To develop a sound approach to culture and politics having a healthy expectation of everyone's interactive roles in that culture is a good place to start. This article considers biblical principles that help illustrate the relationships involved in a culture and subsequently in politics.
Culture and politics are ultimately about human dynamic interactions, and by looking at these interactions through the lens of scripture our expectations and roles in society will hopefully become clearer.
In the perspectives page of this site we discussed how the principles of - Morality, Logic and Justice – are useful tools for analyzing today's cultural and political news and how the news chaos of today can be filtered through one of these constructs in order to help you evaluate and wisely act on what you see. This article will apply the morality principle to expand on some simple structural concepts we'll refer to as “societal elements”.
The smallest societal element is the individual person created by God in His image in the book of Genesis. The purpose of this creation of man by God was for companionship and fellowship. The key event to understand is that mankind fell away from God with the first transgression.
This falling away has everything to do with who God is. It's a mystery to all of us since no one has ever seen God face to face and lived. There is not only a physical and scientific property incompatibility but a holiness and purity issue that cannot be mixed in with humans. We see this throughout scripture (Exodus 33:20 and John 1:18 respectively):
But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live.”
No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.
Understanding this preexisting separation from God and seeing how we (the smallest societal element being the individual person) have the inner mechanisms of God (feelings, intelligence, discernment, creativity, the capability to love and (for us) the need to be loved) but without the direct connection to the architect of that built-in nature (except through Jesus), puts us in a good starting position for understanding how we should approach culture and politics, both which can present challenges to our relationship with Christ if approached the wrong way.
Working our way up from the [individual], the next element of society when put through the lens of scripture is the [family unit]. The Bible emphasizes the role family plays in molding our values and beliefs. Particularly the role of parents is clearly outlined throughout Scripture and even included in the original Ten Commandments. Exodus 20:12 tells us:
Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.
There are many scriptures (Ephesians 6:1) addressing this second level of the societal chain of command because it's a big part of God's template for us as humans to thrive. We're to love our family and provide for them. 1 Timothy 5:8 says:
But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.
And then the remaining elements of society from closest to most distant include: friends, neighbors, associates and so on, until we get to communities, towns, cities and eventually the nation (or even today the global community). The broader working elements of society (culture and government or politics) are established entities that often pull back or compete against the individual if you do not cooperate with its influence and authority.
Pushing back against the culture comes at the price of perhaps being rejected, cast off or worse. Waring against or disobeying government however, can have more burdensome consequences including legal persecution, jail or worse.
Here's the thing, the Bible addresses all of these levels of society from the individual, to family (as already discussed), to how we should treat friends associates and neighbors, to how we should approach society culture and government. God didn't leave us hanging, but instead addressed every role we play. The rest of this article will focus on the larger more authoritative entities of societal culture and government or politics.
As we consider biblical illustrations about society's chain of command keep in mind that generally speaking, when you commit to doing things God's way, it will sometimes be:
1- Unpopular to the masses or public
2- Against the accepted norms of the culture and society
3- A potential threat to the nation or government and those who perpetuate injustice
That's because the societies, cultures and the governments of this world are not part of the kingdom of God but of the kingdom of this world, whereas true believers in Christ are not part of the worldly kingdom but of God's kingdom.
This is not to say we shouldn't care or be involved in the culture or politics, in fact for many of us it's quite the opposite. But it does mean we're willing to be the ones who bring the love, compassion and healing to those in the culture and society while acknowledging that our primary identity is not rooted in the culture or politics but in God and His kingdom.
A NOTE ON ANARCHY:
Also, regarding governmental authorities, we know that anarchy, self-rule and chaos is NOT of God. This may offend some of the "freedom" people, but let's reiterate this. Anarchy is not a biblical concept! In fact, we're specifically told to have an obedient respectful attitude toward authority knowing that God is ultimately in control. Romans 13:1 says:
Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God
This speaks to our humble non-confrontational attitude and how we're to conduct ourselves as representative of God's kingdom to the rest of the world. Jesus says in Mark 9:35 that the servant role is what we should be striving for:
And he sat down and called the twelve. And he said to them, “If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.”
We also know that scripture does account for, even demands resistance in circumstances of injustice and where the choice is between God's way or man's way. The Apostles dealt with this firsthand:
Some Christians have a problem understanding the balance between these two attitudes and when to apply them. They either fold and accept evil because they feel they need to be obedient, or they defy government in situations that are not necessary because God can and will handle it.
Standing for true Christian principles in a persecutory situation, as we see in the book of Acts and in the early persecuted church, is not anarchy, it's choosing to obey God rather than man. Likewise, going along with injustices or abominations that society and government deem “normal” is still wrong for a Christian to go along with.
Society, culture and politics often tread on these issues and when you know God's Word and remain in prayer you will be able to discern these societal issues and see where others are either compromising with the world or hatefully and or rebelliously defying government, as we often see on all sides of the political spectrum.
Ultimately, if God indeed is in control, then whatever situation we face we know that He will make a way to advance His plan. And regardless of one's political beliefs and cultural persuasion, God's commandments to love one another and to love your neighbor as yourself is unchanging. That means forgiving others, helping those in need and welcoming the lost, the hurting and the stranger.
His commandment about how we should live our lives is not dependent on having permission from the culture or political scene. God's instructions about our attitudes and prayerful humble and vigilant mindset erase all doubt about how we should carry ourselves daily in our society.
This article demonstrates how God's established blueprint gives us what we need to navigate within our culture and political landscape. Hopefully this will help put into perspective many of the events unfolding today as we simply open up the instruction manual (the Bible) and compare current events to what the Scriptures says.