“If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is. Set your mind on things above and not on the things on the earth.” Colossians 3: 1-2
“For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, our Lord Jesus Christ…” Philippians 3: 20
Considering these two verses, and those like it, why do you care what political party is in power? Why do you care what China is up to? Why do you vote? This isn’t our battle. Why are you getting so angry or depressed or fearful?
“Do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have no more they can do. But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear Him who, after He has killed, has the power to cast into hell; Yes, I say to you, fear Him!”
I don’t think God wants you worrying about the next upcoming election. You just take care of your own life. You just worry about walking with Jesus. You just worry about feeding the hungry. You just worry about taking care of the widows. You just worry about sharing the gospel. You just worry about obeying God. That is what He has called His children to.
“Neither do I concern myself with great matters, nor with things too profound for me.” Psalm 131:1
“No one engaged in warfare entangles himself in the affairs of this life,” 2 Tim. 2:4
How about letting God worry about that other stuff? What’s that you say, ‘God isn’t worried’? That’s right! So, why should you be? You’re just getting angrier and more depressed. And that’s exactly where Satan wants you, not God. Don’t fall for it! How does knowing all the news of the day help you? How are you actively involved in politics? Are you walking from door to door? Are you running for office? Why do you need to know about the Left or the Right? If you’re a liberal in America, you could be in a coma for four years and wake up the day before an election, and you would still know who to vote for. You pay so much attention to what both sides are saying for months before an election, as if it has any influence at all on how you’re going to vote (assuming you do vote). It doesn’t! The left in this country is going to vote for whatever democrat is on the ticket. The same with the Right. I don’t need to hear about all the terrible, rotten, no good, very bad things that a politician has done or said. It doesn’t matter! If you say it does, you are lying to yourself.
During the 2016 presidential elections the Republicans looked under every rock they could to “enlighten” the public on just how evil Hilary Clinton was/is. Really, Hilary is evil? Shocker! Do you think knowing that made a difference to the Left? Really, Trump is an ego maniacal, womanizing, horses a…….? You don’t say? Did all the “facts” about Trump bother the Right? No! Could the Left have come up with something so bad about Trump that the Right would have instead voted for Clinton? Please. So, what’s the point in all of it? If Mother Teresa had been the one running on the Democratic ticket, the Right would still have voted for Trump, so all the 9 months of buildup and hype and debates are all for show. The Right will vote right, and the Left will vote left, in every election. As Mike Rosen, the now retired Denver radio talk show host, was fond of saying, “Party trumps person.” The rest is all arguing points, and convenient facts, but they don’t really matter. Ironically it is those in the middle, with no foundational beliefs in what the role of government should be or even how the system works, that decide the outcome of every election. Ironic indeed. But I digress.
My point is this: You are just filling your mind and time with useless knowledge. God will elect who God will elect. The principalities of this world are trying to lead you away from what’s important, and you’re obliging. The world tells us what to pay attention to and what’s important today and every day and you listen? As for me, I say, let’s get away from this crap! It’s a trap, all designed by the enemy to draw our attention and our time and our priorities away from Christ and to anything else! God has not called us into politics.He has called us to mind our own business, to live in peace, and to lift up our leaders...all of them…in prayer. That is to be our role.
“Therefore, I exhort first of all, that supplications, prayers, intersessions, and giving of thanks be made for ALL men, for KINGS, and for ALL who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceful life in all godliness and reverence. For this is good and acceptable in the eyes of our God and Savior…” 1 Tim. 1: 2-3
Politics is a sleazy business. Anyone who gets involved, thinking he or she is not going to have to compromise their values and principals, is simply being naïve. It is all about compromise! It’s the only way to get things done. And the more they compromise, the easier it becomes to compromise. You want to dance with the devil, these are the rules. These young wide-eyed politicians arrive thinking they’re going to change the world, but, for most, they’re the ones who are changed. They themselves become part of the entire corrupt system. But the money is good, and the benefits are many. I wish I had their health care and retirement package; and their immunity from the very laws they create. And yes, this includes your precious Republicans! They burden us with laws that they themselves don’t have to bear. Laws, by the way, that don’t seem to be doing a damn bit of difference, do they?
