{"id":816,"date":"2011-02-24T16:28:55","date_gmt":"2011-02-24T21:28:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.fbclafayette.org\/?p=816"},"modified":"2011-12-12T09:28:25","modified_gmt":"2011-12-12T14:28:25","slug":"lessons-from-the-political-circus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/church\/lessons-from-the-political-circus\/","title":{"rendered":"Lessons from the Political Circus"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Tug<\/strong>Oh my.<\/p>\n

We live in a representative democracy.\u00a0 The\u00a0underlying premise is that free and fair elections will allow us to choose the wisest and most mature citizens\u00a0to provide seasoned and productive political leadership.\u00a0 That notion is being significantly tested today as a group of our elected officials\u00a0have literally fled the state instead of facing the likelihood that bills they oppose would be debated and then moved forward in the legislative process.\u00a0 Who’s at fault depends on your point of view.\u00a0 The Democrats believe the Republicans are ramming bills down their throats without proper negotiation and compromise.\u00a0 The Republicans insist that the Democrats should return to the statehouse and take the medicine that comes with losing the latest round of elections.\u00a0 When and if the Democrats will ever go back\u00a0to Indianapolis is anyone’s guess.\u00a0 So much for civility and camaraderie in politics.\u00a0 There are at least five\u00a0lessons for God’s people during this unusual time.<\/p>\n

Be reminded of the extent of the curse of sin.<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Sin destroys and separates.\u00a0 It leads to petty division and pointless rancor.\u00a0 But we hardly have to go the the statehouse to be reminded of that truth.\u00a0 Sin isn’t just something that politicians do (especially the ones from that other party–whatever that party is), it is something we all do.\u00a0 This latest political fiasco should remind us of the extent of the curse of sin in our own hearts.<\/p>\n

Pray for our elected officials.<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Paul told Timothy, “First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men,
\nfor kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity<\/em>” (1 Timothy 2:1-2).\u00a0 I’ll be the first to stand in the line of people who do not obey this command as faithfully as I should.\u00a0 Would anyone like to stand in line with me?\u00a0 Perhaps we\u00a0should\u00a0pray more and criticize less.<\/p>\n

Be thankful for the Prince of Peace.<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The abundance of sin is not the end of the story.\u00a0 “Where sin increased, grace abounded all the more<\/em>” (Romans 5:20).\u00a0 God sent His Son, predicted by the prophet Isaiah to be the Prince of Peace<\/em> (Isaiah 9:6), to die a cruel death so that humans could be freed from the power of sin and death.\u00a0 Men and women\u00a0fighting in a sin-cursed world really should not surprise us.\u00a0 What should\u00a0amaze us is that God has made a way for people\u00a0to learn to communicate and solve their problems in a Christ-centered fashion.\u00a0\u00a0The depths of the fights should cause us to marvel\u00a0at the sufficiency of God’s grace.<\/p>\n

Celebrate the unity we enjoy in our church.<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Paul spent the first three chapters of the book of Ephesians explaining the great resources we have in the finished work of Jesus.\u00a0 This understanding of our identity in Christ, also called the gospel indicatives, is the foundation of our relationships in\u00a0the\u00a0church family.\u00a0 That is why the very next subject in the book is unity —\u00a0“Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace<\/em>” (Ephesians 4:1-3).\u00a0 Relationships may be in turmoil down in Indianapolis, but always remember; Sunday is coming.\u00a0 We should always be thankful for the unity we enjoy in Christ as a church.<\/p>\n

Long for a\u00a0better day.<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The day is coming when Jesus Christ will establish His kingdom on this earth.\u00a0 When that happens, the lion will lay down with the lamb.\u00a0 That’s the OT equivalent of, the Republicans will lay down with the Democrats.\u00a0 The sadness of human division\u00a0is another reason to await the return of Christ with joyful anticipation.\u00a0 This world desperately needs the Prince of Peace.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Oh my. We live in a representative democracy.\u00a0 The\u00a0underlying premise is that free and fair elections will allow us to choose the wisest and most mature citizens\u00a0to provide seasoned and productive political leadership.\u00a0 That notion is being significantly tested today as a group of our elected officials\u00a0have literally fled the state instead of facing the… read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[94],"tags":[4213,4211,4198,4212,4210,4173],"yoast_head":"\nLessons from the Political Circus - Faith Church Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/church\/lessons-from-the-political-circus\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Lessons from the Political Circus - Faith Church Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Oh my. We live in a representative democracy.\u00a0 The\u00a0underlying premise is that free and fair elections will allow us to choose the wisest and most mature citizens\u00a0to provide seasoned and productive political leadership.\u00a0 That notion is being significantly tested today as a group of our elected officials\u00a0have literally fled the state instead of facing the... read more\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/church\/lessons-from-the-political-circus\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Faith Church Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2011-02-24T21:28:55+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2011-12-12T14:28:25+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/church\/files\/2011\/02\/Tug_of_War.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Steve Viars\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Steve Viars\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/church\/lessons-from-the-political-circus\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/church\/lessons-from-the-political-circus\/\",\"name\":\"Lessons from the Political Circus - Faith Church Blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/church\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2011-02-24T21:28:55+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2011-12-12T14:28:25+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/church\/#\/schema\/person\/b83c7b6a62eab6b6e07c6659b204826c\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/church\/lessons-from-the-political-circus\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/church\/lessons-from-the-political-circus\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/church\/lessons-from-the-political-circus\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/church\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Lessons from the Political Circus\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/church\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/church\/\",\"name\":\"Faith Church Blog\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/church\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/church\/#\/schema\/person\/b83c7b6a62eab6b6e07c6659b204826c\",\"name\":\"Steve Viars\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/church\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/faith-blog-assets.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/20200408121939\/ViarsSteve.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/faith-blog-assets.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/20200408121939\/ViarsSteve.jpg\",\"caption\":\"Steve Viars\"},\"description\":\"Dr. Viars has served as a pastor and counselor at Faith since 1987. 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