This past year has been spent humbling myself in prayer asking the Lord this question: What does it mean to be a Christian Citizen in a secular country such as the United States? How do I live your will and be a light to others while allowing them their liberty of conscience? How do I best help people to understand that a pro-life position is more than just an anti-abortion position, but one that honors all life the pre-born as well as the life that is already born?
I have yet to receive complete answers to all of these questions. However, the Lord has given me one simple rule that is to choose leaders that will enact and support laws which while honoring the secular nature of the country would represent Godly ways. For example, one question I had early on was weather since the bible calls on individuals to care for the needy and also says in Romans 13 that the only “the only authority is established by God” and that the ruler is “God’s servant.” The answer to the question is not clear, however, it became clearer after I thought about it more and come up with the principle that we must care for the needy. However, I still struggle with a concern about weather civil disobedience is acceptable to God. If you are supposed to as Romans 13 commands to obey the authority then how can one participate in civil disobedience while still obeying God? This is not an easy question because we have had great leaders like Martian Luther King, Jr. who led civil disobedience during the Civil Rights Movement. I suppose he should be a guide as to that question.
What God expected of me became clearer upon close study of Romans 13 and humble prayer how I was to carry out my responsibility as a Christian Citizen. This means submission to family (including marriage) (Ephesians 5:22 – 6:3), church leadership (Eph. 5:21, 1 Cor. 16:16, 1 Pe 5:5), and civil government (Romans 13:1-8) while remembering that disobedience is called for when I am asked to disobey God’s law to follow civil law (Acts 4:19-20).
It is easy to see how this applies in the private sphere (home and Church), however, it is still and always will be a struggle to apply in the public (government/political sphere). This means, at minimum, supporting laws and regulations that support life, marriage, and family while attempting to change those that don’t meet the standards of the Lord. The challenge here is not showing any disrespect for other human beings which we are called to love.
The greatest responsibility of any citizen, but particularly the government is to preserve and protect innocent life. The unalienable right to life is granted in the Declaration of Independence and the bible, as well as by many criminal laws that punish those who murder or kill. However, this means more than being simply against abortion and vowing to appoint justices who over turn Roe v Wade, it also means that all living and pre-born must have access to health care so that they can be healthy. It means access to a quality education, affordable housing, and a safe community in which to live, learn, and worship. An important part of this is creating economic policies (including trade) that reduce/eliminate debts and deficits and encourages investments in human potential.
Supporting marriage and family in the public sphere is more than simply defining marriage as between a man and a woman, but that is a good start. Then we need to move on from there and create a family friendly environment with policies on all issues which allow the family to be the primary place where children are reared. This also means keeping government out of ecclesial affairs. The First Amendment was meant to keep government out of the garden and not the people of the garden out of government.
In conclusion, at this point, being a Christian Citizen means sincerely obeying authority and institutions created by God as well as those that are not created or sanctioned by God. It means advocating changes in policy that honor, life, family, and allow the Church to be the Church. This is part of honoring our citizenship and knowing our heritage.
