“Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.” (Ephesians 4:29)
In everyday conversation, we are often encouraged to avoid matters of faith, and matters of politics. But as responsible Christians, we can do neither. We are commanded to spread the good news about Jesus, and we are duty-bound to seek the good of our community.
We’ll reflect on national, state, and local politics a bit more in the days ahead, but for now, let’s think about why there is such an aversion to politics. The truth is that to many people, “politics” just means shallow power struggles, insincere speeches filled with hot air, and shameless smear campaigns. But this is not true politics.
The political sphere is one in which government has been granted authority by God to promote good and restrain evil. The letters of the apostle Paul, in particular, make it very clear that governments (even the often hostile and tyrannical governments of his day) have a rightful role and that we are to be involved in politics by praying for those in authority. Here in our land, we have the added blessing (and we bear the responsibility) of actually having a say in how our government operates. We can vote, we can petition, we can rally—we are empowered, praise God!
The problem is that for many Americans politics has become a god in itself, a god for which they are willing to sacrifice any conviction, viewpoint, or person standing in the way of “victory.” And this is no idol merely of the unbelieving world; the truth is that many Christians, too, fall into this trap. Whether they lean right or left politically, some Christians justify toxicity, smears, vices, and revenge in the name of whatever candidate or campaign issue seems to be immediately urgent.
This is not the way of our Lord. We are wrong to bury our heads in the sand when it comes to politics, but we are also wrong to engage in even the worthiest of struggles using any of the immoral tactics and weaponry of the world. How we work to influence our government does matter. Godly discourse does matter. Truth advanced in love does matter.
The signers of the Declaration of Independence committed themselves to their politics with a “firm reliance” on God and with the pledge of their “sacred honor.” We can similarly engage the world of politics today with God-honoring words and actions. This can bring a blessed harvest not just in our own day but even for the generations to come.
PRAY
- Praise God that we are entrusted with authority to pray for and influence our government.
- Might God be calling you to direct involvement in politics, either by active involvement in someone’s election campaign, or perhaps by running for office yourself? Pray and ask God to guide you and grant you success.
- Is there a man or woman in your community who is committed to honoring God in word and deed within political engagement? Pray fervently for that person to be encouraged, to be bold, and to resist the temptations of the world’s “politics.”
- Pray that church leaders would not avoid politics as a vice, but rather that they would engage government with a firm reliance on God and with the resolve of their own sacred honor.
ENGAGE
Find a political column in a newspaper that you feel needs a response—even a rebuke. Write a letter-to-the-editor, but be particularly mindful of modeling for other politically concerned readers how to engage the issue at hand with truth expressed in love.
Taken from the book We Declare: 31 Days of Intercession for America by David Kubal (PrayerShop 2024). Used by permission. For more information or to purchase this guide, click here.
