Politics

"If a ruler’s anger rises against you, do not leave your post; calmness can lay great offenses to rest" (Ecclesiastes 10:4).

I don't often discuss politics here (because, you know, the two things that offend people most rapidly are politics and religion), but the Teacher doesn't stop when he comes to observations about politics. Nor does he subdivide life into different categories. For the Teacher, all of life is under the gaze of God—living, dying, taxes, rejoicing, sadness, politics and more. And, as always (when he's not depressed), the Teacher has great words of wisdom here.

In the current political climate, I hear some Christians on the verge of despair. There have been serious proposals from so-called national leaders for us to, basically, "circle the wagons." Draw in on ourselves. Form a protective bubble. Withdraw from engaging the larger culture and simply protect our families and our beliefs. Others may not be proposing complete withdrawal, but there are those who at least have said we must give up on politics, on transforming the culture, and simply keep ourselves busy teaching the faith.

Now, I am not one who believes that politics can save us. Simply getting "the right person" in office will never be the solution. (We've had those who claim the faith of Jesus Christ in office and the culture hasn't been changed that much.) Politics will never save us. Only Jesus can and will do that.

But that also doesn't mean we quit or give up. Our faith calls us to, in the words of the Teacher, "stay at our post." Now is not the time to back away, no matter who is elected. But the spirit in which we engage the culture and the world of politics makes a difference as well, and that's why the Teacher says this: "Calmness can lay great offenses to rest." What if we, as believers, approached our culture not with a spirit of fear or a spirit of timidity (see 2 Timothy 1:7), but with conviction and confidence? What if we stood on the firmness of our beliefs and spoke boldly (not obnoxiously) to our world? What if we stayed calm in the face of great anxiety, confident that the one who began a good work within us (and within our world) will be faithful to complete it (see Philippians 1:6)?

Such an approach, such a person just might change the world.

Stay at your post. Speak with confidence. Trust in Jesus. That is the sort of believer we need for such a time as this.