From me to you Part 11: a right attitude to politics

CONTEXT:  Rome was a tough place to live for Christians in the first century AD. The Jewish Christians had come from a long Jewish tradition that believed that the Jewish nation was the chosen people of the one true God and that God had led them into their own land, the Promised Land. And yet here they were, living under Roman occupation, a rule of tyranny and exploitation. The Roman state was a secular state. Worshipping just one God and not a set of gods that included the current emperor, was simply not how it was done in Rome. It immediately put the Jews and Christians at odds with the state. It challenged how things were done in Rome.

There’d been a number of bloody insurrections against Roman authority. At the time of Jesus’ trial and crucifixion, it was Barabbas, the revolutionary, who was released. Rebelling against an oppressive state such as Rome seemed natural and understandable.

The question of submission to a government like Rome was the most burning question of the day.

And yet Paul is calling for a different response. Despite allegiance first and foremost to the the one true God and to Jesus, His son who came to earth to show us how life should be done, Paul’s calling on all Christians to behave with respect and submission to the lawful government. Paul’s been talking about God’s love and grace and this exhortation can seem a little out of place, but it is exactly within that framework of love and grace that this call to develop a proper Christian attitude to the secular state belongs.

EXCERPT: Romans 13

FROM ME TO YOU:

All this talk of God’s love and grace and mercy is wonderful, don’t get me wrong. But if it does not affect how we actually live our lives, then what difference has it really made?

How we should relate to those in positions of power in our land and in the world as a whole is a hot topic right now. People are using Bible passages to back and show allegiance to leaders who are bringing in policies that are clearly not in line with Jesus’ teaching. At the other extreme, people are using Jesus’ teaching to condemn and mock and undermine the leaders in government. Politics seems to bring out the worst in people. We seem to think it’s OK to speak in a derogatory way about politicians because of their policies. There’s a whole lot of very personal character assassination going on.

We can’t understand why God has allowed some of the world governments and leaders to be elected and established. And yet we are called to trust that God knows what He is doing. We are called to obey the law of the land. Do the right thing. Pay taxes. Play by the rules. Be above reproach.

Of course, this doesn’t mean that we stand by and watch people be exploited and discriminated against. The greatest law of the whole universe is love. It is right to give a voice to protest, to bring about change for the better, to do what we can to stand with the oppressed and marginalised. But there is a way to do this and that way has to be rooted in and motivated by the love of God. Love leads to respect and to right living.

Live in the light. Don’t imagine that anything you do can stay hidden for long. Live a life that when scrutinised will be seen as good and right before God. That’s what we’re called to do.

Let’s work out how to live in the way, the truth and the life today and everyday.

Yours,

Hx