We have so many federal laws, not to mention state and local laws, that nobody knows how many there are. One web site I read stated just the internal revenue code is over 7,500 pages long. There are over 20,000 gun laws alone! And just as “The Law” didn’t make a difference in the hearts of men back in Moses’ time, it doesn’t today either.
For all the hate and screaming across the aisles, it shouldn’t matter a lick to followers of Christ. Our trust is not in government. Syndicated talk show host/author Dennis Prager often asks us to look at the world now and back through history. It’s clear that the larger the government gets, the smaller God gets in the hearts and minds of a nation. The world looks to the government to solve its problems. Christians shouldn’t. The nations put their trust in the government. Followers of Christ don’t, or we’re not supposed to anyway.
“The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; He makes the plans of the peoples of no effect.” Psalm 33:10
However:
“The counsel of the Lord stands forever, the plans of His heart to all generations”. Psalm 33:11
Governments don’t know the plans of God’s heart. And few in government seek to know it; any government. It’s the condition of our individual hearts toward God that make the greatest difference in our individual lives, and in our nation as a whole. Do you think all those times that Israel was enslaved and/or defeated by other countries was because their government didn’t know what they were doing, or because the people were living in disobedience to God?
Talking to the people of Israel (not the government), God says in 1 Samuel 12:
“If you fear the Lord and serve Him and obey His voice, and do not rebel against the commandment of the Lord, then both you and the king who reigns over you will continue to follow the Lord your God. However, if you do not obey the voice of the Lord, but rebel against the commandment of the Lord, then the hand of the Lord will be against you (the people), as it was your fathers.”
“Only fear the Lord and serve Him in truth with all of your heart; for consider what great things He has done for you. But if you still do wickedly, you shall be swept away, both you and your king.”
“But it shall come to pass, if you do not obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all His commandments and His statutes which I command you today, that all these curses will come upon you and overtake you… The alien who is among you shall rise higher and higher above you, and you shall come down lower and lower”. Deuteronomy 28:15,43
“Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord,” (Psalm 33:12)
We are most decidedly not a nation whose God is the Lord. Too many Christians feel like this country would be a lot better off if we had more Republicans. Fools! It’s not how a people vote, but how a people live that determines God’s blessing. God wants only our allegiance and obedience to Him, yet instead we prefer, “Give us a king!” If we want a country that is more reflective of God’s laws and values, then let’s stop looking to, or relying on, a political party to better the nation. It won’t work! Bring your friends and family to the Lord. Live for God. Obey His commands.
“Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him (not the Republican Party), on those who hope in His mercy (not the Supreme Court), to deliver their soul from death (Who else can promise that?) and keep them alive in famine. Our soul waits on the Lord (and Him alone); HE is our help and our shield. For our heart shall rejoice in Him (not a political party), because we have trusted in HIS HOLY NAME. Let your mercy, oh Lord, be upon us, just as we hope in You (and You alone).”
Politicians on both sides want us looking to, and relying on, government. And so does the enemy.
Church of Christ, Satan does not care what political party you are aligned with (and neither does God), what you’re doing in your “spare time”, or who you’re relying on, so long as it doesn’t involve God. Watch the news, listen to NPR on your radio; just don’t listen to God! The devil doesn’t care if you practice spiritualism or believe in reincarnation, so long as you don’t believe in Christ. He doesn’t care if your faith is in the Republican party, Buddha, Mohamed, angels, or even Mary, the mother of Christ; he just doesn’t want your time to be spent with Christ! He doesn’t care if you don’t believe in demons, or in hell, or in him. In fact, he prefers it that way!
