I’ve noticed that God doesn’t tell me where to go, He just asks me to leave.
The trick is to be ok with with that start…that going when God wants you to. Following that, the where and how fall into place one way or t’other.
Following
Reply
Uff
Ok, I just realized that the post I’ve got brewing is going to take too long. So I’ll leave you with this reassurance about the message of Christ.
“ Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.” (Matthew 24:35).
Gay Marriage
“Fools rush in where Angels fear to tread” – Alexander Pope
I’ve been wrestling with tackling this topic for the last week or so. I’m not going to lie, I’m very hesitant to do so, because I reckon it’ll infuriate people on both sides. Of course, since we’re all sinners here, this sums up why I am going to do it anyway:
“Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart” (Hebrews 12:3)
The first and front concern when anyone talks about gay marriage is whether or not to “legalize” it. I put legalize in quotes because this is the government we’re talking about here. I am very much against the government deciding what is and what is not allowed (on EITHER side of the debate). I do realize there are legal concerns, however, and so we’ll get on with it.
First and foremost: government should extend the same legal protection to gay/lesbian/transgender couples as they do to heterosexual couples. This is the purpose of government, to ensure that we’re all oppressed/protected equally regardless of belief or creed. But that is the limit of governmental power, they should provide the legal protections.
Because let’s be honest…as one of my lawyer friends pointed out, government shouldn’t be entwined with any sacred rite (such as marriage) at all. This is the province of religion (Christian, Hindi, Muslim, Jew, etc.). The fact that I need a “marriage certificate” and a preacher needs a “license” to marry me to whomever my wife will be is legal shimsham that does not represent what is going on between my wife, me, and my God. But, as the good Lord says, “Give unto Caesar what is Caesar’s” (Mark 12:17). Personally, I believe Marriage belongs to God, but the government wants its taxes and license fees. And so they got to get paid, son.
In return for that payment, of course there is the protection of the union against unscrupulous insurance agents, legal problems about inheritance/health issues, and the pair has a process to go through, and all the shenanigans that arrive whenever the government lays its stamp on something are included part and parcel.
And I say there is no good reason why the government shouldn’t give those protections to non-straight pairs.
“HEEERRRREEETIIICCCC!!!” I can hear some people screaming. No, it’s simple logic.
Gays/Lesbians/Transgenders are not part of the majority of folks. in fact, a study says only 1.7 percent of the population has self identified as being gay (Washintgon Times, April 2011). Folks who think differently than you, act differently than you, but still live in the same country as you were known (in Biblical times, from what I understand) as Aliens.
I’ll wait a few seconds for the images of aliens (space or illegal) blasted into our minds by the mass media to calm down.
Back to the point. Aliens are members of the culture who do not practice what you practice. As far as I’m concerned, quite a few folks fit that description. However, the good Lord commands “Do not mistreat an alien or oppress him, for you were aliens in Egypt” (Exodus 22:21). Also, the Lord protects the alien…”The LORD watches over the alien and sustains the fatherless and the widow, but he frustrates the ways of the wicked” (Psalms 146:9). While they may not follow our religion, we should still make sure the “outsiders” of culture are protected legally (they even had cities of refuge open to them back in the day). (Also, yes yes, I realize that there is that apply the law equally to the alien as well as the Israelite in Leviticus 18:26, but the result was that they would be cut off from the community if they broke these specific laws…but since the Government certainly isn’t Christian, please review my post about the place of the church in Government). It could be pointed out that really, we Christians are aliens too (1 Peter 2:11-12)…but I digress.
Now, is it my place to condemn the gays/lesbians/transgenders? I don’t think so, not me personally. We are all sinners, and it is not for me to condemn. If the government represents a law to be equally applied to everyone (unless you’re in Congress and are involved with insider trading), then these legalities should be applied equally. If they want to call it ‘marriage’ that’s their definition. Of course, I would like to point out that this is the same government that calls pizza a vegetable and Carbon Dioxide (a natural byproduct of respiration and a necessary ingredient for plant life) a pollutant. So, yeah.
That’s my answer to the legal question of Gay Marriage.
Let the government legalize it, collect the fees, and do what they do best (intrude on people’s personal lives).
