Strange bedfellows

I have been thinking about politics lately, not really out of an overwhelming desire or because I find it so riveting. The exact opposite is true; I find politics mildly amusing but for the most part it ranks in the same category as watching figure skating or ice dancing. It is something to be endured and if possible ignored and avoided at all costs. Don’t get me wrong, I attempt to be politically knowledgeable and try to keep up on what legislation is up before Congress and how it will affect my pocket book. Other than that I really don’t find it interesting. My wife on the other hand is a political junkie. She watches enough cable news programs and listens to enough talk radio for the both of us. She is fascinated with it and can spend hours on blogs and political web sites and clicks on the links to the various editorials and political pundits and soaks in the news like a sponge.

I log onto Facebook and my senses are assaulted with invitations to this group and that group bemoaning the current administration; or status updates questioning the legitimacy of this policy or that and frequent updates on how many days to the next election. What puzzles me is this; if we as followers of Christ and people transformed by the Gospel believe that God is sovereign, and that He sets up and takes down authorities and that we have no fear of the government because nothing can pluck us out of God’s hand, why do we expend so much time, energy, money, angst and grey matter on politics? Before you go all postal on me please hear me out.

If on any given day or week we were to log the amount of time we spend watching, listening, reading, blogging or pondering the political landscape and in that same time span calculated the amount of time we spend praying, reading our Bible, sharing the Gospel or listening to preaching what would the results be? Would we be able to document that our time focusing on God exceeds the time we spend on something like politics?

We tell our children in our churches and chapels that they need to “redeem the time” or that they should not waste their time watching TV, playing video games or involved in activities that honor and glorify God. But how do we spend our time? What is the thing that is foremost in our thoughts? Will God commend us when we stand in His presence for the time we spend being politically active? I don’t know…

Here are some quotes to ponder;

“We can’t protect or expand the cause of Christ by human political and social activism, no matter how great or sincere the efforts.” ~ John MacArthur

“There is certainly no prohibition on believers being directly involved in government as civil servants, as some notable examples in the Old and New Testaments illustrate…The issue again is one of priority. The greatest temporal good we can accomplish through political involvement cannot compare to what the Lord can accomplish through us in the eternal work of His kingdom.” ~ John MacArthur
“A politicized faith not only blurs our priorities, but weakens our loyalties. Our primary citizenship is not on earth but in heaven. ... Though few evangelicals would deny this truth in theory, the language of our spiritual citizenship frequently gets wrapped in the red, white and blue. Rather than acting as resident aliens of a heavenly kingdom, too often we sound [and act] like resident apologists for a Christian America. ... Unless we reject the false reliance on the illusion of Christian America, evangelicalism will continue to distort the gospel and thwart a genuine biblical identity.....American evangelicalism is now covered by layers and layers of historically shaped attitudes that obscure our original biblical core.” ~ John Seel

Do our politics serve as a way to frame the Gospel? Would our comments, posts and strident rhetoric repel or attract the lost to the Gospel? I am not espousing a head in the sand position or complete ambivalence to politics and I commend those called by God to serve. But have we supplanted God in our affections and subconsciously become like the world in placing our hope and trust in political action, a party platform and a specific candidate to right the wrongs and bring America back? The only One powerful and sovereign enough for that must sit on His throne and laugh.

The only point I am trying to make is that there needs to be a balance and maybe we should all do a self evaluation of where we invest our time, energy and emotional capital.