What Should the Evangelical Christian's Attitude Be Toward the President?

During this presidential administration, it seems that I have read considerably more negative comments and emails toward our president from Evangelical Christians. Even before he was elected, I consistently received emails from Christians "prophesying" about him, which I called "prophetic slander." But what is infinitely more disturbing than Christians slandering the president is pastors that are pandering to the fears of congregants by blasting our president in blogs, Facebook, and other forms of instant media.

What should a believer and evangelical Christian pastor's attitude be toward his or her government - from the pulpit and in everyday conversation about the federal government and, more specifically, our president? Does the Bible have anything to say about what kind of example the pastor and the believer should set when discussing the relationship of the Church with public policy?

I'd like to point to one important passage of Scripture:

"I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone - for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all men - the testimony given in its proper time" (1 Timothy 2.1-3 NIV).

It seems that Paul sent his young protege, Timothy, to serve as a kind of "area presbyter" in Ephesus to fix some problems in the local churches (the main one being that some pastors were teaching false doctrines). The main purpose for sending this letter is found in 3:14-15: ". . . I am writing you these instructions so that . . . you will know how people ought to conduct themselves in God's household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth."

The first principle that I notice from 2:1-3 is the urgency with which Paul exhorts Timothy to pray for "kings and all those in authority." Paul urges Timothy to instruct the churches in Ephesus to pray for them. For Paul, this is a matter of urgency - of first importance (i.e., "first of all"). I do not think that he was making a simple list of topics to discuss with this topic being the first. This is should be an urgent focus of Christian prayer. It is a priority in the life of the Church.

Second, Paul is not selective for whom in government our prayers should be offered. He says that the believer should pray for all those in authority. We do not select who we lift up in prayer because they align with our political agenda. "Well, I am going to pray for this politician because he supports my moral belief system or social agenda, but everyone else I am going to publicly criticize and antagonize." Lately, I have seen pastors and Christians on various forms of media openly and antagonistically criticize our government, especially our president. Even if these Christians say that they pray for him, I am suspicious of these "prayers." I suspect that if they truly are praying, they are praying against him rather than for him.

Paul identified three significant reasons that pastors should be leading the Church in prayer for the government. The first reason is because our primary motivation as followers of Jesus Christ is to please God (Colossians 1:9-13; Romans 12). Praying for our government leaders is not only an urgent and important matter for the Church, it is practice that is driven by the motivation to please God. Paul says in verse 3, "This is good and pleases God our savior." A person's "goodness" is always confirmed by his or her attitudes, behaviors, and practices. Goodness from our heart flows out in how we live our lives. If we have goodness in our heart as followers of Jesus Christ, then it should flow out in our prayers for our president. This is living a life pleasing to the Lord.

The second reason that we are commanded to lift our government up in prayer is so that we ". . . may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness." There are three very important words here: peaceful, godliness, and holiness. We pray for our relationship with the government so that we, as the Church universal and as a local church, may be at peace with the government. In other words, in relation to the government, we are called to be known as peaceful people, not antagonistic people. Also, it is good and pleasing to God that in our relationship with our government that the church should be quiet people and live quiet lives, not loud and obnoxious. That is not to say that we should not vocalize our stand on kingdom living, moral truth, and ethical living. That is not to say that we should isolate ourselves from our communities and our government. However, we should be know more for what we are for rather than what we are against (See my book review on Kinnaman and Lyons' UnChristian who describe this proposal very well).

The third reason we should life our president and our government up in prayer is because God " . . . wants all men to be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth" (v.4). God loves our government leaders and sent his son to die for them, too! If we make this our confession as a central truth, then how can we in practice treat them as if they are beyond hope simply because of their political affiliation? By our antagonistic, crass, and racist criticisms, Christians are practicing a faith that is a contradiction to this truth!

As a follower of Jesus Christ and a pastor in his Church, I want to exhort all pastors and believers to join me by setting the example to God's flock by praying for our president and our government. Paul gives this command to Timothy in 4:11, " . . . but set the example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity." In the Apostle Peter's great exhortation to pastors to have the right motivations in ministry, he says that the pastor should be " . . . examples to the flock" (1 Peter 5:3). The Greek word translated "example" is tupos, which literally means "type." It is an impression, a imprint, or a mark (Rogers and Roger 456). It is used literally to describe an object (like a coin and its inscription) and the impression that it leaves (NIDNTTE). For example, if I press a coin against Play-doh, it leaves an impression. Tupos is both the coin and the impression that it leaves. Figuratively, it refers to leaving a moral pattern of lifestyle. In regards to how pastors and mature believers speak about the president and the government, what kind of impression are you leaving in the lives of God's flock and in the lives of unbelievers who hear and see our antagonistic and critical attitudes? What impression or moral pattern are you leaving when you rant and rail against the president?

I want to be a pastor that is leaving a positive impression in peoples lives by teaching God's flock to " . . . live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way . . ." (Colossians 1:10). God wants us to understand that to truly please him, we will pray for everyone in authority.

Here are three practices through which we as pastors and believers can leave a Christ-like impression. First, we should make it a practice to pray for our president and government leaders, not only in our personal prayer time, but also as an integral part of our corporate worship services and prayer meetings. The goal of these prayers is the salvation of our leaders and the positive influence of the Kingdom of God in the public arena. Second, I want to encourage all pastors and believers to refuse to entertain racist, antagonistic, and unsubstantiated claims against our president. I find that these often appear in the form of emails. Do not read them. Do not forward them. Simply delete them. Also, we should avoid using social network sites to rant about the president and those that are not of your personal, political persuasion. Third, we should carefully evaluate the things we say so that we can be known for what we are for rather than what we are against.

I am convinced that our attitude and speech toward the government is a significant factor in whether the believer is experiencing the favor and blessings of God, the anointing in the ministry of a pastor, and the vitality of the Church of Jesus Christ.

Set the example!