A Political Rant (Raquel)
June 25, 2009 by sharppointythings
(I wrote this as a response on an e-mail list, and then the Seth voice in my head said that I should post it on the blog too. So here it is, slightly edited to make sense out of its original context.)
To the question of who’s willing to join the campaigning against Obama in four years, I have to respectfully reply: “I’m not.”
I don’t believe campaigning is going to accomplish anything. (I’m slightly overstating, but hear me out.) Until the church gets out there and starts taking care of the poor and the others who need help, the government will keep stepping in to do our job. Of course they’re doing it badly–it’s not their job to start with and they’re not equipped to handle it. But if the all the stupid fascist government programs stopped tomorrow, people would die because they have no where else to turn.
We didn’t get Obama because of lack of campaigning, or because people were confused about what he stood for. We got Obama because that’s what the majority of people in this country wanted. Political campaigning will not change that. Going out into the darkness with the light of Jesus will. Eventually.
Now, I’m not saying the church shouldn’t be involved in politics. But I am saying that if we just do our job and go out making disciples that *is* politics. If we stop acting like Caesar is lord, and take back the hurting, broken people who were supposed to be our responsibility, it will have an effect.
That said, I think it’s wonderful if a few people can work on keeping the fascist government off our backs and give us some breathing space to do what we’re supposed to do. But that’s not where the change is going to come from. Change comes when God’s people are faithful to obey Him no matter what the circumstances, and trust that He will bring the results as He sees fit.
Good post, Raquel. And I’d much rather be putting my time into the change we need to be bringing to our communities in Jesus’ name than keeping the fascist government off our backs.
I love this.
Amen.
You have a Seth voice in your head? How disturbing.
I wholeheartedly agree with you on this one. It’s a big reason why I generally don’t obsess about politics. There are times that I’ve tried to do what I can to prevent legislation that is hostile toward God’s law or oppressive in general; however, I am in no way expecting the political process to solve problems that can only be solved through widespread repentance and faithfulness to God’s design for the world.