This November, millions of Americans from Maine to Missouri, from Connecticut to California will go to the
polls to pick a President. It has been rightly said that “elections have consequences” and the ramifications of this
year’s choice will shape a generation of Americans and affect the billions of people on our planet. How should
Christians approach the task of selecting the nation’s leader?
As disciples of Jesus Christ, we are caught in the tension between two Kingdoms. We are subjects of the Kingdom
of God as well as citizens of the American Republic. The priorities and responsibilities of both differ and often
find themselves in conflict.
Jesus clearly instructs his followers in all three of the Synoptic Gospels, to “Give to Caesar (the kingdom of the
world) the things that are Caesar’s...” In a representative democracy those things include paying taxes, serving on
juries, public advocacy and activism but above all exercising the franchise. Christians have an obligation to vote!
Jesus commands his followers, in Mt. 5:13-16, to be both salt (preserve) and light (illuminate) as we seek to
impact secular society with the priorities and values of God’s rule and reign. The culture, mores, economics and
politics of the nation must be filtered and sifted through the Kingdom agenda.This is not to suggest that theocracy should replace democracy in secular government. Secular power is a corrosive toxin. In any partnership
between the Church and the State, the Kingdom is invariably the loser.
The Kingdom Church must walk the tightrope of being “in it” but not “of it”. We cannot merely be spectators,
commentators or critics but prophetic interpreters of the signs of the times.
4 September Edition