Obama. Romney. Caesar. God.

In my seven years at Bronx Bethany, I have never heard any of our pastors preach extensively about the nuances of political process in the United States of America. Perhaps the closest we've come to that in the past was four years ago, when the presidential election campaign happened to occur at the time we were studying Revelation chapter 13.

But over this past weekend, the weekend before our general election, we intentionally spent time reflecting on the Christian's approach to political process. Our Saturday night service, The Key, held a discussion forum on the subject. The two Sunday English-language services had a traditional sermon format. In all these services, we had the opportunity for contemplation on the role and responsibility of Christians with respect to politics.

In the New Testament we read that the Jews and the early church were based in Jerusalem, but they were being ruled by Rome. There was intense pressure to demonstrate loyalty to Caesar. Pastor Sam spoke on Matthew 22, in which we see Jesus Himself being pressured to make a public statement of where His loyalty lay. The Pharisees asked Him, "Tell us then, what do you think? Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?" (Matthew 22:17)

By saying "give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s" (22:21), Jesus demonstrated a principle that all Christians must appropriate as we engage the political process.

Caesar is in charge of Caesar's realm. We cannot ignore the authority that God has permitted to be in charge of the region where we live. We cannot expect a secular authority to have authentic interest in obeying the word of God. We cannot vote for Obama just because of his Christianity. We cannot vote for Romney just because of his Mormonism. The spirit of Caesar hovers over the United States of America. Neither Obama nor Romney can override Caesar's operations, which are legal and binding. There will still be taxes to pay. There will still be abortions. There will still be restriction of prayer in schools and colleges. There will still be states that permit "marriage" of homosexuals.

God is in charge of God's realm. Fortunately for the Christian, we have a Ruler whose authority far pre-dates that of Caesar. Jesus tells us to give God the things that are God's. What do we give Him? We give our selves, submitting our lives in complete obedience to Him. We give our worship-- through prayer, song, fellowship, and financial support of His work through churches and para-church organizations. And, because we have placed God's realm first, all of Caesar's demands must be addressed in light of what God has charged us to do for His Kingdom. If Caesar asks us to personally engage in actions that oppose God, then we must say no.

Pastor Sam encouraged us to vote on Tuesday, with the understanding that our vote should be pleasing to God. Let us vote for the candidate that we believe will best represent the ideals of God's realm. Our pastor shared Luke 4:18-19 as a guide. According to that Scripture passage, this is what Jesus is interested in:

• The rescue of the poor
• Health and wellness
• The restoration of prisoners
• Education of the ignorant and uninformed
• Freedom for the disenfranchised
• Jubilee- a re-set of society that releases debts and provides housing

Please pray about these things, research the stances of Obama and Romney concerning these things, and vote. It is not a vote based on our conscience, nor on our cultural heritage; it is a vote based on God's compassion. God be with us as we engage our civic duty from a Christian perspective.

God be in my head and in my understanding;
God be in mine eyes and in my looking;
God be in my mouth and in my speaking;
God be in my heart and in my thinking;
God be at mine end and in my departing.
(From a Book of Hours, 1514)