However, I’m sure this answer isn’t enough, after all we just talked about the governmental part of the equation. Me personally? If a church I attend decides to add Gay/Lesbian/Transgender weddings to the services offered, I will stop attending and find a new church. Yes yes, call me a bigot, call me narrow minded, do what you will. However, when you are trying to redefine something that has been the same for the last 4000 years of recorded history throughout pretty much every culture with a written record, you can’t expect it to go quietly.
I do not view a sanctified union between Gay/Lesbian/Transgenered folks as God-approved whatsoever. Them (yes, I’m setting up a me vs. them argument here, deal with it) asking to get married in my church is similar to a Jewish person asking if they could use the altar in my Lutheran church to sacrifice his passover lamb, or if a Muslim would ask if they could set their prayer rug before my church’s altar. Absolutely not. It has nothing to do with how I’ll treat you outside of my holy place, but do not ask me to go against the teaching of my God and my conscience. The act of gay sexual encounters is, as the Lord says in Leviticus, detestable (Leviticus 20:13) and marriage approves of sexual encounters between couples. Do I think that the practitioners need to be stoned? Heavens! I will allow God to judge as He wills, it is not my place (Matthew 7:1-2).
Of course, some folks say that the bible is ambiguous on the matter. David had a “gay” thing going with Jonathan. When I start acting exactly like David in all things, I’ll send a buddy out to die instead of doing my kingly duties so I can get his wife. Real classy. That whole area there is too much a grey area for me to interpret well. In pret’ much all things, David was upstanding, but he did have his hangups. I think when God says explicitly things are detestable, and has examples of destruction to go with it (Sodom and Gommorah, though that may have been due to hospitality rites being desecrated), and Jesus himself defines what marriage is (Mark 10:1-12) I must follow these laws. Let’s not even get into the letters and the discussions there. Christ’s words are enough for me.
That is why I will not be a part of a church that doesn’t follow the Holy Book. I realize that some others may interpret differently, and I respectfully disagree with their interpretation. I also realize that some people will try argue with those of us who hold this view about what a church SHOULD do will argue by the greatest commandment according to Christ: “Love thy neighbor as yourself” (Mark 12:31). Those who use that verse should take note of the one that comes before, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength” (Mark 12:30). I will honor my God to the best of my abilities, and if there is a perceived conflict between the two, I will choose God as supported by the Bible and my conscience.
Secular legal protections, yes. Religious protections? No.
And here I stand.
Uncomfortable.
So I went to the AFLBS Proclaim Choir last night up in Blackduck, and it shames me to admit it but I was uncomfortable when during some of the introductions people were saying how great God was. It has taken me awhile, but I think I now know one of the reasons I am uncomfortable around folks who genuinely feel this way and speak about it. I know this will likely come up if my nephew grows up any thing like me.
I think I’ve been taking God for granted.
Whoa, I know. I talk to the Lord pretty often during the day, so I never figured I’d be guilty of taking Him for granted, or what He does for me for granted. But I do. Here’s how I figure it.
In the past and hopefully up until this evening I’ve been uncomfortable with people talking openly about God. I used to think it was personal beliefs, but I can sit down with an atheist, a Jew, a Mormon and talk personal beliefs all day long. I can talk health issues, I can talk politics and religion at bars with people I don’t even know and have nary a problem. So what is it about Christianity and people professing their joy and happiness that just gets under my skin? Tonight I connected the dots with my history.
I was raised Christian, been Christian since I was probably around 6 or 7, I remember affirming my faith at Bible Camp, I argued in debate in high school from a Christian standpoint, Christian is who I am, through and through. It is fact to me. Not just fact as in an interesting tidbit which is true, but capital-t TRUTH. That’s what Christianity is for me. It’s like Mt. Everest, the Pacific Ocean, or Oxygen. These things exist. One doesn’t question them, one knows they’re there. God is like that to me.
So when people start talking about how great God is and has been, it has been similar to how that friend who just found out about something you’ve known for a long time is. “Oh hey, did you try this new restaurant yet? Oh my, it’s sooooo delicious…” and they go on and on and on about a place where you’ve eaten through the entire menu twice, and had one dinner special 7 times because it was so good. I know all about it already, do you have to go on? But this friend does, and they go on and on anyway and I start to get embarrassed for them. To my chagrin, this evening I realized that’s exactly how I feel about people talking about God.
It has seemed to me like they’re belaboring the obvious, using the same old same old things everyone already knows. That right there is why I feel uncomfortable, and that’s got to change.
