COVID-19, Politics and the Bible

“Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer. Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God's wrath but also for the sake of conscience. For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.”--Romans 13:1-7
 
I’m not sure there has ever been a society in which nearly everyone considered himself to be an expert—in everything—from sports to politics to religion. And yet, that is the very society we all find ourselves living in. Social media daily proves to me that this is true. As a culture, we also love to disagree—especially with authority. Is that even debatable? As an Alabama football fan, I’ve listened to fans continually complain about a coach that won 5 national championships in 9 years. What in the world? As a pastor, it’s common to field less-than-reasoned complaints about how “church” should be done. Politicians obviously face this 24/7 on news outlets. The list goes on and on. So, it’s not surprising that this whole Coronavirus crisis has people ranting—loudly and often—and from several different vantage points. What are Christians supposed to do?
 
First things first. 99.9% of us are not doctors, scientists, economists or politicians. Can we just take a moment and admit that? (I’d like to add Biblical scholars to that list—and it would be accurate. But maybe that’s for another blog). I can give you an opinion on COVID-19, but I have zero—literally zero—credentials to back my opinion up. That doesn’t mean I may not have facts to back me up—like the number of infections or deaths from annual flus as compared to Coronavirus. I will be able to find an article that supports my position—no matter what my position may be. That’s nothing new in this digital world we live in. If you don’t believe me, Google “Why the Earth is Flat” and you’ll see. My view is not correct because I find somebody to agree with me.
 
So, what does this have to do with Christians? And what is the Biblical position here? Well look—I am just another blogger with an opinion. Yes, I would consider myself to be a Biblical expert. I should be that—I am a pastor. I am not in any way a zealous political activist. I do not watch news channels. However, I am not naïve enough to believe that politicians on both sides of the aisle aren’t thinking of their political futures as they make decisions during this crisis. They are. Yet, I also do not believe all of our political leaders are trying to tank the economy or kill our citizens. 
 
Here’s the decision politicians are facing—whether local, state or national. First, elected officials could shut everything down in their district. Many vocal citizens are calling for that at every press conference. Understand—if our economy is shut down for a month, there are going to be businesses closed permanently, people unemployed for a long time and homes lost. Some of these citizens will never recover. A recession is likely—and the bucket that is government bailout money is simply not going to be able to be maintained. The government is already giving away money it does not have. This is reality. And this is part of the God-given responsibility for government to consider.

The flip side—if the government doesn’t do something, people are likely to die. We simply do not know how many people that may be. I don’t know how reliable the facts are which our government is being supplied with. It’s only in hindsight that we now know Saddam Hussein did not have weapons of mass destruction. The intelligence said he did—and a politician has to act on the information he/she has. Some models show COVID-19 being an illness in which massive amounts of Americans will die—millions. The current numbers do not reflect that—but we are not looking at numbers in hindsight. We are looking at statistics about an illness that has only been on American soil a few weeks, as far as we know. 
 
If somebody asked you, “How do you want to die—by being shot or being beheaded?”, how would you answer? That’s a tough question. And yet, that’s the type question politicians are trying to answer as they are advised by real professionals—experts who disagree vehemently. It simply is not an easy job. And none of us can see the future. We will absolutely look back and see how things could have been handled differently, I am certain. But hindsight is 20/20. It’s easy to criticize as we reflect on a crisis. But that’s not where we are right now. At this moment, there is a great unknown as it relates to the spread of this virus.
 
Those of us that are not experts need to leave the decision-making to the ones that God has instilled with such authority. And listen—New Testament believers truly knew what it was like to live under an oppressive government. Yet notice the words of Paul in our text—“… he is God's servant for your good.” That’s what God has given government the authority to do.

I, for one, am glad this decision isn’t in my hands. The decisions made will affect the lives of most of the governed people—whether it be economical or health. Most of the people are going to complain about the decisions made—no matter what decision is made. That cannot be avoided. It’s a tough job at the moment.
 
Let me be clear here—I certainly understand the passion and the concern at this time. Our lives are being touched in an unprecedented fashion. None of us have ever faced anything like this before. And certainly, there may soon come a time in which we need to voice an informed opinion to our representatives as to how this is being handled. But even then, anything we say must be seasoned with grace and respect for the God-ordained entities who make decisions. This is always proper whether your favorite candidate (or party) is in office or not. And let me add my own two cents—such a response should be based on actual facts (as we have researched them) and not voiced merely according to a party line. We are not called to be political mercenaries. We are not political fanatics. You may recall, Jesus made one zealot an apostle (Luke 6:15). The zealots were political extremists in every sense of the term. And yet, there isn’t a shred of history (Biblical or secular) that suggests his passion was anything other than sharing the Gospel as he served Jesus for the rest of his days under a truly oppressive regime. History suggests that he carried the Gospel north to the British Isles where he finally was martyred—not for his political activism, but for his witness to the resurrected Savior. Quite the example for us, I’d say. This is what a relationship with Jesus does. There is a complete worldview change.

So at this time, let believers pray for those in charge. Paul wrote to Timothy saying, “First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.” (1 Timothy 2:1-2). Pray for all of our political leaders so that we are given the opportunity to be “peaceful…quiet…godly and dignified.” This is part of what it means to be a child of God. That’s not everything—we are also to be sharing the message of a crucified and risen Savior with the world. But this we know—anarchists are living contrary to the clear commands of the Word of God. And let me stress this again—Paul wrote to a world that knew political oppression on a scale that we simply cannot comprehend. 

Child of God, pray for your leaders—even the ones you do not support with your vote. Be obedient until they single out churches and demand we cannot do something that the Bible commands us to do—or vice versa. Take the opportunity to share the Gospel with a society that is afraid of imminent death. And thank God right now that your decisions aren’t affecting the lives of millions—whether it be their finances or their health. Such a burden is a load that most of us do not want to carry. But we surely don’t mind complaining about the ones who are instituted by God to do so.