This is How Christians Should Respond to Leaders They Dislike
Hello! Happy Wednesday. I hope your week is going well. I had a great start of the week because it was my birthday, and the love I received was enormous. Thank you to everyone who took their time to send me an email, and commented on my birthday post: This 35-year-old woman is full of gratitude. I sincerely appreciate your kindness. I’d also like to say welcome to our new subscribers! We have finally past the threshold of 200 subscribers. I pray that we continue growing. Please keep sharing these posts with others. Okay, enough of all that, let’s get into today’s topic.
While me and one of my (many) cousins went on a walk last night, we reminisced on how divided the country was a few months ago during the elections. I did not like that season because it came with a lot of strife. Friendships were breaking up, people put pressure on others to change who they were going to vote for, many people hated others because they didn’t support the same party and so on.
Even some Christians believed God had his own candidate that he wanted in office, and if things swung in the other direction, then it was because other Christians did not uphold enough faith. Now, tension is brewing in the political sphere once more as the Presidential election tribunal is set to deliver a verdict. Armed forces have been deployed to hot spots just in case chaos ensues.
In today’s post, I’d like to draw our attention to how God wants his children to respond to such situations when they arise, and how he wants us to act within the boundaries of the countries he has placed us in. I remember being in a conversation with someone a few years ago, who talked about relocating from Nigeria (Japa). “In Nigeria,” he said, “you don’t know what will happen tomorrow.” Laughing, I replied, “where in this world do you know what will happen tomorrow?”
Many have lost hope in our government (and for good reason) and they believe that the solution is either to flee the country because they have no control over how things would pan out eventually, or to be bitter and detest everything the government represents. While I am not against immigration, I believe God calls the Christian to respond differently.
As Christ followers, our hope is not in whoever is in “power” or the amount of “control” that we can have on our lives - our hope is in Christ. Many tend to separate their Christianity from politics, however Jesus came at a time when the Jews suffered political oppression, and offered to them a hope which revealed that this life isn’t all there is. He also taught them how they should be subject to governing authority (give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar).
Allow me to tell you a biblical story. The nation of Israel was captured by Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon. These people were terrified of this king because he not only deposed their king, but he also stole the articles of worship from the Lord's temple. They had no idea what else he had up his sleeve for someone so daring - as such, they began to pray to God. Many prophets appeared, each prophesying something different.
Then God said in Jeremiah 27:5-7, “I have made the earth, the man, and the beast that are on the ground, by my great power, and by my outstretched arm, and have given it to whom it seemed proper to me. And now I have given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant; and the beasts of the field I have also given him to serve him. So all nations shall serve him and his son and his son’s son until the time of his land comes; and then many nations and great kings shall make him serve them.”
So, in Jeremiah 29, he told them to relax, pray for the welfare of the land, and pray for peace. Take spouses, plant crops, and start a life for themselves. God demonstrated to them that even though they were in captivity, he was still in control. And as such, they were to be subject to whoever he had put over them.
In the new testament, books like 1 Timothy 2:1-4 instructs believers to pray for their leader (whether they liked them or not). It says, “First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.”
Romans 13:1-7 instructs us to submit to the ruling authority, and 1 Peter 2:17 instructs us to honor. We have been called as Christ followers to uphold these virtues regardless of who is in power. As I continued on my walk with my cousin, I thought, “can you imagine if everyone in Nigeria prayed for their president, rather than insult him, how that is going to affect our nation?”
I understand that we live in a fallen world, and not everyone will believe this truth or uphold it. However, as Christians who are in the world and not meant to be of it, we are expected (by God) to behave and react differently just as with any other thing. God, our father, sends rain on both the just and the unjust. He makes the sun to shine on all of us. We cannot choose when or how we apply God's word. God's word stands in every circumstance, favorable or unfavorable.
Let us also remember that this life is not all there is; sometimes we act as if it is our permanent home. In 2 Corinthians 4:17-19, the Bible encourages us to fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen, because all of these will pass away soon. The birth of Jesus sparked a political uprising, with the Herod at the time ordering a massacre of baby boys aged zero to two because he believed his position was threatened by a baby. Yet, even as an adult, Jesus spoke of a kingdom that was not of this world. If his kingdom was of this world, all would have loved him.
There is nothing which happens in this world that flies under God’s radar. Do not allow the enemy use today’s ruling (if you are looking forward to it) as an opportunity to wrought anxiety or anger in you. No matter how the pendulum swings, God still rules over all the nations, and his word still stands. Proverbs 16:33 says, “The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord.”
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