First, the very idea that I feel embarrassed for people for talking about how awesome God is? I am being a complete ass when I do that. I realize I said a swear, but I’m using that idea in both the literal sense of being a donkey, and the more socially used term of a jerkhead. God is awesome. We’re given plenty of language in the bible to talk about it. What’s wrong with me that I just accept it as a fact? God is interested in our personal lives and our personal ideas, He acts with us and through us, He died for us.
And I have just been accepting this as a fact, and not taking the time to really truly appreciate it. Our God loves me and wants to help me. This is definitely a fact, but it’s a fact that has influenced my life since the get go and continues to hold sway over how I act. The people who talk about how great God is aren’t belaboring the point, they’re not setting out to make me uncomfortable, they’re making a statement that cannot be made enough or said with enough conviction.
I have decided to pay close attention to my reactions from now on, not just to sit back and inwardly shake my head. I am surrounded by miracles daily, and I’ve been taking my God’s actions for granted as simple facts of the world. To help with this, I’ve set up a twitter account (you can see the tweets in that sidebar spot) where I want to highlight specific things that have struck me each day. I hope through that to have something I can look at whenever people openly make statements of the greatness of God…that way I should feel even more humbled by His activities in my life.
My biggest challenge
A Christian faces a lot of challenges: spiritual, physical, what have you. We’ll run into some pretty horrendous and (seemingly) insurmountable things that separate us from God. I think I’m ok on most things that can come my way (after all, all things are possible through Him (Phillippians 4:13)). However there is one huge challenge that consistently trips me up in my Christian life: not seeking God before acting.
Most secular folks will see Christians as those working towards heaven, so they may assume that my challenge is getting into heaven. This is a pretty big misconception. I’ve accepted Christ, the moment I did I was saved…I am 99.9 (repeating decimal)% sure I’m going to heaven. I’m not 100% sure because I’m not sure what stupid things I’ve still got left in me to do in this life, I am 100% sure that God will uphold His end of the deal but I’m a sinner and I may mess things up, there’s that little sliver of doubt because of who I am. Maybe I’ll get rid of it, maybe not. But for me the issue isn’t getting into heaven…that’s a guaranteed pret’ much done deal. Rather my issue is doing His will while I’m here on Earth. But really it’s more specific than that: it’s doing His will on His schedule.
I am not a patient person. I am willful, I’m a problem solver. If something isn’t right I jump straight in to solve it. Most of the time in my life this is fine (although sometimes it grosses people out (I once used a toilet plunger to unplug a sink at some friends’ house and nigh on caused a heart attack because it wasn’t clean…but that’s what bleach is for, c’mon) however, sometimes it doesn’t work out real great (see the above link to the justification of faith for unbelievers). If something is awry with payment/billing/loans/bills/etc., I’m on the phone at 7:30am in the morning before everyone else trying to get things settled as much as I can. “Well great,” I can hear the made up people in my mind say, “what’s wrong with that? You’re a go-getter!” Well, thanks made up people in my mind! But the problem with this is that it might not be the way God wants it. And if I’m not checking in with the Lord, I’m doing things my way, not His.
After all, He commands us through the Psalmist to “Wait on the LORD” (Psalms 27:14). He also says “in all your ways submit to Him” (Proverbs 3:6). He promises that we will be renewed when we wait upon Him. (Isaiah 40:31). He doesn’t want us to go to Him only when we’re in trouble, or on the other side only when we’re extraordinarily happy and grateful. He wants me to go to Him for everything. This is where the secular folk aren’t correct in what my main aim is on this Earth: it’s not to do my Will (which is to get into heaven, taken care of immediately) it’s to figure out what God’s will is and do it…and do it on His time not mine. When I accepted the Lord as my savior, I gave Him permission to start rearranging priorities. It’s a long process for me, apparently, because He’s been at it for a good 25 years now.
But as a reborn Christians, we all come to an idea (eventually) of what is willed for us and what we may be called to do. The thing that I have trouble with is pausing long enough to check in with God. I want to get it done, and get it done now. Wait? Why wait? Set me out there! Whoooo! More like woooops. When acting on my own impulses (even if they seem the precise logical thing to do) I am in essence ignoring the the promise that “He will give you the desires of your heart” (Psalms 37:4-5).
