Dropping Politics

By Scott Wetzel

“He said, "You've observed how godless rulers throw their weight around, how quickly a little power goes to their heads. It's not going to be that way with you. Whoever wants to be great must become a servant. Whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave. That is what the Son of Man has done: He came to serve, not be served—and then to give away his life in exchange for the many who are held hostage." Mat 20:24-28 (The Message)

Is our country going to Hell because of our leadership?  Is our economy going down the tubes because of a lack of Christian political involvement?  Do we need to have strong Christian influence in the government in order for our nation’s eyes to turn back to God?

Here’s the big question:  Did Jesus come to change things from the top down or from the bottom up?

You’ll notice something really interesting about Jesus.  He had every opportunity to influence the politicians, rulers and political heavies of the day.  He could have lunched with kings.  He could have had fund raising dinners with princes.  He could have won elections by landslides.  All He would have needed to do was pull rank.

But He didn’t do that.

He became friends with hookers, drunks, tax collectors and blue collar workers.

Interestingly enough, He did everything He could to NOT gain political clout.  He told people not to tell of His miracles.  He spoke in cloudy metaphors.  When He was at the most popular, He stopped feeding the crowds.  He gave people what they needed, not what they thought they needed.    He wasn’t helping pad people’s retirement funds; He was getting them JUST enough to get through that day. 

We’ve put so much power into the hands of our politicians that we’ve allowed it to define our faith.  Whether it’s about abortion, social justice, marriage, economics or anything else, we’ve professed our faith with our voting ballots.  Here’s the truth of the matter:  our problems won’t and can’t be solved by people in powerful places.  It starts in the hearts of His followers.  It spreads from us via compassion and servitude to those around us.  The Kingdom of God is not going to come to Earth because of legislation.  It’s going to come to Earth because of His power.  We can try to legislate God’s will into the people of this nation, but all that will cause is animosity.  It can only happen through the weakness of His people.

Revival doesn’t start by electing Christians into positions of power.  It’s never worked that way.  Whenever Christians get the power we ruin it.  There is a reason for that.  God doesn’t want US to have the power and the glory.  He’s the only one that deserves it.  That doesn’t mean Christians shouldn’t run for office…it means we need to stop depending on them and start responding to God.