Forward

I am involved in politics, because I hate politics.

I hate politics because most people see it as their way of making a difference in their nation. If they get the person they want in political power then maybe things will look up. And in a democratic republic if everyone thinks this, then the losers will feel discouraged or offended – as though someone wanted their opinion but then ignored the advice they had to give.

I hate politics because people think that ALL of the principles they hold dear have some foundation in objective truth. Some policies and principles do. However, if you want to biblically talk about an economic structure and what would be ideal for our country, it seems that the bible is pretty silent. Christ told his disciples to pay high taxes to Caesar, the disciples and followers of Christ shared all their possessions within their faith community, and the parable of the talents shows that we should work to make profit. Biblically, socialism has more “evidence” than capitalism if what is said in the text doesn’t apply only to its initial readers or the immediate context.

But what I hate most about politics is that people seem to have it all wrong. Christians seem to want to change the world from the top-down. Churches hire and fire pastors like it’s nobody’s business without thinking that maybe they should invest more time or resources into their church. And Christians vote at the polls thinking that changing the President will change the people of the nation.

I don’t think the world works like that.

What if the church tried to change the world from the bottom-up? Isn’t that what Jesus did? I think he hung out with tax collectors, sinners, adulterers, fisherman, and the like. I believe that regardless of the Emperor worship that was mandatory of all Romans during the first century, that Paul and Peter and John didn’t write epistles that were directed towards the government, but that were encouraging the people at a local level.

Though a President has the potential to shift the foundations of our country, I believe the people have a greater power. If we can start with helping the poor ourselves, feeding the hungry, and taking care of widows, then maybe we will have a right to be upset when socialism fails (if it does). And maybe if you start being involved in fields that are critical to child development (such as teaching) you’ll start seeing more of a difference in the future. It takes more to change the future than going to a place and getting a free sticker twice a year. And though there is a paradigm shift with the different policies passed, these policies were voted on by the people.

“WE THE PEOPLE of the United States, in order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the Common Defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity…”

Advertisement