On policies and forms of government: what does the Bible have to say?

In this time, I have been following a lot more of the political goings-on. Part of it is due to having more time on my hands, and part of it is that, with a very real pandemic going on with very real and immediate consequences, every decision, big or little, gets magnified. There’s a sense that things don’t matter until they start happening to us. It’s a human sentiment. We can and do get complacent. (I know I’m often guilty of that!)

As some of you might know, I do have an audience that in terms of opinions are pretty far-reaching (granted, my blog audience is much smaller and may not reflect it nearly as much). My audience includes the following: American conservatives, American liberals, Christians, members of the Jewish faith, members of the Buddhist faith, and perhaps members of other faiths that I’m presently not aware of, men, women, people of many races and cultures, and so on. So naturally, when I post a serious post, I expect that at least part of it is going to offend someone every time. Whatever. When as a human race the spectrum of our experiences are as far-reaching as they are, someone somewhere is going to get offended. In fact, right now as you are reading this sentence, someone on this planet has gotten offended about something. (Likely not over this post.)

For this reason I’ve been hesitant to publicly share where I stand politically. Some of it is due to the fact that I am a loyalist (I’m naturally a relational person, so I’m going to more likely be empathetic to whomever is sharing, and look more for ways to find common ground rather than disparate ground). As such, many of my perspectives have shifted over time, and I cannot count out that many will yet shift between now and when I pass away.

The other reason that I've gravitated towards since I became saved* is this following passage from Apostle Paul's first letter to the church in Corinth, Greece:

Do not cause anyone to stumble, whether Jews, Greeks or the church of God—even as I try to please everyone in every way. For I am not seeking my own good but the good of many, so that they may be saved. 

1 Corinthians 10:32-33 (all translations NIV)

[*for non-Christians, "saved" means I said "yes" to: 1.) God is real; 2.) Jesus is real; 3.) the Bible is unequivocally correct; and 4.) following Jesus with my words, thoughts, actions, mind, and heart]

The short version is that, by aiming for peace and common ground on areas where the other person and I do agree, I'm a lot less likely to cause them to stumble than if I were to deliberately find a topic where I know the other person and I disagree, and press him or her on that topic. (It's also why -- like Paul -- I tend to be more outspoken in my blog posts than I do in person!)

There are two posts I've previously written that I want to jump off as a reference point:

Re: politics: underneath, I’ve always been this way [9/3/2012]

On Identity: Prologue [11/26/2019]

Now more than ever, a lot of the bickering, complaining, and thought-expression that falls under neither the bickering nor complaining category, is about policy. “What the president does,” or “what the governor does.” Sure, I’m likely oversimplifying it, but when it comes to topics like the Shelter-In-Place order (which has fallen under the governors’ jurisdictions), as well as other things like supplies for hospitals (more of a haggling between the president and several of the governors), it doesn’t seem to me as much like I’m oversimplifying it. And, at some point when I learned for real what the difference between someone who votes conservative and someone who votes liberal is, I was actually kind of disappointed. (“That’s it??”) Naturally, I’m more drawn to things like behavior and proper conduct. And the Bible spends a LOT more time speaking on these topics!

If I were to then address the question: "what policies do I think we should adopt?” my response is: “who cares?” Call me cold, call me callous, call me whatever. But in the end, whether we are socialist or whether we are capitalist, whether we are communist or whether we are fascist, none of those governmental or economic systems matter. In the end, God is in charge. Ironically, when our country was being formed in the late 1700s, our founding fathers really wanted to be sure that we didn’t fall into a monarchy for a system of government. It’s why the Constitution was drawn up the way it was, with three branches of government, “checks and balances,” etc. And yet, God’s chosen nation, the kingdom of Israel, was a monarchy for most of its history once it became a nation. Starting with King Saul (1 Chronicles 10:13-14), and ending with King Hoshea for Israel (2 Kings 17:1-5) and King Zedekiah for Judah (2 Kings 24:18-19) (2 Chronicles 36:11-12), Israel’s form of government was the same: monarchy. In other words, what our founding fathers didn’t want.

As such, the determining factor for whether the kingdom of Israel did well or not was NOT whether they were capitalist or socialist. It was not based on how high taxes were, nor was it based how good the economy was. It was entirely determined by whether their king did what was good — or evil — in God’s sight. When the king did what was good in God’s sight, Israel flourished. You’ll also notice that a lot more ink was used in recording what Israel was like when these kings were in charge. When the king on the throne did what was evil… well, Israel didn’t die right away. God was pissed off, of course. But over time, as Israel became more and more and more corrupt, having evil king after evil king after evil king, eventually God had enough. Israel’s end (at the time, anyway) came at the hands of the Chaldeans and ultimately the hands of the Babylonians. God allowed Israel to be invaded, its assets plundered, and its people to be taken captive.

[Ironically, one of the most popular verses in the Bible is found in this context. God was using this verse to encourage His people, as they were being taken captive to a strange land who did not know Him let alone worship Him as the God of gods, King of kings, and Lord of lords. God was telling them that were going to be in captivity for quite a while. But, because he is a good God, also wanted to give His people hope. It is out of that that the famous verse was spoken. “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future…” (Jeremiah 29:11)]

I’ve had this sense about the US slowly falling apart, leading to an eventual inevitable collapse for years now. I’m honestly pessimistic in that I believe that I will see it happen in my lifetime. I cannot say whether we will be invaded, or fall into civil war, or what, but it’s not going to look good. Honestly, I’m scared for that day, and I feel like it will happen sooner than I think (let alone hope) it will.

That said, God is still in charge. For my faith's sake, I have to regularly claim that truth. As such, here are a few verses that can help me and help you too, in building up your faith. I do want to stress that this is as much a challenge to myself as it is to all who read this:

On how to see from God’s perspective events that feel huge and possible cataclysmic:

Psalm 46:6: Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall; he lifts his voice, the earth melts.

On what God’s heart is for us to respond once we clearly see His perspective on these things:

Psalm 46:10: He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”

On the faith-attitude we can develop and live in, regardless of what happens around us.

Psalm 112:7: They will have no fear of bad news; their hearts are steadfast, trusting in the Lord.

And finally what can be done to perhaps stem the tide regarding God’s expected eventual punishment for our national sins:

2 Chronicles 7:14: if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

Finally, I want to close with a couple brief thoughts:

1.) Along with Psalm 112:7, all of Psalm 91 is a great read and a thing to pray back to God, as a way of cultivating our hearts not only in a mode of repentance but also in a mode of realigning ourselves to Him and His word.

2.) I’ve been transcribing an improvisation I recorded of me playing and singing the texts to Psalm 42 and Psalm 43. Ultimately, this is where my heart needs to return to, being not only in communion with Jesus but also being in that place of aching for Him, no matter whether I am presently spending time with Him or not.