Is a Christian Apolitical?

In a comment left on one of my blogs I was asked how I could be a Christian and yet speak out against President Obama. At first it bothered me but after processing the comment I came to one conclusion, yes I can speak out against the policies that are clearly against God's policies. I'm not a racist or bigot because I speak out against the downward spiral that our nation is taking. It is, however, my responsibility to stand up for what the Bible says and the way we should be living our lives, not a government mandate.

I am appalled when there are those from our nation that have the audacity to " put down" our country on foreign soil. This is the best nation on earth and I am proud (despite what Michelle Obama has said) of it. I am also proud of the office of the President of the United States. If President Obama were to be treated disrespectfully when on foreign soil (as what happen to the former president) I would be one of the first to stand up for him. But...I have the freedom and the right to speak out against his policies. One is known by their actions. I don't need to know President Obama personally to know that he is on the edge concerning his christian views because of his actions in the role government is taking in our lives. This is my right as a citizen and a christian.

God brings kings and rulers into positions of authority to serve His will but nowhere does the Bible say that we can't speak out. If only the christians of the 1930s would have spoken out about the dispicable things that Hitler was doing to the Jews, maybe he wouldn't have gained so much power. We cannot, as christians, stand by and watch our nation erode away morally and spiritually by going along with policies that God despises. Our nation, and complecent christians, will one day face judgment for where we are going. So...should a Christian be apolitical? I think not.

Pattern for Living

I learned how to sew in an 8th grade home economics class. We each had to make a shirt waist dress to wear for a fashion show of nothing but those dresses. Imagine. In high school, I made some of my clothes and did some minimal sewing while in college. I would always follow the pattern to the "T" so I wouldn't make a mistake. It wasn't until years later that I started to do custom sewing for money.

Custom sewing is a far cry from the shirt waist dress pattern on which I learned to sew. Many times I receive a picture that a client has found in a magazine or one that the decorator has designed for which I have to actually make a pattern. I have many "sewing for the home" books that do help but sometimes I have to step out in faith that what I am making will be what everyone wants. Praying always helps.

How many times do we try to live our lives without a pattern attempting to make one of our own trusting that things will go well? If you're like me, and I'm sure there are others, it's all too often. God gave us the pattern for our lives in His Word, the Bible. Now, we may have the pattern in front of us but decide that the directions don't need to be followed and think our way is better. That kind of thinking is what gets us in a mess. The seams of our life just aren't matching and the garment that we thought we were making is all off kilter. How easy it would have been if we had just followed the directions. Well...we can read the directions but until we proceed in making the garment, we have no idea of how valuable they are. Reading the directions in the Bible help us to prepare for our ministry in the world. We know which parts of the pattern fit together and are able to do the job we are asked to do. In the long run, the finished garment is our own salvation and reward for paying attention to the directions.

Is a Christian Apolitical?