The Good News Magazine Reader Update -- May 2007

The Good News - A Magazine of Understanding

Dear Friend,

Have you ever considered the "politics" of God?

Every nation goes through—either in an orderly way or chaotically—cycles of governmental change. Here in the United States we are already deeply into the early processes that lead to the November 2008 presidential elections, and it is already, predictably, getting "messy."

"Government" and "politics" are two distinctly different things. Theoretically, government and the positions of leadership should be among those most valued in a society. Indeed, the good news of the coming Kingdom of God is that Christ's rule will become the most valued governmental system humanity has ever had.

In today's world, however, despite the fact that the words politics, political, politicize and politician actually have some positive definitions in the dictionary, people far more commonly react negatively to those terms and the people who bear them.

In May 2002, for example, a BBC survey of 12,000 people in Britain found that "Member of Parliament" was the very least respected of 92 possible occupations! Doctors ranked highest, closely followed by nurses, teachers, firemen and paramedics. How sad, and ironic, that the "public servants" governing the affairs of the state are among the least esteemed.

Why is that? A television interview I saw recently explained it well. A veteran politician, commenting on a colleague's "half-truth," said: "Well, that's just politics!" Listeners knew what he meant. Politics has earned a reputation as having a very dirty side, so much so that the word itself is synonymous with some of the seamier sides of human nature. Consider these revealing observations about politics from people of extremely diverse backgrounds and ideologies:

"Politics is almost as exciting as war, and quite as dangerous. In war you can only be killed once, but in politics many times" (Sir Winston Churchill).

"Politics is such a torment that I advise everyone I love not to mix with it" (Thomas Jefferson).

"Politics is war without bloodshed, while war is politics with bloodshed" (Mao Tse-Tung).

"In politics nothing is contemptible" (Benjamin Disraeli).

"In politics it is necessary either to betray one's country or the electorate. I prefer to betray the electorate" (Charles de Gaulle).

"Politics, as the word is commonly understood, are nothing but corruptions" (Jonathan Swift).

"Politics is not a bad profession. If you succeed there are many rewards; if you disgrace yourself you can always write a book" (Ronald Reagan).

"Politics are not the task of a Christian" (Dietrich Bonhoeffer).

"Politics, in a sense, has always been a con game" (Joe McGinniss).

"Politics: a strife of interests masquerading as a contest of principles. The conduct of public affairs for private advantage" (Ambrose Bierce).

In the coming months, the reality of these statements will play out once again in ugly political wars. Members of parties will fight first among themselves for nominations, then fight other parties to either overthrow or retain offices.

We must be careful, though, to not be too self-righteous and disdain government as though manipulation and scheming for power and influence is strictly limited to that arena. It affects all of us. It begins early in life and is learned well on the school playgrounds, in sports, in the workplace, within families, even in religion. It is truly one of the greatest evils plaguing humanity.

The Garden of Eden story in Genesis chapter 3 describes how politics at its worst entered the human realm. Satan pulled out all the tricks to sway Adam and Eve to "vote" for his way instead of God's. He twisted information, cast God in a bad light and told outright lies. The father of dirty politics persuasively, sneakily and cunningly appeals to the baser human nature of everyone, including you and me, and humanity has learned his system well. It's not just in the government of states—it factors into anything governing human relationships.

One doesn't have to be involved in the world's government to be affected by the world's spirit. It often occurs in less obvious ways, anytime selfish ambition, self-will, pride and ego creep into our ways of thinking and behaving.

That's why Christ had this recorded for His followers: "Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues" (Revelation 18:4). Christ demanded that His disciples really change their ways of thinking from the world around them, and that demand is yet incumbent upon His followers today.

In The Good News we try to explain the "politics" of God, that which we will find in His Kingdom, under His government's administration—truth, honesty, humility, love, peace, unity, service, encouragement, sacrifice, esteeming others better than ourselves, justice and mercy.

When those righteous qualities govern our lives, we see the beauty of God's way in the individual, in the family and in society. As we watch the politics of human government at work in the world, we must take to heart the need to labor diligently to establish the government of God in our hearts and minds. God says that those who follow Him are "ambassadors for Christ" (2 Corinthians 5:20), representatives of a governmental system that must stand as a powerful witness in contrast to the governments in the world.

For more on this topic, you may be interested in reading our booklet Transforming Your Life: The Process of Conversion. In addition, an excellent article on politics titled "Could Jesus Be Elected President?" is available online and is an interesting read!