Autumn Song

“Nama, you have to say, ‘Please may I have a spot of tea–’” my two and a half year old granddaughter Sadie instructed me this afternoon as we sat at her little play table. When I complied, she cheerfully responded, “Certainly! I have a fresh pot!” We chatted as we sipped our pretend tea and I gazed upon that beautiful, sweet face of innocence.

I cannot count the number of times I have gazed into the faces of each of my grandchildren, as I did Sadie’s as we sipped our pretend tea, wondering what lies ahead for them. I have prayed, over and over, for each one of them as Jesus prayed for His disciples in John 17, “not that you take them out of the world, but that you protect them from the evil one,” especially as I consider how far our nation has fallen from morality, justice, and truth. Many times, I’ve felt desperate for individuals in our nation who would rise against the tide of ungodliness that’s sweeping over our land, and I have felt intense remorse that these beautiful young children have come into a world that’s straddled them with such unfathomable debt and is drowning in such moral decline.

As a mother, and now a grandmother, I know what it’s like to have the intense, innate drive that a woman has to protect her young. It’s in the fiber of who and what I am. This concern for the freedom and protection of my posterity is what forms the passion with which I am compelled to participate, however I appropriately can, in the civil sphere.

Yet frequently, I still hear Christians comment that they are “not called” to participate in political issues, and far too often women are content to remain uninformed about what is going on in the political arenas. It baffles me. With the unprecedented collapse of morality, and the continuous loss of liberty in our land that has a direct effect upon our children and our homes, it seems evident that every Christian’s duty is to be informed, and to learn to apply the truths of God’s Word to civil government.

In order for success to be found in the lives of our posterity, there must be an unwavering commitment to ‘eternal vigilance’ in all three of the spheres of God-ordained government: the home, the church, and the state or civil sphere. Each of these spheres is equally valid, and each is subject to the ultimate authority of God. In the home, the church, and the civil sphere, we are responsible to uphold a high standard of godliness in order that we may realize the blessing of God.

It’s ludicrous to suggest that a parent should wait to feel ‘called’ to train his children. It isn’t good enough to merely father children into this world and then retreat, believing that one’s responsibility in the home is accomplished. Or, that having fathered children, someone else who is ‘called’ can take on the responsibility for the remainder of their training. As Christians, fathers and mothers are necessarily compelled to maintain a high standard of godliness in the home, to diligently train their children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, and to protect them from harm. Every parent will attest to the fact that this exercise is one of ‘eternal vigilance.’ There are no days off.

Likewise, Christians have no option as to their involvement in the church. Just calling ourselves Christians isn’t sufficient for the success of this God-ordained sphere. We are instructed in the Bible that when we come together in the church, every one has something to contribute, and it is every Christian’s responsibility to guard the integrity and purity of the church. The adverse affects of a deviation from the godly standard in either the home or the the church is obvious– and sadly, our land is currently rife with them.

In America today, we are also suffering the unfortunate results of deviation from a standard of godliness in the civil sphere, the shocking result of Christians’ having retreated from this very important area of influence. When Christians retreat, the ungodly rush in, and all of us are left with the chaotic and immoral influences that seek to infiltrate every corner of our lives, robbing us of more and more God-given freedoms.

It isn’t good enough to just vote, although voting is essential. It also isn’t sufficient to merely be a member of the correct political party. Every Christian must find where his or her areas of responsibility lie in the civil sphere, and commit to it. That does not necessarily mean running for office (although we do need Christians in offices), but we all need to be informed and involved. Because if Christians aren’t willing to raise a high standard of godliness in the civil sphere, there is nothing left for our children except tyranny in an already godless society.

The Bible records the story of Hezekiah in what is likely the epitome of a parent’s disregard for his posterity. When Isaiah warned Hezekiah that everything he owned and everything his “fathers have stored up for this day shall be carried to Babylon,” and that his own sons would be taken away and become eunuchs [i.e. the end of his posterity] in Babylon, his response was incomprehensible: “The word which you have spoken is good. Is it not good if peace and truth be in my days?” (2 Kings 20:16-19) Whatever happened to the great and godly king of Israel?

Christians today, even the ones who truly seek to obey God sincerely, are living in a large degree in this “Hezekiah mentality.” As long as they themselves are comfortable, they hold little or no regard for their posterity, and will sacrifice very little for their children beyond giving them the material satisfactions that can guarantee their current comfort. The message cannot be clearer: everything we own and everything that our forefathers have laid up for us is on the brink of being carried into “Babylon.” And we will lose our children, unless we determine to do whatever is necessary to secure our, and our posterity’s, liberty.

John Adams once wrote, “The science of government is my duty to study more than all other sciences…I must study politics and war, that my sons may have the liberty to study mathematics and philosophy.”

Obviously, not everyone will run for office for the sake of the cause, but there are so many places where individuals, and women in particular can participate. Dan and I raised our young family by having them with us during discussions on political issues and candidates, by taking our children with us to participate in the election process, in campaign parades, handing out flyers door to door, phone-calling, or waving signs. We all worked hard as we participated together in election rallies (helping to decorate, organize, run tables, hand out information…) or campaign dinners and events. In their adolescence, our kids wrote speeches, articles, or letters to the editor dealing with various issues, applying the truths of the Bible to their reasoning and conclusions.

As a young mother, my daughter-in-law is currently committed to staying informed on issues, and often calls representatives to voice her support or objection over current issues and bills being considered. Writing is a better way for me to express my support or concern, so I frequently write letters to the editor of several papers (*I will include some of these in future articles.) And, by all means, it’s so important to have discussions with your children, even your young children, about the issues that affect them and the necessary qualifications of the candidates. (*I will also be posting an upcoming article on teaching your young children a basic understanding of “government.”) In recent days, my five-year-old grandson has been wearing a sticker supporting a current godly candidate for sheriff, and my reference to his comments about the then-presidential race that I wrote about in my previous article, “The Impossible Calling of Motherhood” is a clear indication of the conversations that take place at his house.

Even now, my husband and I are currently involved in a Christian political party whose structure includes holding study groups in order to educate the grassroots in the absolute importance of applying our faith to the understanding and practice of civil issues, politics, and the structure of our civil system. We host planning and educational meetings at our home and are preparing for hosting upcoming study groups. Furthermore, prayer groups are absolutely essential for our nation! As God told Solomon, “If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” (2 Chron.7:14)

For the sake of our posterity, Christians have a responsibility to be involved in the civil sphere, and to faithfully teach our children the causes and effects of good, God-honoring government. Long ago, George Washington exhorted the people of our nation to understand their responsibilities in light of God’s sovereignty. He urged them to “raise a standard to which the wise and honest may repair. The event,” he said, ” is in the hands of God.”