, politics, political parties, and politicians seek to do what they deem as good for their fellow man. But this intent is subjective and is often subject to every conceivable human frailty. Man’s intent apart from God’s wisdom is what makes that whole "intent" thing discomforting, assuming the politician in question even has a personal relationship with God. But here is where God and the concept of politics completely diverge. God is completely truthful. He is incapable of telling a lie, or even stretching the truth to be malleable to different circumstances. He cannot be bought and one can’t barter with Him to allow wrong to occur in exchange for some benefit. Furthermore, He is not just honest. His character is the full embodiment of TRUTH and INTEGRITY. He “delights in those who are truthful and detests lying lips”. (Proverbs 22). But where is the divergence between the attributes of God, and the dynamics within the political culture.

Firstly, politics, while seeking to do good to some degree, is rooted in misinformation, lies, half-truths, and distortion.Some would say the "the means justifies the end", but others may argue "that the ends are insignificant when considering the costs to attain them". But the chaos, disorder, and lack of honesty that is part of the political process, is accepted (and encouraged) as the cost of doing business in that particular environment. It’s what political junkies call “Spin”. And an entire cottage industry is built on this concept. Political discourse in the public forum is often based on a set of bullet point concepts where one denies any culpability or accountability for a problem, and places all of the blame on an opponent or opposing party… even when the politician or political operative knows this is false or not accurate. In short, it is a lie. This process is used to shape the minds of the electorate, who in turn support a candidate or issue through the campaign financing and voting process.

Another example of where there is a divergence between God and politics is the corruption that occurs due to the fact the political culture is built on the practice of bibery. While there are often cases of politicians accepting actual bribes as in the case of Republican Congressman Duke Cunningham, or as suspected in the case of Democratic Congressman William Jefferson, there are other more subtle forms of bribery. Lobby groups who favor a particular issue donate money to politicians, employ family members of politicians, lend luxury aircraft to politicians, and pay for junkets to exotic places for them. And as seen in the case of Halliburton’s dubious involvement in the Iraq War, and the political involvement in the collapse of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac housing institutions, the misconduct spans the political spectrum. It is not confined to one political party, and the followers of the political parties excuse the misconduct of their own party, by pointing to the misdeeds of the other party. It is this poisonous culture within the political system that often leads to two possible results: Either the voters entrench themselves in the poison of the culture (exchanging righteousness for partisan loyalty... even mistaking the two as being the same), or they become disillusioned and wonder where is the God of order and righteousness in our political process?

The truth of the matter is, in our country, both political parties are corrupt and ungodly. They use clever marketing schemes to incite the passions a voter may feel on a particular issue. But, while they may be seeking to feed the poor or uphold marriage between a man a woman, or protect a the rights of a fetus or provide social spending programs to the country, they are lining their pockets with bribe money... I mean political contributions and PAC money. They are either encouraging the growth of the billion dollar taxpayer funded military industrial complex, or they are encouraging the growth of the billion dollar abortion industry. They are completely mishandling and mismanaging the public's money. They are voting one way on legislation for an issue, and misrepresenting their prior statements and stances on on the same issue.They are involved in sexual misconduct, power grabs, awarding friends and family members lucraative government contracts, and actively seeking ways to create disunity among the electorate. And these are some of the more "honest" politicians. While regular citizens are on the verge of killing each other, based on the representations of their particular party's politicians, the very same opposing politicians are smoking cigars and sipping martinis with one another  in exclusive DC clubs..

If one is to profess faith and trust in God, then we must be honest about who we are, and we what we encourage (or allow) to happen. Can an outsider look at the conduct of a Believer and the conduct of an unbeliever in the politicaal realm and see a difference in conduct? Or would they see everyone foaming at the mouth, in the midst of all of the chaos? Furthermore, what options does a Christian have in making a difference in our society, yet alone the world? I don't have the answer, but God's perspective on these issues may shed some light.

Until next time,

your brother in Christ

Politics and the Chrtistian Part 3

It's been a minute since my last post, and luckily the free world is not depending on me for up to the minuet news breaks. I competed in a student mock trial competition earlier this month, and spend the few weeks before the election preparing for it. As it was, I was unable to keep current with my blogging.

But the election is over. Senator Barack Obama won resoundingly over Senator John McCain. The contest was over before 11pm on election night, which has been uncommon, the past few presidential elections. The country is in a transition from the Bush presidency to the Obama presidency, and that transition is rocky to say the least. The world's markets are collapsing... as they always seem to do every 8-10 years, and yet, everyone is "surprised" at the state of the economy. Particularly an economy that is built on the concept of credit. But that is another rant for another day. Unemployment is going up, and the world seems to be precipitously hanging on the edge of some new crisis.

Like all world leaders, President-elect Obama will have his hands full. We often envision a world with no wars, no hunger, no financial collapse, no political ruin, and no chaos. But that is not the reality that has been consistently outlined in the Bible. Jesus Christ, the Savior of mankind AND the Judge of all creation, personally and through His messengers, has referred to Satan as the "prince of this world" ( John 12:31;14:30;16:11), the "prince of the power of the air" (Ephesians 2:2), and the "god of this world" (2 Corinthians 4:4).  Peter, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, warned believers to "be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour". 1 Peter 5:8. Satan is also called "the father of lies" ( John 8:44), and "a murderer" ( John 8:44). In the Book of Job, we see a detailed account of how Satan instigates, and takes part in the attempted destruction of an innocent man, in an attempt to antagonize God. Job Chapter 1.

I say all of this to say that, any hope in a different outcome of the world’s problems is naïve and misplaced. God, for a season, is allowing Satan a certain level of control over the Earth. This includes the Earth’s political system, the economic systems, and the minds of the unsaved across the face of the Earth. In the end, mankind will be witness to the greatest and most anticipated battle in the history of creation, between God and Satan which will take place at Armageddon. Until then however, there will be a large degree of instability and chaos. This is not to say that the election of the President of the United States is an insignificant event. Particularly the first African-American elected president in the same country that outlawed slavery only 146 years ago, and continued to marginalize African-Americans in varying degrees since then. But President Obama is not Jesus, and as man, he is of limited resources to fix what truly ails the world. Granted, a godly man engages in the things of God, for the advancement of the Kingdom of God. But again, it is God who works to resolve those issues. And it will be God, in the Person of Jesus Christ, who will one day, fix all that ails the world. It is He, who should be our source of hope and security in times of uncertainty.

Be blessed.