Personally speaking, the most welcome day of 2008 was November 5th. Why? The fact that our country has gotten to the point that they would elect a black man as our President is momentous and a great encouragement. However that isn’t the reason I rejoiced to see the day. You see for me, a pastor, I longed to see that particular day is because it meant, finally, that the election process would be over. That’s it. I was tired of it.
More than a few times this last election season individuals became frustrated with me because of my unwillingness, from the pulpit, to advocate for one or the other (frankly, just one) of the presidential candidates. No doubt, the root of frustration has to do with the fact that these folks have assumed (and we know what happens when we “assume”) that either everyone in the body would welcome such “preaching” or that those in the “wrong” camp might be persuaded after hearing, from the preacher, that a certain politician is God’s obvious choice. My perspective (below) on these issues, obviously, is quite different—otherwise I’d be doing it.
While I consciously avoid, politically speaking, “showing my hat,” here’s a full-disclosure of where I am: realistic (although my family might argue that the phrase “paralyzingly cynical” might be more appropriate). I turned eighteen during Basic Training and, shortly thereafter, cast my first vote for Ronald Reagan. The primary motivator there wasn’t my “views” on taxes or government size, but rather the fact that I was a Ranger in the U.S. Army and Reagan, literally, took special care of us. In fact, I can still remember the portrait of him, wearing a black beret, hanging in our battalion headquarters. Since then, although I’ve always voted as part of my civic duty, each time I felt my options were always “the lesser of two evils.” This said, again in the name of disclosure, neither candidate in this past election cycle even remotely excited me.
Given these facts, I felt (and feel) that the best thing I could do is that which I always do—preach the gospel. Not only can you not save yourself, but neither can the “right” candidate save you. Added to this, if you are a Christian, I assume (and we know what happens when we “assume”) that you need to hear, not which candidate to vote for, but rather the fact that God is sovereign over all our affairs, including, and even specifically, government affairs.
Consider Paul’s words to the Romans, “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God”(Romans 13:1 ESV). Peter echoes these thoughts as well, saying, “Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people”(1 Peter 2:13-15 ESV).
What was the context into which both these Apostles wrote? In short, it was a government structure (Rome) which, at the time, wasn’t particularly friendly to Christians or their causes. Instead of telling their audiences (including us) “fight the power” or “stick it to the Man,” they tell us to embrace the political situation(s) in which we find ourselves. How do we affect change? At least according to these passages, we affect change by doing good.
In fact, Peter seems to acknowledge the problems of most governments and even sounds a bit...cynical realistic. However, he advocates that the way to address the situation and, what he calls ignorance of foolish people, is by doing good. Christians do an incredible amount of good. In fact, when is the last time you’ve ever seen a hospital, orphanage, or homeless shelter named for an atheist? It just doesn’t happen. On the other hand, if Christians do so much good, why then do Christians not have this reputation? I’m afraid, no matter how much good we do, our words are actually louder.
What do people hear us say? Among other things, they hear us criticizing and complaining about those whom God has ordained to lead us. Honestly, one of the things that bothered me most during the Bush presidency was to hear left-leaning Christians publicly run him down and call him names. Already, I hear right-leaning Christians criticize Obama. While you may disagree with the policies of either man, does that necessarily mean they are “stupid,” “idiots,” or “godless?” Besides a sense of self-righteous satisfaction, do those words do anything to “silence the ignorant” or advance the kingdom of God? In my experience, the answer is no.
Why won’t I ever tell you for whom you should vote? The answer is simple: it’s not my job. Moreover, I assume (and we know what happens...) that instead of scorning and/or complaining about “right-wing nuts” or “left-wing socialists” that you are actually befriending, loving, and bringing them to church. This being the case, I am loathe to have inappropriate political statements become a stumbling block for those desperately in need of another kind of news—Good News.