However, it’s the waiting that kills me. Well not literally kills me, then I wouldn’t need be patient any longer. I’m like a larger rounder version of Veruca Salt. It’s not just jumping straight into problem solving, it’s jumping sometimes straight in when there’s something I want. It’s been a while since I’ve done something like that however, something about the idea of once burned twice shy. I always wait for my pizza to cool now.
It’s not that God doesn’t want us to be happy, to use the gifts He’s given us and do the work He’s assigned, it’s that He’s got a different time frame than we do. The time that we might think best is more than likely NOT the best most of the time, unless we’re prompted by the Spirit. When I don’t commit to His time frame I am making a decision that is mine and not His. After all, what I think is the case is often not so, as the Good Lord operates on a different plane than I do. His thoughts are higher than my thoughts (Isaiah 55:8-9). I also have to realize that there is a reason for whatever action I’m about to take. I’ve got to check in with God to figure out what that is and what the time frame is, and that is my biggest challenge.
I’ve been slowly but surely getting used to this idea that if something doesn’t seem right or if it needs fixing or if it’s something I want, I need to check with Him first. I’ve found for even the little stuff that the check-in seems to be beneficial for the outcome or for the time spent. I’m trying to remember to check in more often. By checking in, it seems to “renew my mind” (Romans 12:1-2).
I do want to be clear about something however. The idea may come from above that being Christian is a passive thing, that we wait upon the Lord. I don’t believe that is what is meant at all. We are called for jobs to do either outreach or helping other Christians (Romans 12:5-8). I like to think of the idea of waiting upon the Lord to be similar to cup bearers…you had to be ready when the king told you to be ready. A cup bearer had to hop to it! We don’t wait with inaction, we wait more with willingness to act. After all, the Good Lord will come as a thief in the night (1 Thessalonians 5:2) and by waiting on the Lord we will be ready. It’s an active waiting.
I also want to be clear that if there’s something I can handle, the Lord gave me those gifts (for instance, calling and waiting on hold to talk to a customer service rep and be patient with them). Checking in with him before hand ensures that I’ll be on His wavelength (for lack of a less hippy-ish word) for the duration of the problem solving. He has also given me jobs teaching that help cultivate this idea of patience. It’s like He’s got a plan for me or something and knows where I need help. The real lesson here is NOT that we shouldn’t fix things (God gave us two hands, one to hold the duct tape while the other unwraps it with teeth to cut it off) but that we should check with Him. It’s part of letting go and finding His path for us.
So when my nephew asks me what my biggest challenge to being a Christian is (likely it won’t be solved by the time he’s old enough to ask the question), I’ll be able to pause, check with the Good Lord, and tell him that it’s my lack of patience.
Just figured I’d share.
There’s a good time and a bad time for all desires. Most of the sins that afflict the modern person have to do with at least partially with the lack of patience for God’s plans. I am as guilty as anyone else, maybe more than some. However, I’ve learned that sometimes the choice is clear: my way or God’s way. God’s way is always better.
As an example, last fall I decided with the amount of debt that I have and my current situation, I needed to get a full time job that had guaranteed hours. When you work online as an adjunct instructor you may or may not have a job every 5 weeks, it gets frightening sometimes. Last year around September one of the colleges cut way back, and making bills was by the skin of the teeth. It had been sitting on my mind that maybe I should get a full time job somewhere. I desired what most folks would call financial security.
After all, living pay check to pay check is annoying, I do want to get married eventually, have kids, etc. and with a non-steady income it would be a bit difficult. So when a job opened up for a full time tech support gig in a town a couple hours a way, I applied. I found out some info, seemed like a good job, 9-5 weekdays, pay was good. I’d have to move, but I thought I’d tackle that problem if I got the job or not.
This time I was smart, and prayed about it when I sent off the app. I got an interview, I went over and it seemed really good. But I wasn’t too sure. I sat down and looked at the numbers, and while it would give me extra, it wouldn’t likely be worth cutting out the advantages of being an online adjunct (traveling when I want, really flexible schedule). I was relatively certain that I would have had no problem with the job and was relatively certain of moving on to the next interview stage. So I prayed a bit more about it.
It seemed in the next couple days that I had two paths, and the promise of God to support me on either one. I feel absolutely certain that He would have upheld me either one. One path was to choose the guaranteed income and keep pursuing the hospital job. The other path was to fully throw it on the Lord and continue trusting Him for my class load and pay checks. Basically it seemed to be a choice between my guaranteed comfort and a conscious act of trusting that God knew what He was doing when He put me in this location with these jobs.
