Faith and Politics: How Do They Fit Together?

Faith and politics is a pretty hot topic right now. You’ve got some Christians who think the church should basically be running the government, and others who don't want a single word about politics spoken from the pulpit. So, where does that leave the rest of us?

The most famous Bible passage on this is in Matthew, where Jesus is asked if it’s right to pay taxes to the Empire. His answer? "Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's." (Matthew 22:21)

At its core, the government’s job is to keep order, maintain peace, and bring justice to society. The church’s job is to share God’s grace and love. Whenever the church tries to take over the government, things get ugly fast. And whenever the government tries to run the church, the actual message of Jesus gets lost. History is packed with bad examples of both.

That said, as Christians, we’re still called to be good citizens. When Paul wrote to the Romans, he was talking to people living under a pretty corrupt, harsh dictatorship. Yet he told them: "Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God." (Romans 13:1)

We’re lucky to live in a democratic republic where we actually get a say in who represents us. I have experienced life under a dictatorship firsthand (in the Philippines under Ferdinand Marcos). From my experience, democracy is way better. While the church as an institution shouldn't be running the country, individual Christians absolutely should get involved. We can run for office. And we should vote for leaders who reflect the values Jesus taught. We could definitely use more leaders who care less about grabbing power or wealth for themselves and more about actually serving the people.

Some additional Bible passages to consider: I Peter 2:13-21, John 18:33-37, Ezekiel 34:1-10, Mark 10:42-45