By Bunni Pounds

In our culture today, politics is seen by the Body of Christ as one of those yucky, muddy things that we don’t want to have anything to do with. Yet, whether we realize it or not, politics and government affect our lives more than anything else.

Outside of the families we have been born into and grown up in, the biggest impact on our lives has come from the places we have lived and the lifestyles that we have come to expect based on the freedoms we have been given. These freedoms have empowered us, but they did not come about by chance – they were dearly purchased by the generations that came before us. Many times we don’t consider this truth or our responsibility in light of it – we only think about the latest series that we want to binge-watch on our televisions, or how we are going to make it through our children’s next soccer season.

Let’s start at the beginning: why is political engagement so important?

Politics, in essence, is who gets what, when, and how. Politics is asking someone who has the power to do something, to do it. If we think something needs to happen, we ask those in authority and then hold them accountable to see it done.

We see politics in our schools, in our companies, and even in our churches. We lobby our pastors for what programs we would like in our church or how we want our faith community to be run. We lobby our bosses for longer vacations, for perks related to our jobs, or, when we don’t get a project done on time, for understanding. Our kids and grandkids even lobby us after church, requesting we go to their favorite restaurant.

Welcome to the world of negotiations, which, in and of themselves, are not inherently wrong.

Though lobbyists often get a bad rap, since some are paid hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars because of their access to people in power, it is an honorable thing to ask our elected officials to promote good legislation and to kill bad legislation.

We have politics all around us, but governmental politics is even more important than all the others. Why? Because a government’s decisions often impact the whole society, and only government can legitimately use force to get its way.

Then the key question is, what is the purpose of government? What is the purpose of our government, according to the Constitution of the United States?

“We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”

We all had a wake-up call in 2020 when government leaders at our state and county levels made sweeping decisions that hugely affected our lives. Governors shut down businesses, schools, and even churches to stop the spread of COVID-19. Regardless of whether we think those responses were right or not – the point is that our governors, county judges, and mayors had power that many of us did not know they had. Many of us don’t think about our government, other than noticing that our trash bins have been picked up, that our local police officer has pulled us over, or that our mayor has made a quick TV appearance.

For those of us who have been blessed to grow up in a free country, it is important for us to consider the citizens of North Korea, Iran, Cuba, and other nations who are kept from worshiping as they want, kept from creating and growing their own businesses, kept from traveling, kept from getting their own healthcare, and even kept from having freedom of the press to access information without censorship. Government systems and leaders can impact and control our lives.

In a democratic Republic where ultimately “We the People” are in charge, we have to take ownership of the responsibility to protect freedom. We have the power to peacefully remove ineffective or ungodly representatives and to give input on legislation and policy.

Knowing that government can have a major effect on our individual lives and our families, how should we respond? We must engage!

The founders of our nation gave us a gift that we must not squander. As Benjamin Franklin said, “My dear lady, we have given to you a Republic – if you can keep it.”

John Adams and the other founders suffered for America. Before he was President, Adams served as a diplomat in Europe. While he was there, with an ocean separating him from his wife and children, he wrote, “Posterity! You will never know, how much it cost the present Generation, to preserve your Freedom! I hope you will make a good use of it. If you do not, I shall repent in Heaven, that I ever took half the Pains to preserve it.”

Yet as modern Americans, we don’t give much thought to the freedoms with which we have been blessed. We rarely consider that unless we sacrifice and work diligently to protect our freedoms, we will lose them. But God has put us here for this moment: we have been born in America or we have come here for “such a time as this!” (Esther 4:14) We must decide: what will we do to preserve our freedoms for the next generation?

What about looking at civic involvement from a heavenly, Kingdom perspective? Does the Bible speak about government, leadership, or our responsibility? Let’s look at a few biblical passages that should propel us into thought.

“Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people.” - Proverbs 14:34

The people of the land ultimately have the choice to turn to God and repent over their national sins, or to keep running away from Him and suffer the consequences.

“When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; but when a wicked man rules, the people groan.” - Proverbs 29:2

What causes the people to groan? Is it loss of freedoms, or spiritual oppression, or both?

When leaders live in righteousness, in the ways of the Lord, there is blessing. But sin opens the door for the enemy and brings with it great problems and sorrow. There is also a direct personal impact that citizens feel and experience when the righteous are in authority. When wicked leadership holds the power in a nation, it can affect our bodies, souls, and spirits. We feel it, whether we recognize it or not.

“If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” - 2 Chronicles 7:14

God’s reaction to the hearts of the people on a national scale is dynamic. We have a mandate as Christians to be engaged in our culture. We are not supposed to disappear into buildings where we simply pray, worship, and read the Word, without impacting the communities around us. We must have an “in-and-out lifestyle” – of coming into the presence of God in the company of other believers, and then going out to impact our nation. There are people everywhere in our cities and states that need our light. We are called to disciple the nation.

“You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” - Matthew 5:14-16

Let’s go even a step further back, to the beginning, when God created us in His image and gave us His own breath (Genesis 1:26-27, 2:7). Every human being has part of the nature of God in them. When we are born again, the Holy Spirit comes to dwell in us, changing our hearts, and we start to carry the very nature of Christ (Ephesians 1:13-14, 2 Peter 1:3-4). As we renew our minds and souls with the Word of God, we are filled with wisdom, discernment, and understanding (Romans 12:2, 2 Timothy 3:16-17). Shouldn’t Christians then be the ones who bring creative ideas to the boardrooms, schoolrooms, and government offices of our nation? Impacting the governance of the earth for Christ is one of the best ways we can love our neighbors!

“Then God said, ‘Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.’ So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Then God blessed them, and God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.’”

- Genesis 1:26-28

We have an obligation to engage with government as Christians, and we can’t put our heads in the sand.

We underestimate the creative DNA that is inside of us. We underestimate the fruitfulness for which we were created. If Christians started reflecting Christ in media, education, business, arts and entertainment, government, and most importantly in our churches and families – how would our world be impacted?

Through the years, I have seen God use myself and my fellow believers in profound and unexpected ways, as we engaged in politics and government by faith. There is a spiritual awakening going on in America, and as people of faith start engaging more and more in our culture, there will be an infusion of light within our land.

It is time for change and impact. The Church is the answer.