Faith and Politics

Some people say that faith and politics should not mix. I understand the reasons why, but our faith should be deep enough to reach every aspect of our lives. As it happens, Jesus spoke often about highly political and divisive topics of his day, such as economics and the poor, Roman occupation and revolution, and even taxes.

On one occasion, the religious leaders tried to trap Jesus on the issue of whether they should pay taxes to the Roman government. The question wasn’t just about taxes; they sought to pigeon-hole Jesus into taking sides either with pro-Roman factions or with revolutionaries who wanted to overthrow their Roman oppressors. Famously, Jesus responded by saying, “Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God” (Matthew 22:21).

Jesus’ response is exemplary for us, not just because of what he says about taxes, but because of his refusal to align himself lock-step with the political parties of the day. The truth is, no earthly political party will ever be in complete alignment with the kingdom of God. We represent a variety of political perspectives, but we need to remember that even our preferred political groups will sometimes be in conflict with the will of God.

To rephrase a well-known quote from John F. Kennedy, let us not seek the Republican answer or the Democratic answer, but the godly answer!

Blessings,
Pastor Paul Cook