Should a Christian be involved in politics, either as an officeholder or a participant in the process? This question has never been a particularly troublesome question for me. Politics is an organized social process in the same manner that business and charitable processes are. I fail to see any more of virtue or vice in serving in politics as opposed to business or charity (including religious work).
There are inherent temptations within any enterprise, but, if we will be honest, there are temptations in anything that we do. I’ve had temptations during prayer time, reading the Bible, and doing Christian works. There is no place that I can go that I can escape from my desires, from the influence of the world, or from the whisperings of Satan. So I fail to see why politics should be any more of an issue than the other two.
The temptations to control and to ignore the law seem to be higher in politics. In the business world the temptation to make a profit and justify behavior that can put other people out of business and out of their livelihood with the excuse of “It’s only business” is very high. In the charitable world pride is lurking behind every compliment. Excuses for ungodly behavior are rife in all three areas.
Let me seemingly switch the topic. Do you recall the military scandal at Abu Ghraib in 2004? Iraqi prisoners were subjected to torture, rape, and humiliation. Photos were published worldwide and created a terrible outrage. I remind the reader of this incident because of the decisions that the military made to ensure this would never happen again. Essentially, the solution was to provide more training. Some training is better than no training, but the fundamental and foundational problem here is the lack of common morals. A person can be taught whatever over and over, but none of it will have the same effect as the deeply ingrained belief has, which is “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” That principle can be taught and demanded, but unless it is believed and internalize then Abu Ghraib will occur again and again. Only the place and the people involved will change. Doesn’t it sound odd that elaborate training needs to be created when a child’s course in Morals 101 will take care of the problem?
The world of politics is not a unique problem. The reason there is so much infighting and hostility is traceable to what happened at Abu Ghraib—the lack of resolve and commitment to ultimate values. Even an unbeliever can do unto others as he would like to be done unto himself. The problem is our inward desires and insatiable lust to fulfill them. The real problem is inside of me, not outside of me. When circumstances change and we begin to have serious temptation problems, all that has probably happened is the means to fulfill our desires without being caught have increased.
A problem in politics as well as in the business world is the compromise that Christians have to face on a daily basis. It seems easier to stay true to the Lord if working at a Christian business or a Christian ministry. Perhaps it can be easier though I am not convinced. I have worked in both arenas and have found difficult problems and intense temptations in both; they were only different. Let’s consider the compromise issue.
The main reason for compromise is stated a number of times in the New Testament. It is worded different way, but “We seek to please men” is the heart of it. Whether we simply want attention, praise, control, money, position, whatever … we believe people can give it to us; and we compromise. Instead of trusting and pleasing the Lord, we trust people and try to please them. Our beliefs change, not necessarily our behavior. That is true compromise, the compromise of beliefs.
In contrast, behavior can seem like compromise, but it really isn’t.
Consider the passage 2 Kings 5, the healing of Naaman’s leprosy by Elisha. Typically when we think of the Old Testament we believe the laws are stricter and more stringently enforced. After Naaman had been healed, he requested to take back home two mule loads of dirt from Israel. The purpose for this was that he only intended to offer sacrifice and worship the God of Israel. The next two verses, vs. 18-19, are exceptionally insightful to the topic of compromise. Naaman tells Elisha that he will be obligated to go into the temple of Rimmon with his king. Furthermore, Naaman makes the comment that he will have to bow down in the temple and then makes the remarkable request, “May the LORD pardon your servant in this thing.”
This request is flabbergasting and totally irreconcilable compared to the typical understanding of compromise. Naaman is requesting forgiveness ahead of time for feigning worship to a false god because of his position. How does Elisha answer this in v. 19? “Go in peace.” ASTOUNDING!
Is this carte blanche approval to fake behavior as we please? No, I don’t believe so; it appears to be circumstantial. We don’t find this command being given to others or similar circumstances in the Bible. Whenever unusual circumstances are illustrated in Scripture and not repeated elsewhere, then the believer must be very careful before extrapolating the circumstance into a pattern of behavior for other believers. What can safely be learned here is that circumstances can occur in which compromise appears to be taking place but is not.
I think the key to application for this incident is finding the principle, not copying the details of behavior. Naaman was highly influential in Syria, a country that was at continual enmity or warfare with Israel. If he had stated his conversion and opposition to the religion of Syria, he would have lost his position, possibly his property and life. By maintaining his silence but keeping his heart pure in worship, then he could influence policy that would bring glory to the Lord. A similar illustration would be a high-ranking official in Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan (or any Muslim country) converting to Christianity. If he would speak up, he could lose all he owned and probably his life. The hostility against Christianity is so strong that his witness would end before it begins. By remaining silent, in order to please the Lord and do more, then he could possibly do unbounded good for the Lord, much like the secretive Esther did for the Jews in captivity. If he has to kneel in prayer to Allah and go through all the motions, but worship the Lord while doing so … has he really compromised?
In contrast to that, what if a believer hides his faith in the U.S. Congress or in local political halls? He will not be persecuted for his views; so, why the silence? (He may be criticized, but how often do believers bring that onto themselves because of the way they take their stand and express their beliefs?) How does that honor the Lord?
HOW we present our beliefs around unbelievers (whether politics or business or wherever) is as important as WHAT we present. Why is that? It is easier for the messenger to turn off others from the message than it is for the message to turn people off from the messenger.
If a person is obnoxious and overbearing or generally unpleasant (whether a Christian, a car salesman, a doctor, a neighbor, whatever), we don’t care what he has to say. In contrast, if a person is likeable and pleasant and just a welcoming personality or is sincerely interested in us, he can talk almost total nonsense; but we still listen. We might laugh and ignore it, but we will still listen.
The messenger is so pivotal to the reception of a message. Of course, a person or group of people may be so hostile to a message (such as Muslims are to Christianity), that the messenger is no more than a dead man walking. The same is true for many unbelievers in the political, business, and religious world. Since we live in a country in which messengers are protected by the law, then we share the message and let the unbelievers boohoo, gripe, complain, and criticize as they please. Let’s make sure their criticisms are of the message, but never the messenger.
If we resolve and do our best through the Spirit to be uncompromising messengers (we do not alter our beliefs), then we can go to the mission field or to the political field.
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