9 ¶
But as touching brotherly love ye need not that I write unto you: for ye
yourselves are taught of God to love one another. 10 And indeed ye do it toward all the brethren
which are in all Macedonia: but we beseech you, brethren, that ye increase more
and more;
11 And that ye study to be quiet, and to do your
own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you; 12 That ye may walk honestly toward them that
are without, and that ye may have lack of nothing.
Paul reinforces a statement he made in 3:6 regarding the
good news that Timothy brought them about their faith and charity. The Holy
Spirit teaches the Thessalonian Christians to love each other, as Jesus taught
his disciples.
John 13:34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye
love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. 35 By this shall all men know that ye are my
disciples, if ye have love one to another.
The Thessalonians have extended their care and concern to
all Christians in the region and Paul wishes that this attitude would continue
to grow.
Paul also instructs them on their position in making a
living. They are to quietly go about their business and, “work with their own
hands.” He says he commanded them to do this. The common laborer, the
craftsman, and the simple man or woman of business and trade have lives that
are consistent with a Christian witness. The person who gambles with other
people’s money, exploits their fears and anxieties, or manipulates them is not
consistent with a Christian witness. Early Christians said that being a Roman
soldier or even the Emperor himself were not consistent with being a Christian
as allegiances were misplaced and religious idolatry was commanded as
patriotism and obedience to the state.
It would be very difficult for a Bible-believing Christian
to be President of the United States. The power to send millions to their death
in war, the need to negotiate and accept behavior that is against God’s
mandates, and to deceive the people, “for their own good,” is not consistent
with being a Christian. The chief executive is not a pastor or a messiah but a
manager of the public’s interest. To demand that this person declare himself a
faithful Christian as a condition for a vote is to ensure that liars,
murderers, and thieves run for the office. The country is not a church and the
president is not a pastor.
In President Andrew Jackson’s day, in the early part of the
1800s, it was unlawful in some parts of the nation for a preacher to even run
for political office. Andrew Jackson refused to participate in a day of prayer
for a cholera epidemic because he said that the people had pastors for that and
that wasn’t the place of the president. Within a few decades, Abraham Lincoln
was declaring national days of prayer and thanksgiving. The presidency was
approaching the level of the pastorate and the lines between faith and politics
were becoming confused.
James Madison, noted by many as the, “Father of the
Constitution,” stated that the government had nothing to say about a man’s duty
to his Creator. The government should not only not intrude but remain silent
regarding religion. He was even opposed to paid chaplains in the military as
eventually the government would tell them what they could and couldn’t pray,
which has happened. Even today, some
vestiges of that sentiment remain as the Supreme Court recently, in a unanimous
decision of both liberals and conservatives, upheld the idea that the Federal
Government has nothing to say regarding a church organization’s relationship
with its ministers in that church and pastor are exempt from employee
protections extended to everyone else (Hosanna-Tabor Lutheran Church and School
vs. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission).
In today’s climate I would be extremely suspicious of a
person running for high office who insisted that he was, “doing God’s will,” or
that God had spoken to him and told him
to run for office. I would be more impressed if the candidate declared his
personal faith but did not add, “God wills it,” to his most important opinions.
Remember what John Emerich Edward Dalberg-Acton, 1st Baron Acton, Lord
Acton, said and remember the entire quote that pertains to this subject. It is
essential in understanding history.
“…Power tends to
corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always
bad men, even when they exercise influence and not authority, still more when
you superadd the tendency or the certainty of corruption by authority. There is
no worse heresy than that the office sanctifies the holder of it….”
Americans, even Christian Americans, have exchanged their
faith in God for faith in government and both left and right are looking for someone
to worship, a messiah figure, hence the devotion to the cults of Reagan and
Clinton, and Obama in the first part of his presidency.
Paul calls Christians to walk quietly minding their own
business, work with their own hands in some useful manner, and be honest in
their dealings with the outside world so that they will lack in nothing which
they need to survive in this hostile environment. He will reinforce this in his
second letter to the Thessalonians.
2Thessalonians 3:11 For
we hear that there are some which walk among you disorderly, working not at
all, but are busybodies.12 Now them that
are such we command and exhort by our Lord Jesus Christ, that with quietness
they work, and eat their own bread.
And to Timothy in praying for leaders, none of whom were
Christians when this was penned.
1Timothy 2:1 ¶ I exhort therefore, that, first of all,
supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all
men; 2 For kings, and for all that are
in authority; that we may lead a quiet
and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. 3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight
of God our Saviour; 4 Who will have all
men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.
The ideal Christian life is not one of ambition toward the
world, of gaining money, power, and influence but of ambition toward God of
saving souls from destruction and living a separated and sanctified life
pleasing to God. Teach your children well lest they become enamored of the
world and get trapped in Satan’s web.
As regards to the one who complains that this attitude would
render Christians has having no influence in the world I would argue that if
the huge number of those who claim to be religious in this country didn’t
support the pornography industry, the liquor industry, the entertainment
industry, or voted only for leaders who showed a consistent testimony of their commitment
to obey the law those industries would collapse and political leaders would be
pressured to be much different than they are now. You have no greater influence
than your own personal actions and consistent moral witness, honoring Christ in
everything you do or say.
No comments:
Post a Comment