I decided against the hospital job. I figure God has seen me through online teaching this far, I’ll stick with His plan. As an almost immediately “good thinking, Watson” one of my friends called with a computer problem to help solve over the phone. Needless to say that cemented my decision.
This year has been fantastic thus far. God is good.
Biblical Dietary Requirements
Just a quick one this morning, I need to get this frustration off my chest. The argument about biblical interpretation being used only in some instances (homosexuality) and not in others (dietary requirements such as shellfish (Leviticus 11:9-12)) gets me riled up when they talk about shellfish, pork (mmmm bacon), and the like.
Listen, the dietary requirements were eased in Acts 10:9-16, specifically ‘The voice spoke to him a second time, “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.”’
So, let’s just move beyond the whole dietary requirements and Christian thing. At some point (when my thoughts have solidified) I plan to discuss the whole issue of wearing a cotton/polyester blend (Leviticus 19:19). But not this morning, I have grading to do this morning.
Churchin’ it up
I want to touch on the idea of going to church in this post. There was that recent kerfluffle about some guy with some rhythm and some hip new graphics talking about how he hated religion. Don’t worry, I’m NOT going to to discuss that. Other people have, and they’ve done a better job than me. I just want to clarify my thoughts on going to church.
If you haven’t read it yet, Dickinson’s “Some keep the sabbath by going to church” summed up the gist of my thoughts. I used to be one to think that church was kind of a waste of my time. It seemed to really go nowhere, there was some singing, an offering, a message of some sort (my mind wandered, much like I’m sure your mind will wander while reading this) and then we got to go home. My thinking has changed somewhat.
The life of a Christian is about doing what pleases God and it’s a tough row to hoe when you’re going alone. Church helps that by offering the old stand by of fellowship. You can break down the word if you want, discuss it in depth on how it’s meant through the ages, or just nod and go back to your internet pictures of cats. P.S. They’re adorable!
But it’s taken me a while to figure on what fellowship is. I’ve sat through sermon after sermon on fellowship and oddly didn’t get it. I lost my mind sometimes on its wanderings and it sometimes took me until the last hymn to find it again. Now though, I think I get it. Fellowship for us Christians is the ability to be with like minded people, to have a support group, and to have a training center. I’m not going to touch too much on sermons, more on the community that belonging to a church gives me. What follows is a bit of a look at how each of them works for me.
For the first, being with like minded people. If you haven’t looked at the above main links, a bit of a background. I went to a 4 year university, had a large number of friends who are not Christian (in fact some who are rabidly anti-Christian), then on to a doctorate program in Mythological Studies at a left leaning institution. I now teach college online at three different institutions. A lot of the time, both past and present, I am alone. It comes to define a person, and what makes it bad is when you are in an atmosphere (as I used to be in the schools) that didn’t really jive with your beliefs.
I have felt like the psalmist: lonely and afflicted (Psalm 25:16-21). Even though I was the only person in my age bracket (and really still am nowadays) my Church filled that role for me (back on point). It gave me older people that I had grown up around and who nominally shared my beliefs enough that I didn’t feel like I was transgressing bounds of politeness by bringing it up. If you’ve got a hobby that other people don’t understand, you’ll know the simple joys it is to discuss that hobby with someone who does understand. I play video games, others may fly kites, do sudoku, sew, etc. There’s something about being able to talk with others who are with you in that hobby that makes it more enjoyable. Church offers that for me about my beliefs.
And moving on with the enjoyment and the comfort, Church offers a support system. If something goes wrong, the Church offers at the very least prayers for others, in the form of “supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people” (1 Timothy 2:1). I’ve heard some folks say that’s quite literally the least a person can do. The people saying these things are folks I don’t agree with (and who don’t pray anyway) so they don’t acknowledge the intercessory power of God. That’s ok, we’ll pray for them too at my church. But it’s also a place where you can ask for help, it’s a place where you can learn more things, it’s a place where you can work with others on their problems. There are numerous ways that churches help the community. Show up at a quarterly meeting and you’ll find out. The support system of Church is fantastic.
Lastly, let’s not forget Church is a training ground. And I can hear the memories of my undergrad days saying “Uh oh, training ground? More like brainwashing institute!” And ultimately, I don’t want to shut those voices up. Because the Church has been ill-used often by people who have an agenda other than helping folks find out God’s will. The examples are in the news. When I say training, though, I mean training as to how to live and figure out what God’s plan is for you. As I’ve stated before, I do believe that there are specific jobs that God has for us, and the church can help with many of them (my Pastor when I was out in California categorized them something like helper, teacher, prophet, communicator (roughly correlating with 1 Corinthians 12:7-11).
