“Two things we don’t discuss at the table — politics and religion,” my mom solemnly intoned, and all of us kids took that as gospel. Rightly or wrongly, I held to both of those concepts throughout my military career. As a Marine officer, I felt it inappropriate to become “political,” as the Armed Forces services are all led by civilian leaders.

The flip side is that politics were not as corrupt then as they are now, and the consequences are significantly more damaging. When I became a Christian, I realized that the “no religion” canard was unscriptural.

“For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.” (Luke 9:26, ESV)

You can’t make disciples if you aren’t preaching the Gospel!

What then should be the response of the believer to the current political scene? If my brother Roger is correct (and he is), tens of millions of Christians have not participated in several of the past national elections. How has that worked out for us?

America’s children have been indoctrinated in philosophies anathema to their parents. Crime is rampant. Illegal drugs are killing tens of thousands yearly. The borders are wide open, with thousands of military-aged men from countries hostile to America arriving in a steady stream. America’s adversaries are increasingly emboldened to act in hostility toward our nation’s interests globally.

While it is obvious that tens of millions of Americans who identify as “Christian” have forsaken the political process, what should our proper response be? Scripture gives us God’s perspective.

Jeremiah was given God’s directive to the people of the Jewish nation, who were then told that their exile would last for 70 years. This was God’s instructions to them:

“Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce. Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.” (Jeremiah 29:5-7)

The soon-to-be-exiled Jewish people were told to do business as usual in their new surroundings. Most importantly, they were told to “seek the welfare of the city” where they had been sent and to “pray to the Lord on its behalf.”

I want to put an emphasis on seeking the welfare of the city. Since the exiles were in Babylon, you could make the case that it applied to the nation as well. If Christians are not engaged in the political process, we bear a great deal of responsibility for the spiritual and social decline of our nation. Not participating is a default on our God-ordained calling to live as “sojourners” in this natural world. We are, in a sense, experiencing a similar exile in this world until we are taken to heaven.

Let me make this clear: Our nation’s spiritual decline will not be solved through the political process. Our nation needs another Great Awakening, a spiritual revival and renewal of America’s soul. That becomes increasingly more difficult when we disregard the impact of the political process. The hostility toward Christianity in our nation has never been greater, and it results from the failure of Christians to engage and vote their values.

Scripture teaches that there are two parts to every aspect of life — our part and God’s part. If we expect God to do the part of bringing spiritual renewal to our nation, then we need to do our part in seeking God for our cities and our nation. We pray first, and then we take steps to seek the welfare of our cities and our nation.

What say ye, Man of Valor?
Semper Fidelis!