GOD DID NOT TELL ME TO GO INTO POLITICS- A Christians dilemma over Gods mind on joining politics! Judges 2: 16; Then the LORD raised up judges who delivered them from the hands of those who plundered them. The phrase God did not tell me to go into politics is what you often hear from children of God or those whose faith has become synonymous with the righteous God when they venture into politics. These people: 1. Fear bringing disrepute to Gods name in-case they lose and 2. They are Uncertain of Gods clear direction on their career choice since they know that the Kingdom of God is not of this earth. At least those who use such terms are sincere about the lack or none clarity of divine guidance as they place their career and reputation on-line as people of faith in the shady waters of human politics. I am not in any way referring to some so called Church leader who has been losing election for years without an iota of shame and consistently saying God has called him to lead. Now Judges 2:16 is a simple text that shows Gods involvement in human political rule. God (LORD) raised up judges is all that God explains when talking about how men (covenanted-men under the covenant of Abraham) become leaders politically. There are various arguments that may generate hot debates like Can God call people into politics? or should a Christian go into politics?” Most times these argument begin from a Judeo-Christian perspective and end in man-made suggestions wrapped with some unrelated biblical instances. You can only solve God’s involvement in politics though speculation as many do or through revelation which may be a bit difficult but not impossible. Examples of Joseph and Daniel often spring up. Joseph was Prime minister and Daniel a District Governor under Babylonian Kings. BUT WERE THEY REALLY MEN GOD CALLED INTO POLITICS WITH THE PURPOSE OF ESTABLISHING GODS RULE(KINGDOM)? Jesus Christ refused the political appointment because His Kingdom was not of this world, He could have accepted the appointment but He refused. Why? We have two important questions that seems to be interconnected- Does God call His people politically and why did Jesus refuse the political offer of this world? The answers to these riddles is not far-fetched. God raises men. Listen to what I did not say, I did not say; God calls men into Politics. The word raise in the Bible means “to cause to arise or “to awaken/arouse from amidst equal to respond to the needs of the very people from hence you were raised. About three categories of jobs demand the raising of men: 1. Surrogate fatherhood: Raising children for another (Genesis 38:8) 2. Sympathetic intermediary: Becoming a prophet with an understanding of the situation of God’s people (Deuteronomy 18:18), and 3. Substitutionary Leadership: Raising judges in the absence of royalty (i.e. shadow of divine reality of King’s eg. Judges 2:16, 18 In all these cases…none is devoid of a DIVINE CONCERN and a TEMPORARY/MOMENTARY RESPONSE. To raise children for another was out of concern for the generation of the dead (surrogate fatherhood), children born in such situation belongs to the dead not the living. That is a replacement principle. A prophet raised from amidst God’s people was to share in their concern yet represent God in the understanding of purpose (Sympathetic intermediary). That is when God’s people again loose contact with Divine leadership that they need another prophet “LIKE” them. Moses’ replacement was what Deuteronomy prophesied about. And third is the raising of judges, Kings was the divine plan but judges were the temporary replacement (Substitutionary Leadership). Now in politics…God raised judges who stood in for King’s. Even Saul was enthroned as commander while waiting for the real King (not real King- hence Samuel said his kingdom would have been established if he had remain steadfast -1 Sam. 13:13). Yes, it was God’s original plan for Israel to have a King but it must be according to His timing (Deut. 17:14-20). Israel asked according to their own desire and God listened to them by giving them a commander while His choice- David is prepared. So God raising men provisionally for an earthly Kingdom or government that is temporal, suggests God’s concern in human politics not to be a major Eternal concern. Hence the confusion of many children of God who go into politics. My five year old son asked me some questions that really made me wonder about the complexity of life. After getting him ready for school, I told him to hurry up because “there is no time”. After he sat down to eat his breakfast, I discovered he was a bit slow and I said to him that he was “wasting time”. After a while, he looked at me and asked; “if you said some minutes ago that there was no time and you are now telling me I was wasting time, WHICH TIME ARE YOU REALLY TALKING ABOUT? THE TIME THAT WASN’T AVAILABLE SOME MINUTES EARLIER?” Of Course I couldn’t answer. My chat with my son presents almost a similar if not more complex dilemma for children of God when it comes to Politics, the Bible does not clearly state how he “calls” people into the temporary earthly politics but they know God has concern for people and they come out saying; “they are interested but God did not ask them to go into politics”. The understanding they need is that the ETERNAL GOD RAISES men to help respond to peoples concern in the earthly governments/politics even though it is not an eternal government. The earthly government’s is an infinitesimal part of the eternal Kingdom. Men like Joseph of Arimathea who used his political connection to secure Jesus’ body for burial in Matthew 27:57-60. He knew people in government and he was Jesus’ disciple. God raised him for that. Now what is the difference between being raised and being called, since we have said He raises men? The use of the word “raise” over the word “call” in the Bible suggests similar meanings but differing contextual use. This differing context proposes the raising of men is not for an eternal purpose but an ephemeral purpose. The definition of what it means to be RAISED in politics is revealed in Esther; “Then Mordecai commanded to answer Esther…and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” “FOR SUCH A TIME AS