Having no desire to gloat, nor to declare myself a member of the democratic party, I am nonetheless very excited about the departure of one our government's biggest facists/neocons, Mr. Donald Rumsfeld. It's great to see a swing in power within the halls of government as well, though I know better than to base my hopes on such things. Especially with George W. still in power for another two years.
So here is where I'm at with these news items in mind. It has been brought to my attention that we (as in, the Western church) look too often to government to bring about the Kingdom of God. I agree. And plead guilty to the charge. So how much involvement should the Church have in politics? Or structures of power in general? Yes, I believe we should definitely vote. But what about lobbying people in power to push for certain laws that are Biblically-based? Or trying to persuade friends to vote in ways that agree more with Biblical ethics? And what about being a Christian running for political office?
I used to think these questions were easily answerable, but no longer. God's work is done through God, who works through us when we lay down our rights/power and give it all to Him. So if we are trying to work through government, are we allowing God to work through our weakness, or are we seeking power as a way to personally advance God's kingdom? I feel like this is inappropriate for us to do, yet feel like the church is still called to have a prophetic voice when it comes to speaking truth into our culture. But how can we call a culture to follow God's call, when it does not believe in Him? Feels like a catch-22.
Any (thoughtful) thoughts?
Peace,
Matt
Just Read: Powers, Weakness, and the Tabernacling of God by Marva J. Dawn. Years ago I read her book about Sabbath, which was good. But this book was brilliant. She dealt with biblical concepts of power and weakness, took on Jaques Ellul and Walter Wink, and basically called the church out on its blatant hypocrisy and idolatry. Read this book.
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