Can we make
supplication, prayers, intercessions and thanksgivings for a king, or in our
time elected officials, while at the same time engaging in the time honored
American tradition of treating those voted into high positions with disdain or
outright contempt? The first Christians had no such choice. The kings and
people in high places for whom they were urged to make supplication, prayers,
intercessions and thanksgivings were actively seeking to put them into the low
place of the grave and frankly their most ardent prayer was simply to be left
alone. The wisdom of this pastoral letter is not about temporal politics but
eternal destiny. God’s most ardent desire is for everyone to be saved and come
to the knowledge of the truth. If our practice of politics contradicts a quiet
and peaceable life then we are to choose godliness and dignity above partisan
positions for the sake of the One who gave himself as a ransom for all. Even so
this text does not prohibit passionate engagement in the political process. It
just reminds us that what is right and acceptable is to make supplication,
prayers, intercessions and thanksgivings for people in positions of authority
keeping in mind that God passionately loves the person we might disagree with
as a politician.
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