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We all know the famous nursery rhyme Humpty Dumpty. Humpty Dumpty falls off the wall, is completely shattered, and needs fixing. The king and all his horsemen get involved in trying to take care of this problem. They sincerely want to make the world a better place but it does not work. Unfortunately, believers are also turning to our government to fix our problems and make our world better. We are expecting transformation in our lives and in the lives of others to come from our elected officials.
The Problem
II Chronicles 15:3-6 For many days Israel was without the true God and without a teaching priest and without law. But in their distress they turned to the Lord God of Israel, and they sought Him, and He let them find Him. In those times there was no peace to him who went out or to him who came in, for many disturbances afflicted all the inhabitants of the lands. Nation was crushed by nation, and city by city, for God troubled them with every kind of distress.
Here we have the nation of Israel without God, without a teaching priest, and without true law. The result is that nations are rising up against other nations and there is no peace in the land. God has troubled them with every kind of distress. If God is your problem, then he is the only solution. If God is your problem, your first concern should not be “who is in the White House” but it should be “who is in your house.” If God is your problem, your time should not be spent on getting the right person in Washington but on getting God back on your side.
The Church
One of the greatest diseases of our day is AIDS. AIDS doesn’t actually kill you, it just sets you up to be killed by something else. It makes you vulnerable to other diseases. Your immune system is down and this brings destruction to your body. God’s immune system for the world is the church. The church must be brought back up. A strong church, like a strong immune system, is what will change the world.
Who Do You Represent?
When the question arises of how to vote, look to Joshua Chapter 5. Joshua is on a reconnaissance mission looking to take down the city of Jericho. He sees a captain of a strong army and asks him whose side he is on. Joshua knows that if this captain is on his side he will be a great asset for the army of Israel. However, he also knows that he will be in great trouble if he is on the side of Jericho. The captain responds that he is on neither side but he is the captain of the Lord’s army and is here to take over.
God does not ride the back of any animal, neither a donkey nor an elephant. God is neither Republican or Democrat. When you vote, vote as one who represents the Lord and his kingdom. When a football game is being played there are actually three teams on the field. The two football teams are in complete opposition to one another. One team wants to go one way and the other team the opposite way. The third team on the field are the officials. They are “on” the field but not “of” the field. They belong to another “kingdom” and their job is not to listen to the roar of the crowd or the factions that are resisting one another. They are to follow the NFL playbook they have been given. Every decision that they make on the field is to reflect the book that has been handed to them and the kingdom they represent.
As followers of God, our focus should be on representing God in this world and on looking to him as the only one who can put lives back together.
- Watch the video together or invite someone to summarize the topic.
- What is your initial reaction to this video? Do you disagree with any of it? What jumped out at you?
- Do you find yourself looking to the government to solve the problems of the day?
- How can you be more of a change agent in your community?
- Do you think that God may be using the turmoil in our government to draw people to himself? Explain
- Read II Chronicles 15:3-6 Can you draw any parallels between the culture described and what is happening in our world today?
- How do you think the church should be involved in impacting their community? Are there some areas where you think the church should not be involved?
- Do you ever think to pray before voting and ask God for direction? Why or why not?
- Is there anything that you think you need to change so that you represent God first, and not any political party? Explain.
- Write a personal action step based on this conversation.
This topic is adapted from the lifetodaytv YouTube channel.
