Stand up for what you believe

Are Christians allowed to stand up against the government? 1 Timothy 2:1-4 says, “Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the truth and knowledge of Him.” Here it says pray for the government and you will have a peaceful life. We are commanded to pray for the leaders and we should, but what if the laws are against what the bible teaches? What if there are rules that forbid us to worship God? What about abortion? May we protest about things that are biblically incorrect and which are taking away our freedom of religion? If the laws say that we aren’t allowed to meet for a church service, what then?

What did Daniel do when there was a decree that all petitions were to be made to the king and no God or man except him? Daniel continued to pray to God and made it even more evident by opening his windows. The result was that he got thrown into a den of lions. God protected him and he was unharmed. (Daniel Chapter 6)  Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego were supposed to bow to a golden statue of KingNebuchadnezzer but they refused. This is what they said to the king in Daniel 3:17 – 18 “If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us from your hand, O king. But if not, let it be know to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will be worship your gods, not will we worship the gold image which you have set up.” They ended up in a furnace and also were totally unharmed.

Peter and John were told not to speak the name of Jesus, Acts 4:17, “But so that it spreads no further among the people, let us severely threaten them, that from now on they speak to no man in this name.” This is what Peter and John answered, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard,” In Acts 5 Peter and some of the other apostles were imprisoned because they continued to teach about Jesus and then rescued from the prison by and angel. After that they were severely beaten for preaching. Acts 5:42, “And daily in the temple, and in the house, they did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ.”

These people stood up against the rulers of their time. Therefore we can deduce that we can do the same. We just have to remember one thing, we have to be willing to face the consequences of our resistance honorably and joyfully. If there is a bad outcome to our protest, to our passive resistance, to whatever action we take, we have to have the conviction of our beliefs to be able to take it and take it standing. We cannot whine and complain because life isn’t fair. We have to know what we believe. We have to be convinced of what we believe. Don’t sign a petition if you aren’t willing to back up your signature with action. Don’t join a group which stands for something if you aren’t convinced that you are 100% aligned with their beliefs. Social media is a very effective way of drumming up support but don’t be caught in the trap of letting an emotional plea change your mind. Be sure you have built your beliefs on a firm foundation. Be bold by all means, but if you stand up for your Christian beliefs be warned that you must be willing to die for those beliefs.

Black Monday

The call went out for South Africans to wear black on Monday 30 October 2017 in protest against farm murders, and to stand in unity with the farmers who are the backbone of any country’s economy.  The mere fact that violence against farmers now has a name ‘farm murders’ shows how widespread and intense it is. I am wearing black today. I am wearing black for the farmers and for the victims of all violent crime. For the women and girls who are abused and raped and don’t have a voice. For the innocent children who are killed in gang violence. For everyone who in this diverse, beautiful county of ours who is a victim of senseless crime and violence.  My heart breaks for every wife who is now a widow and every child who has lost their father or even both parents due to violence. That is why I am wearing black.

Pray for the leaders

I have had a very difficult week. Emotionally taxing. On Thursday residents of a certain area were protesting about housing. Apparently the money that was supposed to be used to build hoses had been misappropriated. These people were blocking the main road through out town. Trash, large stones and old car tyres we deposited across the road at various strategic points to prevent traffic from entering and leaving. Soon the tyres had been set alight and the police came along to disperse them. Nobody was injured, some damage was done to the potted palms in the middle of town, and there was a lot of debris to be removed from the street. There were a lot of irate motorists and the businesses in town who are dependent on passing traffic lost business. Then the next day the president fired half of his cabinet and replaced them. This obviously had nothing to do with the protests in a small insignificant town. Speculation as to what the repercussions will be for the country are all over the newspapers and internet. And then one of the opposition parties is saying that farms belonging to white farmers must be redistributed to black people.

These things are causing a lot of negativity. Every time you log into Facebook or other social media there are negative comments. There’s a petition that people can sign which is demanding that the president must be taken out of office. Then I saw another Facebook post where a friend of mine said that we have to pray for our leaders instead of demand that they be removed from their jobs. It was not what I expected to see given all the negative and aggressive talk. I thought about it and I realized that this was exactly the reminder I needed. I have had such negative thoughts racing around my head that I was in a bad mood. I was walking around with a frown and finding it very hard to be joyful. I asked God how I am supposed to handle the situation we find ourselves in.

Phillipians 4:4 says “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!” and further in the same chapter, verse 8 says, “Finally bretheren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy – meditate on these things.” So, if we want to be joyful and always rejoice we have to think about good things, great and beautiful things, not negative or ugly things. We have to fill our minds with purity and beauty and things that are praiseworthy. How on earth do we do that when the world is in the mess it currently is?

The Bible clearly instructs us to pray for our leaders. 1 Timothy 2:1-3, “Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our saviour.” I don’t think that Paul said this because he and the ruler had a good relationship. The emperors and kings of that time actively persecuted Christians and Nero gave the order to have Paul beheaded. If we think we’re having a hard time with our ruler I think we ought to update our historical knowledge.

This is how I practically see these verses.

If I want to be joyful I need to think about positive things, but how do I do this when everything I hear and see is negative? I have to start praying for the leaders of my country. I don’t have to like people to pray for them but if I’m praying for them I cannot be negative about them. That means my mind can’t be filled with negative thoughts. If I’m not praying for them I will be thinking about all the negative things I hear and see. Romans 12:2, “And do not be conformed to this world, but transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” I don’t want to be like the rest of the world who are angry and negative and depressed. I want my mind to be renewed so that I can be in God’s will.

I have to pray for them to receive salvation, to be able to make Godly decisions even if they aren’t godly people (yet) and for them to be guided by the Holy Spirit. I am sure that there will be many more things I’m going to discover that I can pray for as I go along. But for now I have to just start praying.