The Mennonites believe that the church is God's holy nation,
with Jesus as its King and Lord who demands total and complete allegiance. Governments in nations of the world have been
instituted by God for maintaining order in societies, but tend to demand total
allegiance as well - and no person can serve two masters or two lords. However, Christians are to respect government
authority and pray for all people. We
(Christians) can live in obedience to the government as long as it obeys by the
laws of love that Christ has set for the church; if the two contradict, we must
live Jesus' commands, not government laws.
However, I (there are mixed opinions among Mennonites as a
whole) affirm participation in government in so far as our jobs or positions do
not break the law of love set up by Jesus.
I find Shane Claiborne's prayer over a solider (in Jesus for
President) to be very helpful for helping all people decide whether or not
their career (in government or out of government) to be Christ-like: pray the
fruits of the Spirit and ask, "Can this position help me to, or allow me to
express and cultivate, the fruits of the Spirit which are love, joy, peace,
patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self
control?" (Galatians 5:22-23). If
not, then we will want to re-think our career choice in order to live for Jesus
with all of our lives and not just parts of it.
A second thing to think about is how the church relates
itself to policy making in governments which rule over believers and
non-believers alike. There is a plethora
of different opinions among many smart, Biblically-orientated Christians on
this issue. Mennonites, I believe, would
be cautious in this regard. We want to speak
into the government's life truth, caution, and love of Jesus and humanity; yet,
we want to remain dedicated to Jesus Christ and him alone.
I personally struggle with this issue. I am uncertain if it is our (Christians)
place to demand obedience to a Christ-like life over non-believers through
government laws. I actually think dependence
on the government strips the church of much of its power to help and show love
to the hurting and poor...instead we push it off to the government to fix and
solve. The poor, instead of looking to the church for salvation, looks to the government for provision and ignores the church. Instead of living a life
different from those around us because of Jesus, we end up pushing laws through
the government that forces everyone to look the same...at times this is to the
detriment of the Kingdom of God because what is passed in law is not
necessarily what Jesus' taught. Certainly
things such as murder, stealing, drug-dealing, violence and rape, and
protection of the innocent is part of a governments duty, and should be. However, I struggle with where we draw the
line as Christians in our involvement with government. Something to think on as we reflect on our
life-journey towards and with Christ.
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