Christianity in Politics

Even if you've successfully avoided the news lately, you still probably heard about the Iowa caucus results regarding the Republican presidential primary. I can't help but to shake my head and let loose of a disgusted sigh. We're now in 2012, a presidential election year, which means we're on a slow and steady march toward mud-slinging, name-calling and fact-bending. I have very little interest in politics, trying most times to avoid them entirely. I do not consider myself a Republican, Democrat or any other label that suggests one set of theories is wholly perfect. In fact, the only time I pay any heed to the political underworld is when the name of God is brought into the discussion.

I have little doubt that there are many politicans who possess a very real, genuine, committed faith in Christ, and that they pray daily for guidance and wisdom. Unfortunately, they are too easily overshadowed by their peers who use Christianity as a ploy for securing funding and votes. If I had a dollar for every time presidential candidates vigorously espouse and defend faith in Christ in the coming months' debates and interviews, I could retire early and buy a nice little time-share on the Gulf. I understand that when candidates are asked about their faith, they feel obligated to respond. The fact that many of them mold their answers based on the particular persuasion of the interviewer or crowd in front of them is what's so concerning. If a candidate is a member of the right kind of church and has the right kind of views on topics of importance to a particular denomination of folks, then the dollars roll in - tens of millions of dollars that could better be spent elsewhere. Such is the sad state of politics in America today.

In a particularly cynical moment a few months ago, I told my Bible study group that I would rather vote for someone who is an atheist and honest about it than someone who professes faith in Christ, yet conducts him or herself in an utterly contradictory manner. I'm not so sure that's true. Unfortunately, honesty is a virtue quickly obliterated by the cutthroat world of politics, even if the honest resolve to remain so from the outset. I dream of a political candidate that, when asked about his faith, replies, "I'm a Christ-follower, plain and simple. Don't read into it, don't make it into something it's not. I believe in Christ, period." Yet even such a refreshing profession of faith would not guarantee sincerity.

In the end, there's really only one thing any of us can do to change the state of politics in our nation, and that is to pray for all those in positions of power, whether we like them or not. To vote is a powerful act by which we select who we think is best to lead and guide us, but our vote cannot begin to compare with the power of prayer. There is no more perfect leader than Jesus. As Daniel 2:21 reminds us, God "sets up kings and deposes them." God knows the outcome of the 2012 presidential election, and all elections to come. As we creep ever closer to next November, let's remember that amid the name-calling and mud-slinging, the Great I Am knows who He is, and through Jesus, we can know Him too. He will set up kings and depose them according to His will. His will, not the will of the people.

Suddenly, that 30-second smear ad on TV has lost its bite.