Christians in Government
The Following is the Script for this Video:
Should Christians work in government? No less than Leo Tolstoy wrote that anyone “who wishes to be a Christian must not serve government.” Most Christ-followers don’t go that far. But negative views of government can discourage Christians from working in the public sector.
Do God’s people belong in government roles, or should they refuse such work? To answer that question, we’ll begin with something that may seem totally unrelated.
In the beginning—long before any human government existed—physical darkness covered the surface of the deep. But God refused to leave his earth in that condition. His first words were: “Let there be light.” Against God’s light-creating words, the darkness didn’t stand a chance. So one of the first things we learn about the Creator is this: he sends light into darkness.
But after this, a different kind of darkness—spiritual and moral darkness—engulfed the earth. So the light-sending God made a new beginning. He sent his Son into that darkness. And while here, that Son said, “I am the light of the world.” But Jesus will stay in the world just a little while, so in the next chapter of John, he adds this: “WHILE I AM IN THE WORLD I am the light of the world.” And before long, Jesus was no longer in the world.
Does Jesus’ absence leave the world without light? No, because Jesus had said to his followers, “You are the light of the world.” Now, through each of us, his followers, Jesus continues to shine into the darkness. And in what location are we to multiply and shine? “. . . in a warped and crooked generation,” In other words, right inside that moral and spiritual darkness. And there we are to “shine among them like stars in the sky.”
There’s no need for a flashlight at high noon. Why light a candle in full sunshine? So Jesus sends his lighted ones not where it is already bright but just where they are needed—right into the darkness.
That dark cloud of sin surrounds countless areas in our lives—including human government. We’re all too familiar with the headlines that swirl around public agencies and officials. If we’re not careful, we may begin to think of government itself as evil.
Yet Scripture is clear that, “The authorities that exist have been established by God,” and that “the authorities are God’s servants, who give their full time to governing.” God gave government for the benefit of his earth, plants, animals, and people.
Most of the good government does never makes the headlines. For example . . . .
Police officers are government workers who are trained to protect us from lawbreakers and violent people. Most of them never engage in the occasional brutality sensationalized in the headlines.
When fire goes out of bounds, firefighters step in to control or extinguish it. They are experts in saving lives in emergencies. Government workers.
Judges and juries have been authorized to settle differences between opposing parties and to let the law decide guilt or innocence. All part of the government.
Those roads and highways that let us travel so easily don’t just happen. Governments arrange for them to be built and maintained.
And, of course, those who examine and license us before we can drive on those roads work for the government.
Why can we take those pills with confidence that the bottle contains what the doctor prescribes? Because government officials protect us by regulating what goes into them.Building codes drafted and enforced by government workers aim to make certain our houses and skyscrapers can withstand earthquakes and hurricanes.
Behind all the police, firefighters, judges, traffic engineers, license examiners, drug enforcers, and building inspectors stands a whole army of support and administrative people who make it possible for them to do what they do for us. All those people need to see the light of Christ demonstrated by coworkers who follow him.
Throughout history, God has shined his light through godly people working in government roles. Joseph, Prime Minister of Egypt, saved countless people from starving. Because of Daniel, a top executive in the Babylonian government, King Nebuchadnezzar acknowledged the true God. Erastus served as Director of Public Works in Corinth.
William Wilberforce, a member of the British Parliament, waged a long war against the slave trade. As a result, Britain enacted the Slavery Abolition Act. Abraham Kuyper served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands.
Darkness has invaded the domain of government. But does that mean Christians should flee from it into some safe, sheltered place? Of course not! As Peter says, we are to “live . . . good lives among the pagans.” Among them. That means we who are now the light of the world are to work elbow-to-elbow with them. Yes, even among those in government.
According to World Bank Blogs, the public sector employs roughly one-third of the global workforce. That means that more than 1 billion people work for governments around the world. So if Christians were to shun government work, that would effectively deprive those1 billion of the light of Christ in those arenas in which they spend a major part of their lives. At any level of government—local, state, or federal—Christians who work there form relationships within their networks. And through those relationships, the salt and light of God’s Kingdom can have their effect.
Charles Colson says If society’s well-being depends on the presence of a healthy religious influence, then, it is crucial that Christians understand their responsibilities in the kingdoms of man as mandated by the Kingdom of God.
The Light Shines — Chapter Three
One-third of the global workforce serves in government roles. Christians must not flee the moral and spiritual darkness there. Rather, we must permeate it with the light of Christ.
