Turning America Upside Down

The 2000 political races are now in full motion with much of America's attention now drawn to the primary elections. Billions of dollars will be spent on these campaigns as well as countless hours invested by a great multitude of people. The amount of time and money put in by professing Christians has been something in this election year that has particularly bothered me. I am for every Christian exercising their right to vote, and I am for Christians actively standing up against sin. However, I am greatly disturbed about the significance put upon politics by those who claim to be Christian. I guess my concern was really heightened recently after attending a special dinner given by a Christian political organization. I was amazed at the attendance and the amount of money that must have been spent to provide such a lavish arrangement. My anxiety was brought to a peak, however at the close of the event when everyone stood to sing "Onward Christian Soldiers". I could not help but wonder how supporting a political candidate could possibly have anything to do with being a Christian soldier. Is the war against Satan to be won through political power? What I have gathered from this and the significance placed on politics today is that much of professing Christendom has somehow been fooled and side tracked into thinking that the hope of America lies in having the right political candidates in office. I feel that something must be said on this subject. We need to get Christians to reset their focus back on the main thing - proclaiming the Gospel. The only hope for America is for people to get born again! When Paul came to Thessalonica, the Jews cried out to the rulers of the city, "These that have turned the world upside down are come hither also." Paul didn't come by force with a mighty army. He didn't try to overthrow the government or see that the right people were in power. He came simply bearing the message that Jesus Christ had died for their sins, was buried, and had risen again bringing salvation to all that believed. With this simple message of salvation, people were born anew, lives were changed, and whole regions were turned upside down. If God's people would only get serious about their witness of Jesus Christ, imagine what God could do in our great country! So, how can you tell whether a Christian friend has been deceived into thinking that putting a Christian influence in the government will cure America's problems? If they spend more money on political campaigns than Missions, if they spend more time talking about their favorite political candidate than about their Savior, if they wear plenty of political buttons but lack personal Holiness, if they have no problem canvassing a neighborhood passing out political flyers but they never show up for Church visitation, if they enjoy listening to debates and election news more than the preaching of the Word of God, or in general, if they are more involved in politics than their local Church, the chance is very good that they do not understand what a Christian soldier is. Make sure you let them know by word and example that you are “not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation.” Let’s focus our energy and restore the emphasis on turning America upside down through personal soul winning. By Greg Allgood Deacon - Faith Baptist Church, Laurens, SC.