Can we place any hope in our government leaders? Political swindlers like Jesse Jackson, Jr (D), or former Illinois Governors George Ryan (R) and Rod Blagojevich (D) are examples of why we should always have a healthy skepticism about who we elect. But the reason this question continues to nag at me is not because of the perception honest, civil servants are no where to be found, but because of the Christian pronouncement that we should put our faith in God, not the political process.
I hear this false dilemma come up frequently. It comes up every election cycle, and a couple of years ago as I sat in front of my TV watching election coverage with my bowl of popcorn, bottle of cherry Coke, and my iPad, the objection persisted throughout social media. Many Christians have decided to brush off the political process, insisting that trust placed in public leaders is the equivalent of replacing our hope in God with their efforts. Elected officials will almost always let us down, but God never fails.
There are a few things wrong with this objection, and while it may be accurate that we’re frequently disappointed by our elected officials, I’ve grown weary of this cliche. First of all, elections don’t directly relate to our eternal salvation, but serve, at least in part, God’s plan for the nations. And in the United States, we are blessed by God to have a form of government that we can participate in from the position of citizen with voting privileges to that of an elected official—of course, we’ve had to battle one another since the founding of this nation for various voting and civil rights.
But every instance of human hope does not necessarily equate to an eternal hope. Hoping that Christian values might be brought to bear on public discourse is not to misplace a holy trust. It’s interesting, for as often as Christians distort what our relationship should be to the public realm, these same people don’t as often reject the work of doctors, lawyers or teachers when expecting that they perform with the greatest of expertise and moral standards. Trusting your doctor or accountant doesn’t have to mean you don’t trust God. The same can be true for those in the public arena.
We know that in God’s providence, He works in and through people and circumstances—and the political realm is not precluded. Oft quoted to justify this separatist-leaning isolationist posture is Psalm 146:3:
Put not your trust in princes, in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation.
Certainly there is a risk of making an idol of a political figure or political party, and this is something worthy to warn against. But, as the context of Psalm 146 communicates, The LORD lifts up those who are bowed down; the LORD loves the righteous. Keeping the political process in proper perspective means remembering that our engagement is for the purposes of God’s will on earth and never forgetting who it is that sits on the throne…and it isn’t an elected official.
As Christians, we are suppose to understand that. But there’s more. This objection of often rooted in a misunderstanding of what it means to honor civil authorities. Paul wrote in his letter 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. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer. Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also for the sake of conscience. For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed. (Romans 13:1-7)
Obviously it’s true that those inclined to be engaged in America’s robust political conversations—from every side—have the potential to be disrespectful of our leaders, spokespersons, pundits, etc. In no way is it ever acceptable to refer to President Obama as a Muslim or Karl Rove as a canned ham. And in this social media age, I’ll take this a step further and insist its never acceptable to distribute images that demean through visual distortion. We’ve come up with a term to make it acceptable to do these things—satire—but that term is just a sophisticated to deflect from what we’re actually doing.
But the point I want to make is that we can disagree with our leaders, demand change, and cry out for justice without denying the commands in this passage. We are to obey the laws and the law givers, but this doesn’t require silence over injustices in our society whether they be slavery, abortion, civil rights matters, or free speech concerns. It does mean that our engagement should not cause God to be reviled. It means speaking the truth in love—and in love means not attacking our opponent but debating the substance of issues. No name calling, no ridicule, no smear tactics. Its about what is true, good and beautiful and communicating in that same manner.
Though our ultimate citizenship may be in Heaven, we are called to cultivate the world in which God has placed us. In our work and in the exchange of ideas, Christians have a voice God intended to be heard. Let’s not isolate ourselves and neglect the blessing of political process in which citizens can engage, but offer a voice that speaks truth and honors God.
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