daily java

Daily Java: But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ. (Philippians 3:20)

Election season is here with campaigning and politics. All of the candidates are jockeying for position and wanting our attention.

There are a lot of things that are at stake in this next election. In many ways, the future course of the nation will be determined. Will it become a more socialist state or will it remain a capitalist nation?

These are important things. And they will help determine how much our government will rule us.

But there is a problem. We have to remember that we are just here for a short time. Our real allegiance is to God and the Kingdom of Heaven.

Voting is good, and part of our privileges as Americans. Other countries would love to have this privilege guaranteed them by law. But no matter who wins, God is supreme. And we are his people, first and foremost.

I intend to vote and feel strongly about politics. I am a conservative libertarian in politics and am one who does not like nor enjoy the coddling presence of the government.

I do not like to be told what to do and when I can do it by someone in an office building in Washington, DC. Thomas Jefferson was the one who said that any government that could be felt was too big. And I believe in limited government.

But whatever happens next election cycle, I am still a Christian. And if the nation becomes more and more socialist and finally even into communism, I will still be a Christian.

That will not change no matter who is in office.

We have the privilege of voting and changing how things in our country go.

However, as the scripture above says, our citizenship is in heaven. We are members of the Kingdom of Heaven and as such are God’s people. We stand above all earthly things.

Jesus said in John 18:36, My kingdom is not of this world. That means that we risk becoming over-involved in the world at the risk of losing our involvement in heavenly matters.

It was also Jesus who said, Give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s. We have the right to be involved in politics and electing people we want to have govern us. We have the right to change our country by political means if we want to.

But Jesus also said, You cannot serve two masters at once. In other words, if your life is totally politics, your life cannot be God’s. You can be in politics, and more Christians need to be; but the more you are in politics and the more politics consumes you, the less time you have for that which is truly important.

We are first and foremost Christ followers. We are secondly Americans. We need to put that in perspective.