Change You Can Believe In: Politics and the Great Commission

By: American Decency Staff

Government has long been viewed as a tool to accomplish lasting change in society. As the 2016 election approaches, many Americans are anxious about who our next president will be. This anxiety is even common among evangelicals who see the use of government power as a tool to fight secularism and make America Christian again. Others view election and politics as an instrument to create a society that reflects their worldview and system of ethics.

This view of government makes sense outside of a Christian worldview. The world’s outlook on life ignores eternity and places all of its stock in the temporal. People have one life to live and the government plays a major role in creating a utopian society that reflects their ethics. But the Christian’s outlook should be radically different since our lives are lived with eternity in mind. We’re “sojourners and exiles” who “have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come” (1 Peter 2:11; Hebrews 13:14). We await restoration — the return of Jesus when everything wrong will be made right.

I’m not calling for political apathy. I think that is irresponsible. Christians desperately need a biblical view of government and a just society. Instead, I’m calling for believers to cast their anxieties about the immorality of society on Jesus and be on mission in their neighborhoods and cities.

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