Dear Friends,
The general election has come and gone. The ‘old politics’ is out and the ‘old politics’ is in! The media have acted with ‘shock and disdain’ to discover that members of the new government appear to have conducted themselves in similar ways to the old government. If you thought the era of witch hunts and public humiliation in the stocks was a thing of the past then think again. A few weeks into the new administration and the press have been digging for dirt, parading their finds and trumpeting their success.
What are we meant to think of all this? How should a Christian view such developments.
The first conclusion I have reached is to remind myself that politicians are not meant to be better than the rest of us. They are fellow sinners, with hearts like ours, deceitful and beyond cure. They are not elected to be sinless wonders. They are elected to pursue manifesto promises and govern the nation. If you run through British history some great leaders have had dubious moral behaviour barely concealed below the surface.
There has been, I think, an air of self righteous humbug about the pronouncements of some, especially in the media. As Christians we must never forget that Peter’s instruction to submit “for the Lord’s sake to every authority instituted among men” (1 Peter 2:13) included one of the most corrupt and wicked leaders history has known (Emperor Nero). So I have challenged myself not to expect politicians to be squeaky clean and not to act with shock and horror if they are discovered to have skeletons in their closets.
The reason we have government and law is to curb the worst excesses of the sinful human heart (“to punish those who do wrong and commend those who do right” 1 Peter 2:14). In addition to the laws of the land Parliament is regulated by it’s own rules. Those who are proven to have transgressed should be dealt with fairly according to those laws and rules. They are accountable to the laws of the land and to God on the day of judgment.
The second conclusion I have reached is to suspect the motives of those who seek to act as judge and jury on those they condemn as “sinners”. Over the last few years intolerable pressure has been brought to bear by the media on politicians who they have accused of ‘breaking the rules’ or being guilt of some moral indiscretion. Careers and lives have been ruined. The story of the woman caught in adultery in John 8 is relevant. When the mob seek to enact judgement apart from due process of law Jesus stands against them. Years ago I had a friend who was a barrister. She defended a number of criminals who were convicted for bad crimes. I asked her how she could defend them. if they were obviously guilty. She explained that as a Christian she believed strongly that no individual or group had the right to act as judge, jury and executioner on an individual. God has given us law and due process of law to protect the innocent and condemn the guilty. She saw it as her Christian duty to give the accused the best defence possible under law. She did so “as to the Lord”.
I have realised that as a Christian I should not join in the baying of the crowd.
Finally I have realised afresh how important it is to pray for our government. Paul wrote to Timothy that “first of all .. prayers be made.. for all in authority” (1 Tim 2:1&2). I really have not been praying as I should for the new government and for each member of the cabinet. As a Christian that is one of the best things I can be doing; praying that God would help them to lead well, to be good at what they were appointed to do, that God would help them to cope with the pressure of being in the limelight in our self righteous media driven age and above all that God would graciously reveal himself to them so that they might come to living faith in our Lord Jesus and find forgiveness and hope for the last day.
Yours in Christ Jesus,
John Edmonds
