CHURCH AND POLITICS

CHURCH AND POLITICS

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INTRODUCTION:

It’s of great importance for us to say what Church and Politics is, and that it is a great topic. Some people are of the opinion that Pastors and other Clergy men should not participate in politics given their sacred office. This is because they think that Politics is as it is called "a dirty game"; no it is not, but how some people play it is what matters and so these group of people who makes it dirty should not involve themselves in it. Then the question that arises is, why should clergy men not be in it?

Participation of clergy men in politics should strengthen the system as men indulge in dubious characters. The clergy men in politics should oppose evil system/s whenever it is introduced by the President, Governor etc. An example of this was I kgs.17:1. On a particular day the prophet Elijah stood against King Ahab and said, “As the God of Israel lives before whom I stand, there shall be no rain or dew all these years but according to my word”.

You might ask, what was the reason for this kind of confrontation against Ahab who was the king of Israel or say the President of Israel at that time? Ahab as the King had led his people Israel into the worship of Baal, which was idolatry, leaving the living God which Israel was known to serve. In fact, he allowed his wife Jezebel to mislead him into joining that Baal worship. And so Elijah who could not take it from him had to confront him openly. That was a good check from the clergy men against the evil practices of some men in authority.

Therefore if clergy men are not involved in the politics of their nation/s, these evil men will bring their whole Countries into occultism, or into something no one would escape easily. The confrontation of Elijah against Ahab at least helped to educate the people of Israel to know that they had been misled, and it would also help to reduce the speed with which these men do these things.

When they know that some people are watching them, it would make them to begin to select certain things which they would involve themselves into, knowing that eyes are on them. But if there’s no check, they would easily dabble into so many things and the people would join in their evil practices unawares.

So it is not a good suggestion that clergy men should not   involve themselves into politics. This concept will not only come from the evil one Satan, so that his people will continue to drag everyone into occultism or ritualism, or even into the worship of a strange god, but it will continue to hold people into bondage through governance. And by so doing, there is no check for the excesses of this evil group in authority.

In another example, in the days of Amaziah as king in Judah, such thing happened. Amaziah as the king of Judah went to war with mount Seir and defeated them, but carried their god which could not save them and began to worship it, what a pity? And the prophet Obadiah had to confront the king for defeating the people of mount Seir and afterwards carried their god and began to serve it 2Chron. 25. 

A god that could not deliver himself from the hand of the king, yet Amaziah carried and began to serve these gods, what a shame? But when the prophet confronted him, do you know what he asked him, “Do you want to die?” “Who made you the king’s adviser?”

But even though the king did not take the prophet’s advice, there was a call to his conscience or appeal to his conscience to order.  Of course yes, these people in authority do not allow their conscience/s to detect good things for them, except they are confronted in some other ways.  Just think about how many people in authority with good conscience/s.

This is why clergy men and the rest should get involved into politics, just to help strengthen the system, so that people could be free to serve the living God.
God bless.