SUNDAY DEVOTION: On God's Side

How do we be sure we are?

Last week, I took my eldest son to a high school basketball game. His school, The Ambrose School, was hosting Nampa Christian. Prior to the varsity tip-off, the announcer opened in prayer, asking God to bless the players, keep them from injury, and ensure a fair and sportsmanlike contest.

Ambrose overcome an early deficit to eke out a tough win. The boys were very aggressive on the floor, but hopefully the spirit of sportsmanship prevailed. There is rarely a moral component to an athletic contest, as both teams are playing under the same rules and conditions. While it is entirely appropriate for victorious players to give glory to God in the end, I suspect that God is less concerned with the outcome of the game than He is with the spiritual condition of the players and spectators.

Politics is a different story. Many policy and legislative debates have moral components, but even issues outside the moral sphere are often framed as battles of good versus evil. I firmly believe that Christians are correct in viewing policies such as abortion and the protection of children as moral issues with clear biblical mandates. However, many other issues are far less clear. What does the Bible say about legislative salaries? The proper rate of taxation? The management of roads, water rights, or public education?

Good conservative Christians can disagree on these matters, where God's will is less certain. It is dangerous to assume that God is on your side in every political stance you take. Invoking His name in a debate over marginal tax rates, for example, risks making you seem like a blind zealot rather than a thoughtful, wise thinker.

The Third Commandment states:

You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.

Exodus 20:7 ESV

Many Christians today assume this refers only to carelessly swearing by God’s name, but it also means not using His name to lend undue weight to personal opinions. I cringe every time I hear a political candidate claim that God told him or her to run for office. Maybe it’s true — perhaps God does sometimes personally call people to run — but I suspect it is often just a way to avoid responsibility for one’s own decisions while giving them a higher moral significance than they might otherwise have.

I suggest we apply the lessons of sports to the political arena. Perhaps — this is just my own speculation — God is less concerned with the exact rate of taxation than He is with the spiritual condition of elected officials and the people they represent. Perhaps, like the players on the court last week, our job is simply to go out and do our best while conducting ourselves in a morally upright fashion. If we win, then we win, and all glory to God. If we lose, then we lose, and may God’s will continue to be done.

He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?

Micah 6:8 ESV