It’s never pretty when the church crawls in bed with politics.
EVER!
I’m writing this because there has seemingly been an outpouring of pastors declaring to the people in their church who they should vote for.
It’s sad…but I believe that there would be way more celebration in many mainline churches if Mitt Romney won the election than there would be if one sinner repented of their sins the following Sunday!
I have a question for Republicans and Democrats alike…how is putting your hope in a political savior going for you?
Four years ago the nation was captivated by Barack Obama, a man who promised “hope” and “change.” Here we are four years later, the housing market has not recovered, the unemployment rate is still hovering around 8% and like it or not America is considered weak when it comes to foreign policy.
And…lest you think that I am picking on a particular party…I would ask Republicans if you REALLY think that a Romney victory is going to save the direction of this country.
Because, I can remember when George W. Bush won the election in 2000 after eight years of being under “the anti-christ” that church folk also called Bill Clinton. Bush was in office for eight years…and under his watch we saw a couple of recessions (one of them being INTENSE), an attack ON American soil that we will never forget and the first “bailout” that I can remember seeing that didn’t really bail us out of anything.
And yet pastors are proclaiming to their people to vote for a particular candidate…thus leading them to a false messiah rather than the true One! (AND…what is REALLY sad is the more aligned with a political party a church is the more angry, hateful and un Christ like the people in that church seem to be!)
The more I read Scripture the more it is obvious that when the people of God depend on a political savior rather than a heavenly one the result is always disappointment (and often destruction…anyone remember what happened when the kings in the OT depended on Pharaoh more than God?)
We’ve got to remember that while politics will try to control the world…the Gospel is the only thing that can change it…and yet the church house has seemingly fallen in love with the White House and has sold itself out to the impact that Jesus has called us to have on the world!
All too often churches are seemingly becoming obsessed with our government passing legislation regarding abortion, homosexual marriage and other hot button topics, believing that the passing of a particular law will somehow stop the downward spiral our country is obviously on.
PLEASE understand me when I say that while we should pay attention to what our government is doing…the REAL issue the church has been called to deal with is the condition of the human heart. Yes, our country is in desperate need of change…but the kind brought about when God’s grace collides with our sinfulness.
Reality is that if the heart of a person is not impacted with the Gospel of Jesus Christ then…
- Affairs are going to continue to rip families apart.
- Bullying is going to be a major problem in schools.
- Abortions are still going to happen whether they are legal or not.
- Drug abuse is going to continue to dominate some people’s lives.
- Men are going to continue to objectify women.
- Bitterness and anger are going to drive people to do the unthinkable.
- The sex slave trade is going to continue to flourish.
And these things will NOT be changed through an act of congress but rather through Christ! People who are on these paths are not going to change unless something (or someone) changes them…and no law or legislation can do that, only the POWER of the Gospel.
Pastors, as a person meets Jesus and then walks closer with Him they are WAY LESS LIKELY to plunge into the destructive behaviors that hurt them and others…which is why we MUST be obsessed pointing people to Jesus rather than our political preferences!
Politics can change laws…but they cannot touch the human heart…and the church should NEVER sell itself out to a lesser vision of temporary change rather than eternal impact that is brought about through the preaching of the Gospel!!!