THIS” shows that Esther’s relevance in politics was merely transient. God raises men for a momentary purpose. So any one who uses’ God’s CV to cajole men to follow him as a child of God, has superimposed what is just a passing shadow. However, when we say God calls a man or woman. Acts 2:39 says; “For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.” The call is linked to an eternal purpose. It means “identification, selection and appointment” of a person sent to use the written word as the manual for doing God’s eternal will. Salvation is a call because it is a message proclaimed through an eternal gospel; “And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people” (Rev. 14:6). God’s call is without repentance because it has an eternal value. Abraham’s call carried an eternal value…his seed brought salvation- Jesus Christ who died and rose again. The word call in Hebrew is the same as “to bid” or “to preach”. “This therefore mean that our call is a description of a divine course. God draws a plan, includes us in that plan and then summons us to fulfill that plan according to His will. Every call is the result of an eternal plan. Jesus Christ was more concerned with the eternal things, so he rejected the temporary offers. Does this then mean God’s children cannot be in politics? No, because the definition of politics itself stipulates or demands we show concern for all that God shows concern for. People are always God’s concern. “For God so love the World (people)….” God’s word request we pray for those in government “THAT WE MAY LEAD A QUIET AND PEACEABLE LIFE IN ALL GODLINESS AND HONESTY” (2 Tim. 2:2). We do not pray for people in government for their sakes but for our sake. People are always God’s concern. So because God is concerned about people, He will always desire His children rise up to speak and influence government for godliness and honesty to reign. Yes human politics is just put in place till the prince of peace takes over, yet He raises men and women “for such a time as this”. These are men whose heart is only for God and are filled only with the very concern of the most High God- PEOPLE. They are not going to deceive by saying they will install the kingdom of Christ/peace, only Jesus Christ will install His own Kingdom. They will be clear about what they were raised to do…”deliver Israel from her enemies” and they will never be concerned about two terms when in office but only “purpose terms”. Often time when God raises His children, He raises them because His people need help. Yes, this Christian politician will always help those who are not “of the house of faith” but their concern is to preserve God’s people during trying times. Why does God raise men? 1. He raises men from among His people…this is simply sharing the experience of God’s people. Deuteronomy 18:18 offers God’s method of raising men. From among them God will raise. Today we have men without any relationship with the people they desire to help, these people are aliens to the commonality of pain that the downtrodden experience. They do not shop in the same place the masses shop at; neither do they do really know the divine concerns. God raises men who can sympathize with the infirmity of God’s people and bring them strength. 2. He raises men who are answers to prayers of His people…Cyrus in Isaiah 45:1 was not even under the covenant yet he was anointed to answer the cry of Israel. Christians who just want to be political leaders won’t do much unless they discover that “they are raised and sent because there was a call from God’s people”. Moses came after Israel cried out to God. Nehemiah 9:27; “Therefore thou deliveredst them into the hand of their enemies, who vexed them: and in the time of their trouble, when they cried unto thee, thou heardest them from heaven; and according to thy manifold mercies thou gavest them saviours, who saved them out of the hand of their enemies.” If he or she can’t define what request he/she comes to answer, ignore such. 3. He raises men and women politically as a temporary measure but most importantly as agents of preservation for His people by the act of grace- unexplained divine arrangement. The call of these men is unusual. They do not know how they have come so close to the corridor of power but discovered that they have received what they could not naturally have received outside of grace. Joseph is a good example in Genesis. From Slavery to the Palace, yet he just discovered that an unseen hands got him where he was and he was an answer to the situation of God’s people (read Psalm 105:7 & Genesis 50:20; “But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.” All that these men and women have come to do was to preserve and they only find themselves opportuned by grace. Now the dilemma is solved by God’s mysterious elevation of men to preserve His people within a specified season. The history of Israel proves this…every time before David came the nation was under oppression, God raised men to attend to that situation in anticipation of His divinely chosen King whose reign will usher in peace. Till Christ comes, God will still raise men who will work to preserve His people and they will not make promises that only Jesus’ rule will fulfill…they will live with only God’s concern has their concern. These men will make plain the grace that has offered them the opportunity to save “in such a time as this”. And they will never lie about their mission by using God’s C.V. to manipulate people into following them as if human politics has an eternal value. Till the King stands in Jerusalem, may such men never be hidden? So God may not “call” you to be president because it is a mere earthly affair, but He can raise you for such a time as this. Don’t force it, when God arranges to raise you, His grace will summon you from the prison into the palace and you will know when He opens the door in response to His peoples cry. Don’t go out there without been sure that God’s people need preservation, it is not about YOU…it is about God’s people. LET HIM RAISE YOU, DONT RAISE YOURSELF... Daniel 2:21 ► He changes times and seasons; he deposes kings and RAISES up others. ... Shalom! (c) Bishop Ponle Alabi
Posted on: Wed, 03 Dec 2014 10:53:19 +0000