Pastor's Pen:

Let us pray for our new leaders in Washington and our California Statehouse.  Scripture reminds us that God is ultimate ruler over all the kings of the earth, and He can turn the heart of earthly rulers like channels of water in one direction or another.  (Romans 13 and Proverbs 21:1)  Scripture also exhorts us to “pray for those who are in authority over us that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence.  For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, Who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.  For there is one mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus,Who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.”  (I Timothy 2:1-6)

It is important for us always to realize, that while we engage ourselves as citizens in the political process and support issues and candidates that are most in line with God’s word, our main mission is not to prevail in politics, but to influence people’s hearts and minds toward the gospel of Christ.  God knows and controls what is best for those ends to be met over the course of time and history, and when we have prayed and done what we can toward affecting political and social goals, we should never think that the real spiritual battle has been won or lost on those grounds.  It has been a repeated mistake for Christians to think that because a professing Christian was put in the White House, somehow the Church had accomplished something significant, or that there was some security innately protecting the country under that man’s leadership.  I don’t believe God is as impressed as we are with who is in the White House.  God has made donkeys talk and made kings eat grass like donkeys when it served His purposes. (Balaam’s donkey in Numbers 22:28, and Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel 4)  In the same way that the country can say “it’s about the economy, Stupid”, the Church should keep in mind, “it’s about souls, Saints”.  Our mission hasn’t changed one iota over the past several days, months, or years.  We need, as they say in baseball,  to “keep our eye on the ball.” 

               On whichever candidates or issues we may feel we have won or lost, it is important neither to gloat nor whine.  Again, “its about souls, Saints”, and if we let winning or losing in the political arena become our focus in conversations with others, we will only reinforce the stereotype many secularists try to paint onto Christians—that we are a negative, bigoted political block that seeks to restrict civil rights and social progress.  While some professing Christians unfortunately reinforce that stereotype, the reality in most cases is expressed in Proverbs 29:18.  It says that in essence one’s attitude about laws and justice is about one’s level of understanding or vision.  “Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint; but happy is he who keeps the law.”  People who don’t know the Lord and don’t understand things from a biblical viewpoint just see things differently.  They don’t understand what makes us happy, and see laws as restrictive of their “rights”. 

It is good to discuss issues and explain our positions in a respectful and reasonable way, when that is the topic at hand.  But when we can choose between talking spiritual matters and political ones, let’s always seek to discuss the spiritual ones, as they are the infinitely more important.  When America’s hearts are right with God, the politics and policies will follow.  That cart and horse will never successfully be forced the other way around.  May God help the Church in America to bless America with a demonstration of the gospel.