“But my eyes are on You, O God the Lord; In you I take refuge; Do not leave my soul destitute. Keep me from the snares they have laid for me, and from the traps of the workers of iniquity. Let the wicked fall into their own nets, while I escape safely.” Psalm 141: 8-10
Let the world have their politics to do with what they want. It is no concern of ours. This is not our world! Have you forgotten that? We are strangers passing through this town. We are not residents. What this town is up to is none of our business. We are here but for a short time, and then we are moving on. We are not called into politics. Jesus has given us our commission. We know what we are called to do in this life. We are to tell people of Jesus, we are to seek Him every day, we are to live righteously before our God, we are to come out from the world. We are to feed the poor and help widows and orphans. I do not find where God has called us to march for lower taxes, or more anti-drug laws, or government mandated maternity leave, or free birth control. Why are we looking to the government? God does not want us afraid of or fighting against the government. In fact, he wants us obeying government and being quiet and keeping to ourselves.
“Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as those as sent by Him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good.’ 1 Peter 2:13
“Do all things without complaining and disputing, that you may become blameless and harmless children of God, without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life…” Philippians 2
God has given us government to watch over us. Suggestion, why not spend all the time and energy you waste on worrying about, talking about, or paying attention to news/politics/media, Hollywierd, YouTube, video games, and the like, and instead give that time to God. I know it’s where He would rather your focus be. In fact, as His children, He’s demands it.
You want to vote on election day? Vote. For myself, I’ve come to the realization that we are not benefitting at all from paying attention to all this noise. It affects us emotionally, and for the worse. And it affects all sides the same. Those on the Left and those on the Right can both turn on their televisions in the morning and within an hours’ time both sides are enraged, frustrated, and yes, hateful of the other side. They’re just opposite sides of the same coin. SUCKERS! The real enemy is never mentioned or even considered. The focus is almost always on the negative. And that’s right where the devil wants us all. Yet God says whatever things are true and noble and just and pure and lovely and virtuous and praiseworthy, on these things we are to meditate! It doesn’t take a psychologist to realize that negative thoughts produce negative feelings and positive thoughts produce positive feelings. Yet, even knowing this, you practice the former much more than the latter. Is it any wonder we all hate each other?
Go cold turkey! Turn off Rush. Don’t listen to Beck. Turn from FOX and turn to the Lamb (I know). A year from now, see if you don’t feel so much less stressed. You will have a brighter outlook, feel better about your life, and actually hate your enemy less. In this case, ignorance is indeed bliss! In fact, you may find that you are able to start to love and earnestly pray for your enemies, as you are commanded to do. And that is where God wants you. It won’t be easy at first, but you can do it. Believe it or not, it is possible to drive from point A to point B with the radio off. No, really! God talks to us in the quiet anyway. If you want to hear Him, He wants your undivided attention. Turn off your headphones.
Do you ever wonder why the problems in the Middle East continue? Because the Muslims will always hate the Jews. Why? Well one reason is because from as early as Muslim children can understand, they are fed a steady diet of rhetoric, all about the Jews and always negative. It’s almost impossible to break the cycle of hate when you are continually being fed news that’s telling you how evil, stupid, uncaring, and selfish the other side is. Sound familiar? It’s difficult to love your neighbor when you’re so busy hating them, isn’t it? We in the West see it from afar and are disgusted at the terribly unfair and biased reporting that goes on daily in the Middle East, and yet we voluntarily sign up for the same type of manipulation here, and we don’t even recognize it! We’re much too smart for that! Good grief.
I am convinced that Satan is at the center of it all. This is all part of his plan and I’m sure he’d say it’s coming together quite nicely, thank you very much. The true enemy has a name. It’s Satan, or the devil, or demon. For some reason (fear of being judged a lunatic I guess) even Christians don’t feel comfortable calling him by name. Using the term “the enemy” has its place, however, how can we fight the enemy if we won’t even acknowledge who he is? We believe this country and this world is going to hell, yet many of us see our fight as political. It’s not! Let it go! You are barking up the wrong tree. You are coming at it from the wrong angle, etc. You are being manipulated by the devil and being distracted and led away from the real battle. Our battle is against the Prince of Darkness. Let’s not forget that. And God has shown us how to fight that battle.
“Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of HIS MIGHT. Put on the whole armor of God (truth, righteousness, peace, faith, prayer, the Holy Spirit, the Word of God) that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the Devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities (fallen angels), against powers (evil), against rulers of the darkness of this age, against the spiritual host of wickedness in the heavenly places.” (Ephesians, Chapter 6)
God has called us, over and over again, throughout scripture to come out from the world and be separate from it. Politics/government is how the world solves its problems. How’s that going? This land and government, at every level, is in the condition it is in for one reason; And it’s not the Democrats. It’s because God's people have turned their backs on His ways and have embraced the world and its ways. We aren’t “losing” because we don’t have a big enough voting bloc. We are losing because Christian’s put their faith in a party and not a person.
“Some trust in chariots, and some in horses; but we will remember the name of the Lord our God. They have bowed down and fallen; but we have risen and stand upright.” Psalm 20: 7-8
“No king is saved by the multitude of an army; a mighty man is not delivered by great strength. A horse is a vain hope for safety; Neither shall it deliver any by its strength.” Psalm 33: 16-17
“For they did not gain possession of the land by their own sword, nor did their own arm save them: but it was Your right hand, Your arm, and light of Your countenance, because you favored them.” Psalm 44: 3
“It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in princes”. Psalm 117: 9
“Woe to the rebellious children’, says the Lord, “who take counsel, but not of Me, and who devise plans, but not of My Spirit, that they may add sin to sin; who walk to go down to Egypt (the world), and have not asked my advice, to strengthen themselves in the in the strength of Pharaoh ( government), and to trust in the shadow of Egypt! Therefore, the strength of Pharaoh shall be your shame, and your trust in the shadow of Egypt shall be your humiliation.” Isaiah 30:1-3
Did you catch that? God is saying, fine then, let the Republican party be your god and America your humiliation! You are placing your trust in a political party and your allegiance to a country. It has become your god though. Shame on you.
“Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, and rely on horses, who trust in chariots because they are many, and in horsemen because they are very strong, but who do not look to the Holy One of Israel, nor seek the Lord! Yet He also is wise and will bring disaster, and will not call back His words, but will arise against the house of evildoers, and against the help of those who do iniquity. Now the Egyptians are men and not God; and their horses are flesh and not spirit. When the Lord stretches out His hand, both he who helps will fall, and he who is helped will fall down; they all will perish together.” Isaiah 31:1-3
“For the Lord is our Judge, the Lord is our Lawgiver, the Lord is our King; He will save us” Isaiah 34: 22
And so let the people of this world and this country...which is not ours...decide the direction their country will go, and the leaders they will follow. We are aliens here, and so we are not to concern ourselves with what these people do. The Word of God says we are soldiers of Christ and as such we have no business in the politics of this country!
“Join with me in suffering, like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No one serving as a soldier gets entangled in civilian affairs, but rather tries to please his commanding officer.” 2 Timothy 2: 3-4
Your “commanding officer” is Christ! You think God is on the side of Republicans as if the Republicans are a branch of the Christian faith; as if they speak for God. They don’t. God doesn’t side with a political party. A political party is just another Baal; another place, another idol, another god for you to worship and trust in.
“They worshiped the lord, but they also appointed all sorts of their own people to officiate over them...They worshiped the Lord, but they also served their own gods in accordance with the nations from which they had been brought.”
2 Kings 17: 32-33
“How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal is God follow him.” 1 Kings 18:21
You want to have it both ways. You can’t! God, the God you profess to follow, is a jealous God. He wants all of your allegiance. He wants all of your time. He doesn’t want you dividing up your faith between He and your precious republicans (or Democrats, if you lean left). Pick one. Which will it be, politics or the Lord. You can’t serve both. Don’t you recognize the hate that is in your heart for people of an opposing political party. That is sin. But it is a sin you gladly put up with, isn’t it? In fact, that you are affiliated with a political party at all only shows that you consider yourself a citizen of this land. How can you say that and believe Philippians 3:20 (“Our citizenship is in heaven…”)? Who is your King? Who is your law giver? Where is He from?
“Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here.” John 18:36
He has not called us to this fight. Our home is the Kingdom of God. Don’t you claim citizenship there as well? Don’t you claim your home is in Christ? Well, how can both be true? Let’s be honest, shall we? What you really desire is dual citizenship. You want to claim citizenship in God’s kingdom, but remain a citizen of the world as well. Well, you can’t. And you see most of your brothers and sisters in Christ living the same and so it must be okay? Hear this, it can be okay with Christians and not okay with Christ. In fact, that’s the case with many things in this world. Many in the church are fine with many worldly things, but it doesn’t make it approved by God, just man.
By your life you prove what is most important to you. Where is your heart? Where is your mind? Do the things of the kingdom of God get most of your time and attention, or is it the things of this world? Your true allegiance, your true citizenship lies in the honest answer to that question.
How much time a day do you spend in front of the television, listening to your radio, reading current events on-line, talking about the “ news of the day”, and politics, etc.? In contrast to those things, how much time do you spend in Christ the word of God, in prayer, in meditating and thinking about Godly principles and concepts? We are to be striving daily for righteousness, holiness, godliness, love, godly wisdom and knowledge. Are these the things you think about and talk about with your friends and family? Are you focused on these things during your day? Or rather, are you more curious about the latest polling data, or protecting your rights (rights that are not God given by the way)? Are you occupied with making sure you are being treated fairly, or having to know the number of women or “minorities” on some advisory committee? If no one has told you yet, let me be the first: God doesn’t give a rip about those things! He cares only about who you are and how you are living your life for Him; how and if you are being transformed daily into the image of Christ His Son. He is watching not for how you vote, but rather how you personally are actively helping the poor, the needy, the orphans, the widows, and those imprisoned for Christ, and so on. He knows if you are growing in the fruits of the Spirit. Do you look more like Christ today than you did yesterday? Do you think more like Him? Do you love more like Him? Is His will your will. Are His laws your commands?
“As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one's deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile…” (1 Peter 14-17)
In 1 Peter 2:9-10 Christ proclaims:
“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.”
Notice, He is not claiming any land as holy. The U.S. is not a holy nation. Nor can it ever be. We, God’s people, the body of Christ is the holy nation the Lord is referring to. And as such, our concern is to be about the nation of Christ. That is where our citizenship lies. And it’s a citizenship that comes with a solemn allegiance to our King, and Him alone. A citizenship, by the way, that comes with no rights. You can demand nothing. You are owed nothing and you can earn nothing. Obedience to the laws of this Kingdom are not negotiable, nor do you get a vote in the matter. Your opinion counts for nothing. He doesn’t take opinion polls, and protesters are not allowed. This is what you agreed to when you came to faith in Christ. Now you know.
You, Christian, are on this planet, in that body of yours, for one reason only, to seek and know and do the will of God. Anything short of that is failure of your duties. He is your reason, not this country. He, Jesus Christ, the King you profess to follow does not recognize your claims to dual citizenship. If it makes you feel better, Satan does. Christ insists that you be all in, or you will be considered all out. Our eyes, our thoughts, our hearts, and our concerns are to be about the things of heaven and not the the things of this world. Just a one time reading through the New Testament can lead to no other conclusion. Jesus, and the New testament writers did not concern themselves with the activities of governments except to say, as children of God, obey them. If the daily news, if the political landscape, if the unrest in the world, gives you feelings of anxiety or anger or depression or worry, or hate, you have only yourself to blame. You were to come out from those things when you came to faith in Christ. God is testing you. He is watching each one of us and will judge us by our actions, interests, and priorities. Where are yours? Turn off the TV, turn off talk radio and news radio, get rid of your on-line news feeds. You’re not being responsible by being “informed” about the world. You’re being led astray. Get informed about God and let the world do what the world is going to do. It’s not our fight, this is not our land.