On Christian Political Engagement.
A message to my fellow Christians.
As most of you know, for eight years I served in the Georgia House of Representatives. Being a Christian, I tried to bring glory to God in the way I did my job. As I type this, memories of times I fell far short of that goal flood my mind. I’m grateful for God’s mercy when I made mistakes and for forgiveness from those I wronged. Nevertheless, through God’s grace, I stayed true to my religious and political principles and have a pretty good reputation in political circles.
I was elected in 2010 at the height of Tea Party Movement and was part of a rather large freshman class. Many of these folks, on both sides of the aisle, became good friends and shared my desire to honor God through public service.
My brother-in-law was elected to the Georgia House two years before me. As a history major, he would spend his evenings pouring over history books and such. One evening he came across the story of the Pine Tree flag used during the Revolutionary War.
Inspired, he had some lapel pins made, told us of the history of the flag, the meaning of the phrase “Appeal To Heaven,” and urged us to join him in regularly wearing the pin to keep us focused on our purpose as Legislators. The phrase comes from John Locke’s Second Treatise On Civil Government and for us was a reminder that “The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it.” - Psalm 24:1 Our job as Legislators was to seek God’s will, do our best to follow scriptural instructions, vote according to our own conscience and in the best interests of our district. These days, this would get us labeled as “Christian Nationalists,” in some quarters, which brings me to what I want to talk to you about today.
None of our little band of brothers and sisters ever sought to impose our religious views on the people of Georgia through the force of law. In fact, to attempt to do such a thing would have been diametrically opposed to the founding principles expressed in the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution. God is a benevolent dictator but as mortal humans, we have no right to rule over our fellow mortal humans as a dictator, benevolent or otherwise. We are all made in the image of God, have rights endowed to us by God, and far from having certain religious beliefs imposed on us by the government, should “work out our own salvation with fear and trembling.” - Phillippians 2:12. Our goal was to maximize freedom so that all our citizens could live as free and prosperous people.
I understand why many Christians today feel as though they are under assault. As our nation becomes more secular, traditional Christian beliefs become less popular and more controversial. Some in our country have paid a heavy price for staying true to their beliefs. But this is nothing new for Christians. In other parts of the world right now, people are in prison and some have lost their lives for their faith. Throughout history, Christians have faced persecution. Jesus said more than once that in the world we shall have trouble (John 16:33), and that when the world hates us, remember it hated him first (John 15:8).
While I don’t want to minimize what some have suffered, in relative terms American Christians face much less persecution than others around the world. No Americans are in prison in this country for merely being a Christian. While our beliefs may be mocked in a movie or we might be criticized on social media, that’s hardly persecution in a historical sense. This brings me to my final point: Does Christianity need to be “saved” and does it “need protection.”
Our laws and our constitution protect the right of Christians, and those of other religions or no religion at all, to practice our beliefs as we see fit. Of course, the practice of religion cannot infringe upon the rights of others. How those rights are exercised is the subject of intense debate, but in the main, we can worship as we please in America.
Should religious people engage in political activism and even hold elected office? Absolutely. However, as Christians, we must always remember our protection and salvation come from God, not the government. While it would be better if a humble God-fearing person were President, neither our salvation nor the fate of the Christian faith depends upon it. Historically, Christianity has thrived and spread across the globe during times of intense persecution.
In recent years I’ve been disturbed by certain Christian leaders prophesying that Donald Trump would win reelection in 2020. When he didn’t, others prophesied that Trump’s political enemies would visited by the angel of death by the end of 2023. The angel of death must have changed his mind because all those folks are still alive. We should also be grateful that some who prophesied Trump’s 2020 victory have admitted they were wrong and asked God for forgiveness.
All of us who call ourselves Christians must be careful not to let our political beliefs influence our faith. Our nation needs a spiritual awakening, but it won’t be brought about through political victory, but rather when we as Christians grow stronger in our faith, go deeper into the study of God’s Word, and more diligently put Biblical principles into practice in our lives.
I’ll write more about this again soon, but I’ll leave you with this thought: What if Christians involved in politics are poor in spirit, meek, mourn over the things God mourns over, hunger and thirst after righteousness, are merciful, are pure of heart, and are peacemakers (Matthew 5:3-9)? Would our nation be as politically divided as it is currently? Would politics be as nasty as it is right now?
As always, thanks for reading.
More of this please, Buzz. Thank you for leading with integrity and vulnerability.