The Consequences Of Politics

I listened to part of President Trump’s rally in Pennsylvania and was impressed with one thing in particular that he said. He commented that it’s going to be extremely important for Evangelical Christians and gun owners to vote this election because of how the Left plans to go after these two groups and take their rights away.

The Left no longer even tries to hide their total disdain for the Second Amendment and personal firearm ownership. With the exception of closing some churches during the Great Wuhan Kungflu Overreaction, they really haven’t turned their attention on Christians all that much. Perhaps that in itself should be some cause for concern, but for the purpose of this article, let’s focus on the importance of political awareness for the aforementioned groups, Christians in particular.

There are those who feel that politics and Christianity are polar opposites, and should always remain so. Unfortunately for the folks who feel that way, that is not reality. We live with the consequences of politics every day of our lives, whether we know it or even want to admit it.

The act of voting in an election, any election, is as close to politics as a lot of people get, including believers. These folks are as far from being a “political junkie” as you can get. They don’t volunteer to work for a candidate, don’t go to rallies or debates, and usually ignore all campaign literature and other communications. They’re the ones who claim “…not concerned with politics at all.”

How wrong that assumption can be. Not being involved with politics in a physical way does not mean you’re free from the consequences of politics. And those “consequences” present themselves daily in ways we take for granted and/or ignore.

Take driving for instance. You need to acquire a driver’s license to drive legally. Your vehicle needs to have current tags/license plates, registration, and in most states proof of insurance. All of this is part of the law, which would have been enacted by the legislature of the state in which you live. All of it-driver’s license, car tags, registration, insurance-comes from politics.

Stay with me here. So you get in your car to go somewhere. The seat belt you fasten became law in 1968. The speed limit you drive is regulated by law. These are just two examples of politics we take for granted.

Since we’ve already mentioned licenses, let’s go a little further with that topic. Not only do you need a license to drive, due to politics you also need one to: hunt, fish, open a business, practice law, work in the medical field, be a vendor at an event, tend bar, work in certain positions in the food industry, work in many of the building trades, and in some communities your bicycle requires a license. Your dog certainly needs one. And if you want to get married…

This is by no means an exhaustive list of the types of licenses or the activities that require one. The point is that a license is a bit of government political authority that we take for granted. The first driver’s licenses were issued in Chicago and NYC in 1899-yeah, the idea has been around that long.

Similar to licenses are permits and certifications. Licenses and permits are issued by government agencies. Permits differ from licenses in that they are temporary and are issued for specific activities such as building permits. Certifications are non-governmental, but still political because they are required by some professions to prove compliance to a standard.

In reality, licenses do three things:

• It’s a tax. If you have to pay money to the government for a permission slip to do something, that’s a tax.
• It sets a minimum standard.
• It’s a means of control. The government knows who has the licenses and permits. They have expiration dates, or can just plain be revoked.

Let’s go back to your car now. You’re wearing your seat belt, driving the speed limit in your properly registered, tagged, and insured vehicle, on your way to the grocery store.

When you get there, here’s something to consider: the entire store is the result/consequence of politics.
The temperature of the coolers and freezers is regulated. Food storage regulated. Handling of fresh produce, seafood, meat, and dairy is highly regulated. Pick up any pre-packaged food item and all that semi-microscopic print on the label is the consequence of regulations and high-priced attorneys. In some communities, your favorite store’s hours of operation are regulated.

The point of all this time spent discussing licenses and grocery stores is this: the consequences of politics permeate our lives every day. We may not want to admit that, but we can’t escape it.
Being aware of the consequences of politics is just the starting point. If we’re not, then we have no realization of what the Left wants to do to us. Not only do they want to take away our freedom to produce and publish content such as this, they definitely want to take away everyone’s freedom of choice to read it in the first place. And they will attempt to do that by manipulating the law.

In conclusion…
In Matthew 22:21, Christ said “Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and unto God the things that are God’s. ” Notice that Christ didn’t say “…ignore Caesar.”

In Exodus 18:13-26 we have God’s example of how a people should institute self-government. Granted, it was a rudimentary form of representative government, but it served Israel for 410 years.

Remember…we have a Republic…if we can keep it.