By pastorbillwalden
Genesis 3:7-11 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings. 8 And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. 9 Then the LORD God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?” 10 So he said, “I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself.” 11 And He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?”
After Adam and Eve disobeyed God, their eyes were opened, and they realized that they were naked, and they were afraid and embarrassed. They sewed figs leaves together and sought to cover their nakedness.
One aspect of this passage that has intrigued me is this: sin brought a very unhealthy self-awareness into the lives of Adam and Eve. This unhealthy self-awareness or self-conscientiousness didn’t exist prior to their sin. After their sin, they were very occupied with “self”.
Isn’t this part of the fallout of sin? Isn’t this part of the nature of sin? Preoccupation with self? Unhealthy concern about self? Before they sinned, they were free of unhealthy self-consciousness. They were like little kids running naked through the sprinklers on the front lawn. There wasn’t any concern about self. Read more »
By pastorbillwalden
I recently received an email that I have posted below. The received email is in italics, and my responses are in regular font.
As a pastor, I have to try to determine what God would have me to do or not do regarding politics and the church. Here are my thoughts. (BTW, the received email was asking a more broad question about unity in leadership, and wasn’t so much focused on politics per se) Read more »
By pastorbillwalden
In my last post, I wrote out some “reasons” why some Christians might not want to be involved in politics, even including voting.
Let’s consider three of those “reasons” why Christians might sidestep politics, and then let’s consider some Biblical responses. Read more »
By pastorbillwalden
O.K., I’ll try it some more…(green queasy feeling)
Some reasons why I haven’t (in the past) or Christians (presently) don’t get involved in politics.
1. Most, if not all politicians are corrupt. Also, no candidate completely embraces my worldview. There is no one I can fully support, so I’m not voting or campaigning for anyone.
2. Jesus said that His Kingdom was not of this world, (John 18:36) therefore, Christians ought only be about the work of the kingdom of God.
3. Winning souls and Christian service is more important than trying to change a culture through political efforts.
4. It is too difficult to understand the issues and the candidates.
5. It takes too much time to learn about all the issues and the candidates.
6. Democracy is an imperfect governmental style. Rule by the people’s choice will never work. We’ll just wait for the Millennial Reign of Christ.
7. It’s useless to try to change things. The Bible says that things are only going to get worse. Why try to fight it?
8. I don’t care what happens. Read more »
By pastorbillwalden
Over the years I have changed my views on some things. One of those changes has been my view of the need for Christians to be involved in politics, i.e. voting, campaigning, serving in public office, lobbying, etc. (all of course, as one might be led by God)
Generally, I haven’t been interested in politics. For me, it has always seemed like too much effort was needed to stay current on candidates, their views, their voting records, and their promises for change. It was always easier to just keep doing my job as a pastor, knowing that that was a worthwhile effort. Over the years, I have also been busy as a husband, a father and a short term missionary. I have always felt that I was doing my part in serving humanity through the ministry, and that politics just wasn’t for me. I voted, but stayed more or less happily ignorant of much of what was happening.
I believe that some Christians try to excuse themselves from being conscientious citizens, politically speaking. Let me share some thoughts that some Christians might have for sidestepping their political responsibility. Read more »