Fleeting Sovereignty

By T. M. Moore | Published Date: January 23, 2012

Politics won’t get us all the way to the Kingdom of God.

Fleeting is the sovereignty/of the wretched world in which we are;/the King who rules over the angels/is the Lord of every land.

- Oengus mac Oengobann, Feilire Oengusso (Irish, 9th century)

The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the LORD; he turns it wherever he will. - Proverbs 21:1

The political season has begun in earnest. Three Republican primaries are behind us, the President’s media campaign is officially underway, and political posturing is the lead story on every news broadcast.

Frankly, I’m already pretty tired of it already.

Much is at stake this time around, however; that seems clear. Whether the country will continue on its present course of becoming an entitlement state, populated largely by serfs and landowners, or whether we will begin to find our way back to the free and independent republic our Founders envisioned – this question may not be finally determined by the outcome of November’s elections, but they will contribute significantly to moving the nation one direction or the other.

Christians need to approach this election from a Kingdom perspective. Our calling is to seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness (Matt. 6:33). That’s not a mandate directed at some niche in our lives, but at the whole of our lives, including our political obligations. Seeking the Kingdom in the realm of politics means that we will need to discover which candidate’s views are most conducive to the increase of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Spirit, which is the Kingdom of God (Rom. 14:17, 18).

Discerning that will take some serious study and constant monitoring on our parts. Granted, any administration only has, at most, eight years to accomplish its agenda. Political power in America is a fleeting sovereignty, and even that is hedged about by checks and balances to keep parties and presidents at least somewhat restrained.

Still, political power can be wielded in ways that either expedite or impede the progress of Christ’s Kingdom. The question of marriage and how we shall view it in the generations to come is but one example of an area where God’s purposes will either be advanced or scorned. The same is true for other areas of public policy: immigration, the role of government in private life, ensuring the nation’s health, preserving the freedom of speech amid the rising concern about “hate speech,” and so forth. All of these issues, and more, intersect and overlap with God’s agenda for justice, righteousness, and shalom – the concerns of His Kingdom.

But do we even know what the Kingdom questions are? Do we know how to frame them, and how to overlay them onto the political verbiage and platforms which are now taking shape? And are we able to determine which candidates best represent an agenda that turns nicely in the Lord’s hands?

If we haven’t begun looking into such matters yet, now’s the time to get busy.

Believers must seek the Kingdom in their political choices as in everything else. Contrary to what many believe today, everything in this country is not politics; rather, everything is spiritual warfare. You can’t win a spiritual war in the voting booth, but you will have to fight its battles there.

Politics is an unavoidable battlefield and staging-ground for fighting the good fight of faith, and it is possible to make Kingdom gains by rendering to Caesar what we owe him as “we the people.”

So let’s look to the Lord, study diligently, listen carefully, and engage the political process with a view to advancing the Kingdom agenda of our sovereign King.

Politics won’t get us all the way to the Kingdom of God. However, we won’t get very far along the way there unless we participate wisely and winsomely in this and every other political season.

Next steps
Make a list of the issues you believe are most important for the upcoming political campaigns. Make a first pass at summarizing how, from a Kingdom perspective, a believer ought to view such matters. Then invite some friends over for coffee and share the results of this exercise. Invite their response. Challenge them to join you in studying and attending to these matters carefully over the coming months. Agree to do some reading and study, to meet together, and to use every opportunity available to you to influence political decision-making in the direction of the Kingdom of God.