Christians and Government

In John 18:36 , Jesus says, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight . . . But now is my kingdom not from here.” In Philippians 3:18-20, Paul talks about Christians who have turned their backs on Christ and their sad condition because of it. He says they are enemies of the cross in that (vs 19-20) they “ . . . set their mind on earthly things. For our citizenship is in Heaven . . .” Speaking of his disciples, or His apostles, Jesus prays to the Father in John 17, and says in verse 14, and verse 16, “ . . . they are not of the world just as I am not of the world.”

There are religious people who take these verses (and other verses with less direct bearing on the issue) to mean that a Christian can have no connection to a civil government other than to be subject to it according to Romans 13:1. Some such individuals believe it is wrong for Christians to hold or run for office. Some believe that Christians should not even be involved in the voting process. Is this attitude correct? As is always the case, we have to find our answer in the Bible.

A study of Bible characters is instructive. Joseph is presented as a hero of God who was upright in all of his dealings. He served as Pharaoh’s “right-hand man”, and basically ruled Egypt on his own, under the Paraoh’s authority. A great deal of the Old Testament is a history of the judges and kings of the Israelite nation. The Israelites were God’s chosen people, but inasmuch as they had territory on this earth and interacted with other nations, the judges and kings were political operatives.

The three Hebrews whom we know by their Babylonian names, Shadrach, Meshach and Nebednego, are presented in the Bible as examples of steadfast faith and courage. They were also political appointees under king Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. The reasons they had those names was for the purpose of serving politically in Babylon. Daniel served Babylonian and Persian kings in a capacity nearly the same as Joseph had in Egypt. Nehemiah had a position of service to Artaxerxes, king of Persia.

In the New Testament, Jesus chose Matthew, also known as Levi, as one of His disciples. Matthew was a tax collector for the Roman government. Zachaeus was also a tax collector and Jesus showed no disdain for Zachaeus having this position.

In Luke 7 the story is recounted of Jesus healing the son of a centurion, a Roman military official. Rather than condemn the man for holding a government position Jesus praises him and says He has not found such faith in all of Israel. Cornelius was also a centurion in the Roman army and there is no indication of any kind given in Acts 10 that this was a problem.

When Luke relates the incident in which a young man comes to ask Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life, Luke calls him a ruler. This indicates a governmental position of authority. Jesus first tells him to keep the commandments and then to sell his goods and give the money to the poor. What He doesn’t tell this ruler is to abdicate his governmental authority.

What the Bible does speak clearly about is Christian behavior, and Christian attitudes which lead to that behavior. There are very specific dos and don’ts. These guidelines concerning attitudes Christians must have, and those they cannot have, which lead to the behaviors in which Christians can and cannot engage are the determinants to what jobs a Christian can have.

In and of itself, the fact that a job is a government job does not disallow a Christian from performing that work. However, there may be some government jobs a Christian in honor of his religion could not hold. But this would not be for the reason that it is a government job. It would be because of some of the duties inherent in that job being outside of the realm of allowed Christian conduct.

It also might be the case that a job would be “off-limits” to some, not because it is a government job, but because the nature of the demands and requirements of the job present a temptation that some people might not be able to bear. To others, that job might not present a temptation. In this case it would be more a matter of the person holding the job than the company (government) offering the job. An example of such a job might be one which involves handling large amounts of money.

In short, there is nothing in the Bible that prohibits a Christian from running for and holding an elected position or any other job simply because it is a government job. The verses mentioned in the introductory remarks no more ban working in government than they ban any other particular work. Nor is there any more conflict over Heavenly citizenship by being in government than there is in any other job. This includes an elected position. If one who calls himself or herself a Christian has more allegiance to their earthly government than to God, their problem is much deeper than their place of employment.

Likewise, there are no prohibitions in the Bible against a Christian voting. In fact, if it is our Christian duty to try to affect the world in such a way that it moves closer to following God’s precepts, it seems inconsistent to say Christians should not vote. By voting we have a direct affect on the direction of the country. We get to have a voice in choosing religious freedom over government control, or the ability to be freely evangelistic as opposed to having to make our efforts to reach others surreptitiously. What is accomplished by avoiding such an opportunity?

There are those who believe that God places His individual choices in every office throughout the world. Whoever is president, God placed them there. Whoever is mayor, God placed them there. The senators, congressmen, and coroners have all been chosen and placed personally by God. This comes from their interpretation of Romans 13:1. You might likely believe the same. I don’t subscribe to this interpretation.

I cannot comprehend why a person who believes this would vote. You might be attempting to thwart God’s choice. You don’t know. It would be best not to get involved. I would not want to be pushing for outcome A, when God wants (and will ensure) outcome B. Has God told you specifically who He is putting in what office? No? Then you don’t know. Why are you voting? Why do you even pay attention to politics and politicians? Get out of God’s way and let Him handle it. Again, I don’t subscribe to this idea.

But let’s finish on a positive note. If you want to, or need to because that’s where your opportunity is, go ahead and work in a government job with no misgivings. Run for office if you want. The Bible, through it’s silence in direct commands, and its many positive examples, makes it clear that government is an allowable course for God’s people.

Also, vote. There is no group of people on this earth more than Christians who need to be knowledgeable on the issues and voting. But make sure you KNOW the candidates and the issues and don’t rely on what people that you don’t know tell you. There are few groups of people who have more incentive to lie about themselves, their opponents, and the issues than politicians.