Politics, Politics!

Every time I see a Facebook meme or a twit reported in the media praising one of the political parties or the other, I wonder whether those heaping praise on them understand the nature of man. You will often see Christians singing the praises on the so-called conservative party in our land. To them, whatever the Republicans do is defacto good and proper. It matters little who the person is or what kind of individual he may be in his personal life, the fact that he is a member of the Republican party and is a "conservative," somehow gives him some sort of street cred that others do not have. The same can be said on the other side of the ledger. If you're a Democrat, then whatever those folks do has your stamp of approval. 

A good example of this tendency is the latest race for the senate in West Virginia. There, one of the Republican candidates, Don Blankenship, reportedly used racial slurs against Mitch McConnell, the Senate Majority Leader, who is married to an Asian woman. And what was the apparent result of such behavior? His poll numbers increased and he shot up from third place in the primary race to first. Bad behavior, it seems, has its benefits!

Now, it is obvious that the majority of those supporting such behavior are not believers. They are often found among those who are terrified of anything foreign and whose prejudices are confirmed and strengthened by such actions. There is a wide swatch of people in this country who see a foreign boogey man under every rock. The fact that Donald Trump was elected, in spite of the kind of man he is, demonstrates that people are willing to overlook immoral behavior (sometimes, grossly immoral at that), if their ears are tickled.

The sad thing in all this, is that way too many professing Christians fall into the trap of behaving the way that others in the world do. Rather than centering their thinking on the Word, they are led astray by people whose interests have little to nothing to do with the kingdom of God. To them, the temporal benefits that may be accrued from having a particular individual in office, somehow counteracts their worldliness and immorality. Think of the kind of message you send unbelievers in your circle of influence when you're so willing to sacrifice your integrity and witness at the altar of expediency. We are all too often quick to be scathing in our denouncing of homosexuality, adultery and the like. But too many times, such denunciation is done about the sins in general or the "other" people out there who have little to offer us: the homosexuals marching in the San Francisco "gay" parade, are not likely to make decisions that will affect our lives.

The fact is that God deposes leaders and sets up others (Daniel 2:22). If a particular individual is the leader of our country, he is so because God has determined that that is who He wants in that position. But that does not mean that we overlook their sin and patch it over as a matter of convenience. We are called to respect and submit to government. But John the Baptist lost his head because he was willing to speak truth to power. We may not have been called to speak directly to our leaders and denounce their sin as he was. But we certainly can do our work in the little piece of the world that God has given us. Speak the truth in love but without apology. In the end, the truth will set us free (John 8:32).