The church isn’t there to tell you what to do but to help you find what to do. Good churches do that, and I’m firmly convinced that these types of churches make up the majority of them.
But they also train us how to talk about things like Church, Christ, God, belief and all of those (for me) HIGHLY PERSONAL situations. This is perhaps the best thing that churches have done for me, because it’s really difficult to figure out what God wants you to do if you have difficulty talking to Him and the people He’s put into your life about just such things.
I will be the first to admit that I have a difficult time discussing personal feelings (pretty flowers, cute animals, etc. etc.). One I’m a man. This coupled with the fact that I’m Scandinavian AND a Minnesotan, well. Good luck talking to me about anything personal. There are boundaries, dagnabbit! And crossing those boundaries with other folk is just impolite!
However, going to Church has given me more time and a place to go to work on my shortcomings in communication (this blog is an example of that). That’s really why folks should find a church that will allow them to grow as a Christian. I fully support the idea of finding a church that will do that for you. Sometimes I feel a little guilty about the idea of “church shopping” because it brings to my mind that you’re looking for a church that works for you, rather than you working for the church. My opinions have changed on that a bit, however, as you’ve got to search until the Spirit moves you. That will tell you where you need to be.
So while I do not doubt or disagree with Dickinson in her poem that she’s not planning ahead for heaven, rather she’s “going, all along”, I am one of those that keeps some of my Sabbath by going to church. Church works for me.
Government and Christians
Well, this post took a very interesting turn. I had originally started it out talking about charity. Looks like instead what I had to talk about was government. It seems to be the rule of the season. The charity discussion will have to wait for another day.
When my nephew is old enough, I imagine we’ll have to have the talk about the government and Christianity. This will hopefully set up the conversation. And help explain my stance on the two.
First things first: I am very much against mixing the government with Christian rules. I realize that this undercuts one of the possible tools for evangelism but it must be this way. The issue I see at hand is that the government makes rules and laws that we have to obey “Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established” (Romans 13:1-7). Now, I know people will believe that the best way to ensure the government stays “pure” and “Christian” is to attempt to influence elections. That’s one way to do it, and I don’t disagree at all with voting on the issues for the people who align most closely with your personal Godly ideals. However, I don’t want the government to legislate Christian Morality.
The crux of the matter is personal responsibility. Governments make rules and enforce them. There is a very real danger of a theocratic government being influenced by the principalities of this world and requiring service of me which may not be Biblically sound. I can hear some folks saying “But wait, if God is in control, they WILL be, right?” I believe that God is in control and He will make things work out in the end, but I would prefer that said working out be less painful for everyone involved if we do things His way the first go ’round. Coming up you’ll see the example of the Israelites asking for a king. It didn’t turn out so well because they made a decision rather than allowing God to work His way. But first, a discussion again on why my beliefs should not be dictated by other people.
This goes back to living in a way that pleases God, not pleases those who think I should please God in a specific way. As I have said before, I am individually responsible for our actions to God (2 Corinthians 5:10) and the laws He’s written in my heart (Hebrews 10:16). Christians should know each other by our actions (James 2:18), and it is between God and our hearts that we will be condemned (1 John 3:20-21). It is not for me to require other Christians do to things my way (as Paul says, “The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor” (1 Corinthians 3:8)). Of course, if I am scripturally unsound, I welcome the warning! But having it legislated oversteps the above personal responsibility that God demands.
By attempting to create a theocracy (or at least a Christian democracy) it is dangerously close to taking away the authority of God to call men and women as He sees fit. Humans tend to mess things up when we take control and start ordering folks about. When our Christian church is as fragmented as it is over things such as which day is the sabbath or baptism of infants, why would we want to start bossing other Christians around in an earthly government?
We should all be wary of anything with too much earthly power. It isn’t that that entity is evil (God instituted it) but that it can be so readily abused. It is clear from the Old Testament how little God thinks of worldly governments. Look specifically to God’s response to the Israelites asking for a king, “And the LORD told him: ‘Listen to all that the people are saying to you: it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king’” (1 Samuel 8:7). Israel wanted the king though, to be like the other nations (1 Samuel 8:19) regardless of all the warnings Samuel gave to them (which strike a bit too uncomfortably close to the what’s going on nowadays).
