I suspect it is difficult for those of us who know Christ to truly fathom how depressing it would be if all we had in life was politics. After all, just try to imagine the hopelessness you would feel if the pinnacle of your existence was rooted in American politics.
Politics is similar to sports in a way. Athletic competition provides an adrenaline rush when your team wins the title, but a punch to the gut when your team loses the championship game. Likewise, politics provides people with some tremendous highs, but also some depressing lows.
Aristotle said, “Man is by nature a political animal.” While that may be true, the Bible reveals that man is by nature a sinner in need of the Savior. And the government the King of kings ushers in will be vastly different than the worldly governments operated by sinful men and women.
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Isaiah wrote, “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on His shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end” (Isaiah 9:6).
Just try to imagine a government with a sinless Leader and perfect justice. And now imagine this magnificent kingdom lasting forever!
Harold Wilson is a former Prime Minister of the UK. He said, “A week is a long time in politics.” We have certainly seen that dynamic play out recently here in our own country. But when it comes to spiritual matters, a millennium is a short time in eternity.
If you are a professing believer whose peace of mind is overly dependent upon on the polling data and election results of your preferred candidate, consider these words from Jesus to the church in Laodicea: “Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent. Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me” (Revelation 3:19-20).
Are your days and your decisions rooted in a close personal relationship with the King of kings and Lord of lords? Are you on fire for the Lord through the power of the Holy Spirit? Or are you at most lukewarm in your religion, and perhaps even spiritually cold? If all you have is politics, then your soul is in grave danger.
If you are a follower of Christ, God lit a flame in your soul when your body became a temple of the Holy Spirit the moment you were converted. So, how have things been going lately in your spiritual life? God’s Word instructs believers, “Do not put out the Spirit’s fire” (1 Thessalonians 5:19). That is, avoid those things that quench the Holy Spirit.
The recipe for a Spirit-filled life is found in Scripture. “Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18). “Hate what is evil; cling to what is good” (Romans 12:9). The “grace of God … teaches us to say ‘No’ to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age” (Titus 2:11-12).
What is the driving force of your life: American politics, or your Christian faith? Which one is in your mind when you wake up in the morning and when you go to bed at night? And which one consumes your soul during your waking hours of the day?
If we are not careful, we can end up spending the majority of our time thinking about politics, and very little time praying, meditating upon God’s Word, encouraging our fellow believers, assisting the needy, reaching the lost and discipling the saved. Misplaced priorities bring about a lukewarm state in the soul.
Earthly goals and election results cannot even begin to compare with the eternal kingdom the Lord is preparing for all of His children. And it won’t just be a future event. It has already begun for you if you know Christ. Jesus said, “The kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:21).
The Creator of the universe is actually living inside you if you are born again, (see Colossians 1:15-17) and you are now an ambassador for the King of kings. The Apostle Paul wrote to Christians in Colossae concerning “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27). King Jesus is a trillion times better than any earthly politician.
Do you spend a significant amount of time every day talking to the Lord, or is your mind completely saturated with politics and earthly issues?
Here is the challenge and the opportunity we have been given as followers of Christ. “Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things” (Colossians 3:2). That is to say, as you go about your daily activities, whether it be your family or your job or politics or sports, keep your mind focused on Christ in the midst of it all. Keep Him first. Stay filled with the Holy Spirit as you receive His power moment by moment. Say “No” to temptation and anything that will dampen the fire in your soul. And be on guard against any threat to your peace in Christ.
A tall order? Sure. But millions of Christians over the centuries have experienced tremendous power from God by following the leading of the Holy Spirit hour by hour. God will help us in the same way, but it is up to us to “take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5). As followers of Christ, we have been given a clear assignment from our King: “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life” (Proverbs 4:23).
Jesus said, “Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him” (John 7:38). People who have only politics lack these rivers of living water within them. And it is difficult for many of us who know the Lord to even imagine that depth of emptiness in the soul.
Dan Delzell is the pastor of Redeemer Lutheran Church in Papillion, Nebraska.
