Many preachers understandably shy away from talking about politics in today’s divisive and febrile political climate. There are so many pitfalls when considering how to engage that it may feel easier to stay away from the mucky business of politics altogether.

But as a Christian involved in political life, I want to encourage you to engage. I believe God cares deeply about politics and his people should too.

At its fundamental level, politics is about how we organise our society. God loves every member of society, for we are all made in his image, and so he cares about how we treat one another. In fact, the Bible tells us that God ordained good government as part of the creation mandate and expects us to exercise good stewardship on his behalf.

I want to offer five encouragements for preachers to engage well with politics. My aim is not to suggest what to think about politics, but how to think about it through a Christian lens, and my hope is that this will encourage you as you seek to speak wisely to your congregations about the issues facing society today.

1. POLITICS IS INTRINSIC TO OUR LIVES AND WE SHOULDN’T SHY AWAY FROM IT

Most people give very little thought to the details of daily Parliamentary business. You might contact your MP if you are concerned about a particular issue or have a problem that you need help to resolve.

But many Christians are inclined to shudder at the political climate and decide that they ‘don’t do politics’. However, politics ‘does’ us!
Politics touches all our lives in multiple ways. Deriving from the Greek ‘polis’, meaning city or community, political decisions determine how much tax we pay, the cost of our morning coffee, the potholes we swerve around on our way to church. Politics has something to say about the house-building in our neighbourhood, the safety of our streets, and hospitals that treat us when we are sick. Politics has much to say too about how we care for those who are most vulnerable – the elderly, the sick, orphans, refugees, people with disabilities, people who find themselves outside of society.

In a country of nearly 70 million people, we need systems and processes to run our complex society. And as Christians we surely believe that God, who loves each of us enough to die for us, is interested in every aspect of our lives. In the Gospels, Jesus ministered to souls, but he also loved people in practical ways: he fed and healed them and cared for their physical needs.

The greatest commandments are to love God and to love our neighbour as ourself. We can show that love by serving the people around us in our communities. We might do this through joining a church rota, shopping for an elderly neighbour, being a school governor or helping at a food bank. Serving our neighbour can lead to our involvement in politics in the broadest sense. Politics is intrinsic to our lives.

2. GOD ORDAINS GOVERNMENTS AND CARES ABOUT GOOD GOVERNMENT

From the Genesis 1-2 mandate to ‘fill the earth and subdue it’ and to ‘work … and take care of’ the Garden of Eden, throughout the Bible we see God delegating governance to human rulers and holding them accountable for their stewardship. Romans 13 tells us that ‘the one in authority is God’s servant for your good.’
The Bible is not overly concerned with forms of government, but it has a great deal to say about what good government looks like.
As well as chronicling some pretty rotten rulers, the Bible tells us that God institutes government to provide order, pursue justice and peace, and promote human flourishing.

To take just two examples, in Psalm 72, King David prays for his son Solomon to ‘take pity on the weak and the needy … (and) rescue them from oppression and violence’. And Micah 6:8 offers a great template for political engagement, exhorting the people ‘to act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.’

3. DON’T DIVE INTO PARTY POLITICS, BUT DO LEARN THE LANGUAGE

Many preachers shy away from mentioning politics. There is perhaps a fear of navigating something that feels so aggressive and tribal, of accidentally causing offence or being seen to force our personal views on the congregation.

The age of outrage in which we live makes it harder to engage without feeling like you have to pick a side or jump into a culture wars trench.
We often complain that many of our political leaders are religiously illiterate, but I would also suggest that Christians are sometimes politically and culturally illiterate.
In order to communicate clearly and compassionately to our communities, we don’t need to worship the culture, but like missionaries integrating into a different society, it does help to learn the local language. This does not mean blending in or compromising our convictions. But I do believe we can honour God by being curious about others’ views, and seeking to understand the values of those with whom we may disagree.

4. POLITICS DOES NOT OFFER SALVATION BUT WE HAVE AN ETERNAL HOPE IN CHRIST

Many crises across the world are outside the UK’s control. At home, the Government faces some intractable domestic issues, compounded by our seeming inability to keep a Prime Minister for longer than a couple of years.

Most people simply want to get on with their lives in peace, but there are some who seek to exploit the uncertainty and fear that many are feeling. They want us to believe that a charismatic leader or ideology will offer some form of salvation. I am concerned by the co-option of Christian imagery and language by those who do not have faith but are cynically stirring up anger around Britain’s values and Christian heritage. We must beware of our faith being co-opted by one part of the political spectrum, or by leaders who offer easy solutions and promise to ‘save’ our nation.

Humans are flawed and fallen, and will always have trouble exercising power selflessly. But Christians must hold onto our hope for ultimate salvation in Jesus. He promises to deliver his people and restore all of creation, and he is at work in our turbulent world.

We must be so careful to examine our personal politics through a Biblical lens, rather than taking our politics to the Bible to seek scriptural endorsement. Christians may legitimately disagree on many aspects of policy, but let’s learn the salutary lesson from America that the appropriation of Christianity by one side of a partisan divide makes the other side far less likely to listen to the gospel.

Jesus turned no one away but neither did he conform to anyone’s political expectations – neither the nationalist zealots who wanted him to overthrow the Romans, nor the establishment Pharisees who wanted him to tone it down a bit.

All human regimes will one day be rubble and ruin, but God’s kingdom lasts forever. Let’s remember that politics is important but not ultimate. Our identity is found in Christ, not nationality nor ideology.

No matter how tough things appear, we have read to the end of the Bible and we know it ends well! Our churches can share with our communities and parishes the wonderful hope we have in Christ, and his promise to renew all things.

So I believe it is fine for individuals to pick a side in politics, but we must keep it in perspective. As soon as we begin to believe that our side is always right, and the other side is wicked and beneath contempt, we are in danger of worshipping the wrong thing.

5. DO ENCOURAGE YOUR CONGREGATION TO BECOME INFORMED, PRAY AND ENGAGE

As we live in the tension between Christ’s first and second comings, I believe the Church has a responsibility to pray for good government, to be curious about – and compassionate towards – others, and to be politically literate.

We are called to be salt and light in our dark world. Practically loving God and serving our neighbour is part of our worship and witness. In Matthew 5:16, Jesus exhorts us to: ‘let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.’

God chooses to work out his purposes through ordinary humans. For some of us, this means getting stuck into Politics with a big ‘P’, but for all of us it means serving God where he has placed us. And I believe for all of us it means engaging prayerfully and in an informed way with the people and events that shape our news, our communities and our nation.

Politics and politicians desperately need the prayers of the Church, for wise and competent leaders, who exercise discernment, courage and humility.
Even if – especially if – you disagree with everything our leaders are doing, please pray for them. In Jeremiah 29:7, God instructs the Jewish captives in Babylon to ‘seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper’.
Many churches do of course pray regularly for the Government and local representatives, but others do not.

Yet Paul sets out the case very clearly in 1 Timothy 2:1-4. He urges ‘that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people – for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Saviour, who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.’

If the Church is not praying for these things, regularly and faithfully, who will be?

Let’s pray for our leaders to pursue the common good, and for God to give them judgement, integrity and wise advisers, as they seek to navigate the challenges of our current political landscape.