I believe that by attempting to influence government and ensure Christians are in control, we’re doing the same thing Israel had done. By looking towards preachers and pastors and evangelicals to tell the Christians who to vote for I believe we are dangerously close to at the least giving up our own God-given individual reason and at the worst losing faith in God doing the best for us,. What is causing this drive to have a more Christian government?
There are two things I’d like to bring up that drive folks to support the idea of Christians taking more control over the government. The first is the prayer in schools (or lack thereof) and the removal of Christian monuments on public spaces like courthouses.
I know quite a bit of folks are worried about taking prayer out of school. Me? Not so much. Prayer is between me and God. School prayer would likely be a bit too much like the white washed tomb and the pharisees showing off how godly they are. The Lord said it Himself, “But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you” (Matthew 6:6). Some people believe that taking prayer out of schools is causing quite a few problems, but that causation doesn’t work for me based on how God has told me to approach Him.
A second thing people are concerned with when it comes to Religion and Government is the taking down of religious monuments on court or publicly funded lawns. Again, this is not something I’m terribly concerned with. God will be able to handle believers, and we should be able to be examples of our faith without cold monuments. As was stated, “He is risen” (Matthew 28:6). I should be the living monument of His truth and His love. I like to remember what God told to Elijah when there is concern about an attack on God.
Elijah had been having a pretty terrible time, being chased all over the place by Ahab and his minions. He was down on his faith and was holed up in a cave in Horeb. Elijah was at the end of his tether, and when God asked (in the parlance of our times) what was up, Elijah pointed out that the Israelites had destroyed all things God-related and killed a bunch of prophets, and they were trying to kill him too. In fact, Elijah told God that he was the only prophet left (1 Kings 19).
God responded by telling him what his job would be, and more importantly, that God was reserving “7000 in Israel – all whose knees have not bent down to Baal and whose mouths have not kissed him” (1 Kings 19:18). Not only that, but in the following chapters, there are unnamed prophets sent from the Lord. God takes care of His own, whether He tells me about it or not.
Here’s the long and short of it. and the lesson I apply to what’s going on today: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your understanding. In all your ways submit to Him and He will make your paths straight” (Proverbs 3:5-6). Yes, the establishment is taking down the monuments (hardly altars, though) and prayer in school has been removed, but God is still in charge. He will tell me what needs to be done by the Holy Spirit (individually) which I test against what I know to be the truth (1 John 4:1-6). As Jesus told Peter, I should follow Him and focus on my holy race, not what others are doing.
Governments run the earthly countries and apply their rules to everyone, believers and unbelievers alike. Luckily here in America, those rules are relatively egalitarian. Instead of worrying about what the government is doing and trying to only vote Christian(or people who profess to be Christian) into office, I search for someone who aligns with what truths have been revealed to my conscience and my heart. If that person is a Christian, great! If the person isn’t a Christian but whose actions matches with what God has told me to do, I know I’d vote for them regardless of religion.
God will work miracles without my help, and I am a firm believer in voting conscience over religion or political party. Of those three, two have to do with God, but I’ll only be called to account for one of those in the end.
These are my personal beliefs. If you do not agree, I understand. If you have scripture that supports a different take or proves me absolutely wrong, I’d love to hear it so I can study and adjust! Leave a comment if’n you want one way or t’other.
Laying out more thought.
I realized that I still needed to outline some thoughts that need to be spoken of before really getting into some nitty gritty ideas here. I’ve posted what my conception of Free Will vs. Destiny vs. Prayer vs. Evil.
Please note that I do NOT claim that this is the truth, nor do I even claim it’s Biblically supported (outside the idea that God is all knowing and all loving). It’s simply my take on things right now, good or bad, it helps me make sense of things.
As something I do want to bring up though, as an instructor sometimes I get emails from students proclaiming their faith. Unfortunately when this happens the students are usually doing poorly and asking for favors. Has this happened to any one else in their jobs doing whatnot? I just ignore the proclamation, because it seems they’re trying to get to me through my faith to help their cause and I do what I can to help them anyway (that’s my job). But it makes me pret’ uncomfortable.
I don’t know about the whole using your faith in that manner. It seems to sully it.
K, that’s enough for this evening. G’night.