I Care More About the Kingdom of Heaven
The left and the right both believe the government has a role in bettering society and that, somehow, it is the catalyst for human progress. And we have politicians running around spouting off that they somehow will be the agents of change in our country. What change? Economic prosperity? Equality? Universal health care?
Which were the big governments in the Bible that were corrupt and strayed away from the purposes of God? The Romans. The Sanhendrin. And the Greeks.
What is the government that Christ espoused? The kingdom of heaven which is found in our hearts, now. It is minimal in structure and bureaucracy, yet profound in its impacts on the hearts of men and potentially, the course of history.
True change will occur when we grasp the fact that we are at union with Christ, are depraved and in dire need of His redemption, and thus motivated to follow him at all costs in the world serving Him by loving others and connecting with his people. No human government or political party is designed to do this. Yet the left in particular believes government has some role in redemptive change. There is no historical precedent that it does.
Romans 13 (http://snurl.com/2svnp) reflects our relationship to gov’t well. If we live right as followers of Jesus, government won’t be in our way. This assumes that we don’t look to government for things we should not look to it for. And notice that it says we pay taxes so that an orderly way of life can be maintained. God uses the government to keep order, not to be our nanny state. And our politicians, left or right are not anointed to save our country.
Christ, through us, is more than enough to help cure what ails this world. And ultimately Christ is the only one that will redeem and complete it anyway. Our lives are mere foreshadowings meant to draw others to him and his wondrous plan. The NT church seemed good at this: people gathered together, with Christ as the head, and used the gifts imparted to them by God. In their reflection of Christ, the world was transformed.
We are not citizens of the American empire, ultimately, but of the movement of Christ.
I for one do not judge Obama personally, or question the faith he claims. And he seems articulate and like a good guy. But I wonder strongly about his associations (just who donated the over $200 million that is in his campaign chest), his integrity, and just how big a role he has in the change he constantly espouses. IMHO, he is too small a man to change a very corrupt system that flies in the face of the kingdom of heaven. And anyone would be.
Also, I get very concerned that there is such a frenzy over Obama. In the minds of our culture and media, he has been all but elected. Discerning, critical inquiry has fallen by the wayside. This is a frightening place to be, lulled into the charisma of a candidate making grand promises that things are going to be better. History has given us many compelling examples of what can result from this dynamic.
As I vote, I will consider the following:
- Will the candidate promote more intrusion into my life, or less?
- Will the candidate encourage creativity and entrepreneurship, or more dependence and victimhood?
- Will the candidate espouse ways to let me keep more of my hard-earned income, of find more ways to confiscate it, for some ways that are largely against the ways of Jesus?
- Is the candidate pandering to special interests and victim segments, or working for the good of the entire American people?
- Is the candidate creating an environment where I can choose how to give out of my charity, or one in which the government arbitrarily taxes me for the benefit of others?
- Does the candidate promote class warfare (playing the rich and big business as being “against” the interests of the working class [boy does that smack of the Marxist dialectic]), or encourage everyone, rich or poor, to make the best of their resources for the betterment of their families and communities, and ultimately the world?
- Does the candidate strive at all costs to minimize government such that it is reasonable versus seeking ways to increase it’s reach into all of our lives?
- Does the candidate believe he is somehow “anointed” to save our country, or does he talk about humbly serving our country in it’s entire best interest?
- Does the candidate view government as a solution to human progress or as a distracting hindrance to the redemption of the world?
I know, I have been long-winded, but this stuff has been boiling in my heart for a long time. I care about my country vastly, but I care more about the kingdom of heaven, where the real change occurs.
