Politics from a Different Dimension

Achieving a Governing Consensus in Congress to Oppose Evil

The inability of the House of Representatives to select a new speaker reflected a symptom of the collapse of the traditional two party structure and the one-dimensional spectrum that typified previous eras. Instead we now have a multi-faction governing structure, irrespective of the labels “Democratic” or “Republican”,  somewhat similar to England, which experiences periodic bouts of political chaos as the conservative, labor, and liberal parties have to negotiate a coalition government. This may be a temporary situation, or a permanent splintering in our political climate and a permanent change to how Congress operates. We will find out how this works out as it unfolds. That is not the primary issue.

The spiritual dimension of our nation’s governance is often discussed, but excluded by the first amendment to the Constitution from being formally recognized. That does not eliminate the reality of conflict in the heavenly realms, most clearly described in the book of Daniel. Satan, the author of lies, deceit, temptation, and rebellion, will mix just enough deception with the truth to create confusion, chaos, and dysfunction in humanity, for the purpose of separating people from God. The rejection of God’s Truth, at its most fundamental level, means that Satan has largely succeeded in the heavenly realms.  Politics that seem confused like an abstract art painting is really a fundamental binary choice: good or evil. White light is split by a prism into a rainbow of colors that can be used to create images, but black only darkens the hues. No single color contains all the wavelengths of white light, regardless of which colors we individually prefer. It is only when the Master artist puts them together according to His vision and plan that the masterwork is created. That results in the beauty of art.

And so political governance, the core of national identity and activity, is really the human attempt to weave together all of the colors of political ideology into the Master’s plan. No single color is the whole picture. A laser is a single wavelength and can do many useful things,  but not everything. A laser can also blind people, and a strong laser can be a weapon like a light saber, or a directed energy weapon. In the realm of the Spirit, God’s entire reality transcends man’s understanding, but He has revealed to us the parts He deems appropriate. We must accept, in humility, that while we hold onto what He has shown us, we don’t by ourselves, or even collectively as humans, have the entire eternal picture. There is great danger in taking Satan’s perspective that we have it all under our control, such is his deception.

As Daniel was shown, the princes of the powers in heavenly realms are opposed by the angels of God. (Daniel 10:12-13) We  participate in that conflict by prayer (as described in Daniel 9:1-19). God’s master plan of redemption does not mean that every person will choose to be saved; the purpose rather is that the eyes of those blinded by Satan’s lies and temptations will be opened so that they can be. It is no coincidence that the dysfunction of a Congress unable to organize itself to operate erupted at precisely the same time that evil was unleashed overseas.

What is the implication of this for political maneuvering in the Congress?

•      Evil is still the enemy, and our first priority must be to oppose it, both in the heavenlies and on earth. Those in Congress must find a way to.

•      Prayer is the strongest weapon for this conflict. Members of Congress should participate. Prayer can cross party lines, and even unite people who focus on different elements of Truth.

•      Different perspectives on ultimate values must be woven together into a tapestry of governing decisions that line up with Romans 13:3-4. Political compromise to achieve a consensus must not be a compromise between good and evil, but on priorities for varying aspects of good.

Of course, only believers have direct access to God and hear His voice and the privilege of doing what He says. God can reveal His power to save even the vilest sinner who repents, but finds difficulty in persuading nominal Christians who are focused on their own prerogatives to turn to Him. He calls politicians just like everyone else. We will find out how many are actually listening.