By Rev. Robert Babcox | Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice
I have been asked: should Christians be involved in politics?
Short answer — yes!
Oh some may blurt out 2 Corinthians 6:16 in response: “What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: ‘I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God and they will be my people.’ Therefore, come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you.”
This does not preclude us from voicing and practicing the way and will of God.
Remember what Christ said in John 20:21: “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.”
And with that, he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.”
In all the time Jesus was on earth, He never rebelled, used violence or condoned violent acts against the government or politicians.
But He was very vocal about their actions — even calling the Sanhedrin, the religious leaders of the time, a den of thieves.
Today, many view calling out sin as hateful. In truth, it’s an act of great love. If I truly hated a drug addict, I wouldn’t tell them they’re slowly killing themselves. I’d stay silent and watch it happen.
But the love of Christ tells them the truth — that it’s killing them — and then offers hope: there is One who can free them from the sin of addiction.
That’s a simple example, but a true one.
If we don’t involve ourselves in society at a political level, we are doing what millions before us have done — sitting back and watching our Republic die a slow and painful death. In doing so, we condone the immorality being committed.
It’s one of the very things that destroyed the last great republic: Rome.
Rome fell from internal decay when it moved away from a moral center.
Our Republic was built on a Christian moral foundation. In the 1700s, the first readers used in public schools were King James Bibles. Children learned to read and formed a moral center.
We’ve recently seen what a lack of Christian involvement has done to this country.
Former President Joe Biden governed without a moral compass. If you doubt that, just look at his son, Hunter — a man who used illegal drugs, allegedly engaged in multiple sinful and criminal acts and divorced his wife to marry his late brother’s widow.
President Biden also allowed — even encouraged — biological men to compete in women’s sports and enter women’s dressing rooms. He did this to once again show that he believes women are inferior to men.
But from the beginning, in Genesis, God made it clear: Men and women are two equal halves of one whole.
No half is greater than the other. Both have distinct callings in God’s work.
Had Christians been more involved in the election between Biden and Trump, we might not be in the mess we’re in today.
If Christians remain silent, Satan wins.
We are sent by Jesus, endowed with the Holy Spirit, to spread the Gospel. That commission isn’t limited to your next-door neighbor — it’s for all people, worldwide.
When the United States stops being a light for Christ, the world will go dark.
I think Edmund Burke said it best: “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”
Is that where we are? Are Christians going to do nothing? Are good men going to sit silent while evil parades down Main Street?
One of the bravest people in the Bible was in fact a woman Esther, who spoke up for the truth and her people at a time when she could have been put to death for just entering the Royal Hall uninvited.
For such a time as this: If we remain silent at a time when the world needs our voice the most, then we are in fact condoning evil.
For such a time as this: We must be vocal. We must be involved. And we MUST tell our neighbors what sin is, and who can save them from it.
For such a time as this: We can keep our children safe in schools from immoral predators like the ones allowed into the stories they read.
For such a time as this: We can share the truth that all people are created by a God who makes NO MISTAKES, and they are wonderfully created in His image.
For such a time as this: We can remind people that it’s not guns killing others — it’s people. After all, God didn’t outlaw rocks after Cain killed Abel.
For such a time as this: We stand up for the truth that this Nation was founded upon, “E pluribus Unum” — out of many, one — One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
For such a time as this: We must lift our voices and be counted as God’s people doing God’s work.
For such a time as this, we must lift high the name of the Lord and rejoice in His will and way for our lives – while always remembering what St. Augustine said, “Preach the gospel in all things, and when necessary, use words.”
Rev. Robert Babcox is the senior pastor at Orchard Mesa Baptist Church in Grand Junction.
Editor’s note: Opinions expressed in commentary pieces are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the management of the Rocky Mountain Voice, but even so we support the constitutional right of the author to express those opinions.