Today is a good/bad kinda day isn't it? It is a good day because a group of people (i.e. the U.S.) was able to move beyond some of its racial tensions between black and white by electing Barack Obama as president. It is, however, a much more depressing day than a good one.
Some may wonder how I could say something like this. How could this historic (good) day be depressing? Some may believe I am depressed because I have tended to lean toward conservativism and I am down because liberals are the controlling body of our national government now. At one time, this belief would have been right. Now, however, it saddens me to think I have wasted some must mental and emotional energy on political matters, because, in doing so, I have missed what matters most, namely, the Kingdom of God.
The depression comes from the fact (yes, I said fact) that many Christians look more to our human governments to solve problems that only God's kingdom can. So, the Kingdom is what brings lasting racial reconciliation, not government. The Kingdom is what brings financial contentment, not government. God's Kingdom is what offers us unity, not government. The Kingdom is what gives peace, not governments. The Kingdom is what offers true justice, not government.
I did not and will not watch the inauguration today, not because I dislike President Obama, but because I know he is not the one who provides me with contentment, peace, justice, or unity. Why? Because government, no matter how hard they try, can never replace what God has done and continues to do through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
So, Christians, do you want change that can be believed in? Look to Christ and His Kingdom, not to government.
It is true that today was historic, but let us not forget the history that matters most, namely, that approximately 2,000 years ago the greatest, most life changing event in the history of humanity took place in through the coming of Christ, because it is that history which has, is and will continue to make a true difference.
For an interesting and thought-provoking book on the kingdom and the government see Gregory A. Boyd, The Myth of a Christian Nation: How the Quest for Political Power is Destroying the Church (Grand Rapids MI: Zondervan, 2005).
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Great post man! It's important for Christians to have a bit of perspective on our leadership, our responsibility to it, and our upward focus on the true king of kings! Welcoem to the blogosphere!
ReplyDeleteI second Derik's welcome to blogging. Glad you've joined in.
ReplyDeleteBoyd's thoughts in MoaCN are profound and i would add prophetic. I whole-heartedly agree with his understanding of the relationship between church and state from scripture. Since Constantine, the invisible catholic Jesus movement has been infected by the disease of attraction to political power. And shamefully when this power is secured she has often wielded it to do the will of satan by destroying life and oppressing human beings.
The only caveat i would submit for consideration is that Kingdom work can be wrought by Kingdom people working through political means. Im thinking here of just policies enacted or defended through political means because of a Kingdom mandate. For example, Civil Rights. The justice conspicuously absent from American politics towards African Americans was countered by King and others through political means due to Kingdom truth and the nature of God. In such a case as this, even though King acted through "kingdom-of-the-world" means (i.e. politics), he acted in a "Kingdom-of-God" way (i.e. doing justice).
I conclude from observations like this, that insofar as the Kingdom mandate for justice can be enacted or defended through political means, the actions of the persons responsible for such policies are on the side of the Kingdom. However, insofar as the actions of persons responsible for policies which enact or defend injustice through political means, such actions participate in the "kingdom-of-the-world" and oppose God's Kingdom.