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HOW TO KEEP A KINGDOM MINDSET IN A POLITICAL WORLD

Kris Vallotton
April 23, 2021

OUR HEAVENLY MANDATE


Do the stories of injustices and evil happening in our world break your heart? Do they stir a holy anger and catalyze a righteous action of justice? There is a reason the injustices, immorality, and evil in our world affect us in a deep and emotional place; we were created to bring light to the dark places of society; the Church was never intended to stay within its four walls. Believers are intended to influence all spheres of society and impact all aspects of culture — this is our inherited role; our divine assignment. Yet as I look at the Church today I wonder: have we become so comfortable gathering our local congregations that we’ve disowned our responsibility to respond to the darkness that surrounds us? 

There was a time in my life that I believed the issues of the world were not my concern. In fact I believed I should remove myself and not ever return to the “world.” I was a young Christian during the Jesus Movement and quickly adopted an eschatology that robbed me from impacting culture and transforming society for years. There was a popular belief among Believers in this time to “come out among them and be separate” (1 Corinthians 6:17) and I quickly grabbed onto it. With all this in mind, I truly had no reason to ever step into the dark places of the world or influence and transform the world around me. I believed I had stepped out of my old life of sin and darkness and I was never to return to those places. But is that really what we’ve been called to do? 

We can’t ignore the fact that injustice and evil surround us everyday; we hear horror stories on the news of wrongdoing in our backyard and evil in our land. Now, let me be clear, we are not of this world. We have been born again, the Holy Spirit lives inside of us, and we are new creations. However, we have also been anointed to preach the good news to the poor, to bind up the broken-hearted and proclaim freedom for the captives...to rebuild ruined cities and restore the places long devastated (Isaiah 61). It is clear, in the kingdom of God the restored become the restorers and the delivered set others free — this is the transforming power of the Gospel.

We have been called to be the light of the whole world — not just the light within the four walls of comfortability and compatibility. If the Church stays huddled on a hill and content with confinement how can we be the light of the whole world? I understand it is easy to feel overwhelmed by the evil and darkness we see and experience around us, causing us to want to retreat to safety and certainty, but this is not the life we have been called to live. The life we are called to was modeled throughout the entirety of the Bible: where most of the miracles happened off the spiritual speedway, in the mundane moments, and in the unlikely ones of society. 

As Believers, we have been given the mandate to make the earth like heaven and disciple nations. Now, this may sound like a big task; an incomprehensible mission that may leave you uncertain of how to begin. But remember that the Spirit of God lives in you! Not only is this the life we have been called to live but the life we have been equipped to succeed in. The very moment you accepted Jesus into your life He moved in and gave you an all-access pass to heavenly strategy, sacred solutions, and answers to the world’s most complex problems. You are a solutionary by nature and a restorer by design; it is inevitable you’d be a kingdom force bringing heaven to earth.


GET RID OF THE POLITICAL SPIRIT


I truly believe the Lord has given His people solutions that will shape culture and strategy that will impact the course of human history. I’d propose that one of the most practical ways to transform culture is to influence the laws that are shaping the world we live in. It is important that we exercise our right to vote, get involved in local government and run for office. However, if we are going to bring the kingdom to earth we must ditch the political spirit and its divisive nature and join our value systems to the kingdom of heaven. Let me be clear, there is nothing wrong with believing and sharing in fundamental, moral, and ideological beliefs as a specific political party. However, I have seen firsthand the infectious and contagious nature of the political spirit. It has plagued our nation and tried to take root in my own heart. It has one mission: to cause division among the children of God and confusion in the hearts of men. 


The kingdom of God is inclusive of all people; it does not have an “us versus them” mentality. The spirit of God has one vision and one mission to love all people and all parties; it is not a respecter of political parties. The challenge is that we live in a world where it has become normal to demonize people of different political parties. The Lord is not a Republican nor is He a Democrat; He is not afraid to use the unlikely ones of society or the foolish to humble the wise. 


I want to encourage you today to run far from the divisive nature of the political spirit and hold tight to the Kingdom values of heaven. My prayer is that the Lord would begin to give you heavenly strategy and divine assignments to impact culture and transform society. You have everything you need in you to trample darkness and be a force of light to the world. 


I would love to hear in the comments below how you have seen heaven come to earth and transform and impact society and culture!

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