Introduction to the "Vote for Jesus Devotional"

And Jesus said to them,

“Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s,
and to God the things that are God’s.”
Mark 12:17 (NASB95)

8 He has told you, O man, what is good;
And what does the Lord require of you
But to do justice, to love kindness,
And to walk humbly with your God?
Micah 6:8 (NASB95)

Honor all people, love the brotherhood,
fear God, honor the king.
1 Peter 2:17 (NASB95)

Introduction

Two things never to talk about in “polite conversation,” religion and politics. You’ve heard it for years. I have. I don’t know if the advice is good or bad from a camaraderie standpoint. But one thing is sure, it is impossible to not talk about religion and politics if a Christian is thoughtful about his faith and responsibility in the world.This simple devotional that will be serialized on the blog is about the intersection of these two great topics of controversy, religion and politics. I am convinced about three things concerning that intersection:

1) not only can these two topics be discussed rationally and insightfully, but that they must be if we are to be faithful to the risen Christ in this or any age, and …

2) the book of Proverbs is a good place to start the discussion. And finally, …

3) the message of Proverbs—that character counts—is correct, both for us as individuals and for the leaders of our nation.

It is therefore a good place to begin because it is God’s word, it is practical, and specifically, it is counsel from a ruler to a future ruler. What better place could there be to begin?

In addition, the book of Proverbs is “pithy.” It dresses its truth up in memorable pictures and short sayings that penetrate our minds and linger long, yielding in their length, greater insight with each passing glance. There is humor. There is a bit sarcasm and skepticism. There is irony. It is nuanced, yet straight-forward and even blunt at times. And above all, there is wisdom. Wisdom sifted through experience and purified by the superintending of God’s Spirit.

In short, Proverbs contains exactly the kind of thing we need in the dizzyingly complex political landscape of our democratic republic in the 21st Century. The book of Proverbs can help us think better. It can help us think biblically. It can help us think practically. Derek Kidner comments on the way truth is presented in the book this way:

“‘Make the bad people good, and the good people nice’, is supposed to have been a child’s prayer: it makes the point, with proverbic brevity, that there are details of character small enough to escape the mesh of the law and the broadsides of the prophets, and yet decisive… Proverbs moves in this realm, asking what a person is like to live with, or to employ; how he manages his affairs, his time and himself. This good lady, for instance—does she talk too much? That cheerful soul—is he bearable in the early morning? And this friend who is always dropping in—here is some advice for him… and for that rather aimless lad…

It is not a portrait-album or a book of manners: it offers a key to life. The samples of behavior which it holds up to view are all assessed by one criterion, which could be summed up in the question, ‘Is this wisdom or folly?’ This is a unifying approach to life, because it suits the most commonplace realms as fully as the most exalted. Wisdom leaves its signature… In other words, it is equally at home in the realms of nature and art, of ethics and politics, … and forms a single basis of judgment for them all.”1

Wisdom is what we need in our leaders and it what we need to choose our leaders. The issues of our time are too complex, too important, and too filled with emotion. In order to guide us through the fog of the so-called “cultural wars” we need not bland (or excited) appeals to "experience" or "change" but real, rock solid wisdom that stands the test of all time. I hope these devotions help us along that path.

July 1 will begin the first devotion based on Proverbs 1.

Footnote:

1. Derek Kidner, Proverbs: An Introduction and Commentary, in the Tyndale Old Testament Commentary series, D.J. Wiseman, General Editor. (Leicester, England and Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity Press, 1964) 13, italics added
.