On Obedience to Civil Government, Part 3: "God and..."?

When sentiment and political allegiances drive the Christian's response to government, and they relegate Scripture to a secondary shaper of their beliefs or ignore it completely, God can easily leave the center of their lives and can easily stop being the focus of their meditations. Any sayings of "God and _______" are problematic, because they set God on the same level of importance as (or only symbolically higher than) the other item, usually "country". And it results in a divided loyalty, a divided heart.

Yet, at the same time, God has not called us to ignore country either. We do well to pray for everyone that we can, in any sphere of life:

"1I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone— 2for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. 3This is good, and pleases God our Savior, 4who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. 5For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 6who gave himself as a ransom for all men—the testimony given in its proper time. ...

"8I want men everywhere to lift up holy hands in prayer, without anger or disputing."

- 1 Timothy 2:1-6, 8.

The "lift up holy hands" in verse 8 implies that these prayers for leaders are not half-hearted and passionless! It is an impassioned plea before God for Him to save our leaders, for Him to keep them following Him, and for His name to be glorified to the utmost in our countries and among His people - regardless of what that means for us. And the "holy hands" posture is not intended as a gesture to look pious, but to indicate an ultimate dependence on God, a committing of our way to the Lord. As A.W. Pink writes, "Nothing is too great and nothing is too small to commit into the hands of the Lord." Let us also fast, if we have any question of our passion for Christ or have sensed that we have made any idol that God must smash.

So, as a responsible (earthly) citizen of the United States, I exercise my right to vote, and will vote for the best candidates on the ballot based on my conscience. Yet never does God call me to yell at Him over the results of an election. Whether the people who I vote for win or not, I am still going to praise God for who He has always been, the work that He has done, the work that He is doing, and the work that He will do. I will give an account to God over how I receive the leadership of these officials. And He has said to obey them, according to His perfect will, wherever it does not cause me to disobey Him. This obedience magnifies the glory of God and increases the joy of those whom I obey.

"15Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that confess His name. 16And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased. 17Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you."

- Hebrews 13:15-17