Being A Biblical Wife in A Modern World

Respecting The Authority 

"Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good, to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and to show true humility toward all men." ~ Titus 3:1-2~

I want to talk about earthly government today. It seems only fitting since the Presidential election is in full swing and both parties have officially declared their nominee. As an American citizen, this is an exciting and overwhelming time for our communities and our country as a whole. We are so fortunate to have the freedom to be able to vote for our nation's leaders. It is a right that is so easily taken for granted but one that is so valuable and special to the United States of America. 

With voting and elections comes campaigning. Heated debates are bound to occur and politics are most likely seeping into our everyday conversations. Most of us know who we are going to vote for and many of us are vocal about our choice... that's what campaigning is all about! The freedom of speech is essential in an important event like choosing our next President of the United States of America. But as a Christian, where do we draw the line? How do we choose to voice our vote? Are we building our candidate up or tearing the opposite party down? 

I came across today's verse from Titus as I was flipping through my Bible to find my way to a verse in Hebrews... and I am so glad that this caught my eye!

"Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good, to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and to show true humility toward all men." ~ Titus 3:1-2~

I was anxious to dig a little deeper about these two particular verses and my study Bible states:

*New Testament teaching is not confined to the area of personal salvation but includes much instruction about practical living. Although believers are citizens of heaven, they must also submit themselves to earthly government and help promote the well-being of their community. 

*The terms "rulers and authorities" refer to all forms and levels of human government. 

When I read this I immediately found myself focusing on some things that I have seen floating around on Facebook recently... the bashings of our current President, the bashings of his fellow nominee, horrible political cartoons, distasteful articles poking fun of our leaders. But what disappointed me the most was that these things have been posted and proudly supported by Christian men and women. Now... I am not perfect in all I do or say (that could be a WHOLE other post!) but I am a firm believer in truly supporting something that you love instead of putting down something you dislike. I've seen a banner on Pinterest that pretty much sums up these feelings:

Promote what you love instead of bashing what you hate. 

I am aware that the above statement is not from the Bible but doesn't it follow some of the teachings of the Bible? As Christians, we should try to remain uplifting, positive, helpful, humble, and obedient. We should not judge or put others down- even if we do not agree with everything that they stand for. We can promote our faith and beliefs in a Godly way and that includes promoting our Presidential nominee of choice. 

Before we open our mouths or press "send" on our computers, we should take a moment and make sure that what we're saying or doing is Christ like. We need to be exercising our rights as American citizens but we need to be obedient to His Word as well. Our verse from today clearly states that we need to respect our leaders (regardless of political party!) and continue to campaign and fight for our communities but with compassion, consideration, and humility. 

I really try to not get involved in political chats, especially using social media, but seeing some of these articles and postings by fellow Christians has been extremely disappointing. I am hopeful that for the next two months we can make an intentional effort to promote our nominee in the most positive of ways and to remember Titus 3:1-2 as we deal with what is already a sticky situation... politics.