Christian Living

A Different Standard

by paul hoffmaster
07/14/26
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Christians live by a different standard than what the world offers.  Yet as Believers we are required, to a large degree, to conform to society’s standards.  We are called to obey the laws of the land, while at the same time operating under the Grace of God and Scriptural standards.  Jesus made it clear that we are to give our attention to the affairs of our government while keeping ourselves within the boundaries of God’s Word. (Matthew 22:21)

How we react to governmental authority must be expressed through God’s Grace.  To revert to the worldly standards of negative responses is a step in the wrong direction.  If an elected politician did not complement our vote, we must resign ourselves to the fact that God knows what He is doing. (Romans 13:1)  To oppose God’s placement is to “resist the ordinance of God….” (Romans 13:2)

Christians are not called to endorse political decisions but to accept God’s involvement in the decision-making.  To verbally criticize leadership through personal rejection is to bring us into Scriptural conflict.  The Apostle Paul called the High Priest a name that brought rebuke from the witnesses.  Paul quickly corrected himself by stating that one was “… not to speak badly of the ruler of the people. (Acts 23: 5)  What he was saying was a quote from Exodus 22:28. (This applied to both religious and political leaders.)  When Christians exhibit their political disagreements outwardly, they give credence to the idea that they are of two standards.

The Christians responsibility is to promote our Lord without demoting our political leaders.  We are called to pray for those in authority (I Timothy 2:1, 2), not to make them “prey” for those who want to discredit or destroy them.

Since our citizenship is in Heaven (Philippians 3:20), we are here on a visa trying to help make this country a better place.  As “visitors” in this world, may our relationships with Jesus and others awaken an appetite to explore the abundant life that begins “here and now” and leads to the “there and then.”