Last weekend, my 11-year-old daughter asked my wife and me, “Why are you talking more about politics this year than you have before?” There are multiple answers to her question. First, my daughter is more aware of our conversations than she was four years ago. But this is also a historic election season, so my wife and I are talking more about what’s happening.
I was glad my daughter asked. Her curiosity allowed us to share how we approach politics as Christians. And our conversation helped me see how important it is to guide my children to take part in politics for God’s glory.
There are several issues of biblical clarity every Christian parent ought to embrace and pass along to their children this election season. We must model a distinctly Christian and countercultural approach to political engagement in at least three ways.
1. Show respect to those in authority.
In today’s political culture, people are more apt to use negative and vulgar expressions against political leaders than they did when I was growing up. I can’t imagine looking out the window of my parents’ Ford Aerostar minivan in 1996 and seeing a flag that proudly displayed an obscenity against the sitting U.S. president. Today you may see one in your neighbor’s yard. It’s common for individuals across the political spectrum to mock and disparage whomever they oppose. When I was a child, such behavior would have been deemed “unpatriotic.”
But while what is and isn’t “patriotic” may change with culture, what God wants for his people is unchanging. In a culture that expresses vitriol toward government officials, we must teach our children to respect the rulers who have authority over our country, states, and cities. I can’t chant “Not my president!” and lead my children to “be subject to the governing authorities” (Rom. 13:1).
While what is and isn’t ‘patriotic’ may change with culture, what God wants for his people is unchanging.
If my children hear me gleefully mocking our president, will they have reason to believe my prayers are genuine when we obey God and pray for that same individual (1 Tim. 2:1–4)?
2. Be clear that God’s Word shapes our political convictions.
When we teach our children to respect authority, we shouldn’t give them the false impression that whatever elected leaders do is worthy of praise and approval. Instead, we must be clear that rulers serve under God’s authority.
We’re raising children in a culture dominated by political tribalism. Social media posts, cable news, and the candidates seeking office seek to peddle the idea that the “good guys” owe them their allegiance. Politicians make great efforts to pull Christians into their tribe. Both Democrats and Republicans claim their platform is the appropriate one for voters who wish to see “Christian principles” made the policy of the nation.
I don’t expect politicians to be honest about how they connect Scripture to their policies. But my children should expect more from their father. If I’m to disciple my children to see Scripture as the standard for their political involvement, I must help them see how it shapes my political convictions.
My children need to hear me connect the small role I play in the public square to the standards God gives us in Romans 13:1–7. I need to advocate for a government that’s a terror to bad conduct and carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer. As we have opportunities, my wife and I need to help them see that when the government functions as God designed, we can celebrate his good provision of human authority.
It’s also not enough to tell my kids I’m pro-life. I need to read to them from Genesis 1 and point out that God is pleased with the fruitful multiplication of image-bearers. They need their mother and me to guide them through passages like Psalm 139:13–16 and Jeremiah 1:4–5 so they see the biblical perspective on the value of life inside and outside the womb.
I need to help my children understand that God, not politicians’ opinions, is the source of justice. They need to have compassion on the poor and afflicted because God “has pity on the weak and the needy, and saves the lives of the needy” (Ps. 72:13). They should desire for the government to guard the innocent and punish their oppressors because such government function is God’s good gift (Rom. 13:3–4). When earthly justice fails, I must teach them not to throw up their hands in hopelessness but to raise their voices in prayer, knowing the Judge of all the earth will bring about justice in his good time.
3. Root your identity in Christ’s kingdom.
If I could pick one principle about political involvement to model for my children, it’d be this: Don’t put hope in earthly politics. I’ve never voted for someone—especially for national office—without profound reservations about some of his or her opinions, policies, and character traits. I want my kids to know my concerns. I want them to see, and see clearly, that while I vote for individuals to serve our country, my hope isn’t in those individuals.
Nor is my hope in the United States, though I’m thankful for many good things about this country. Participating in the democratic process is a way for me to be a good citizen. As a Christian, I rejoice in the ability to be an ambassador for my King and advocate for what he has revealed as good. But I’m only a sojourner in a democratic system. My destiny isn’t to elect a leader; it’s to bow to a monarch. By grace, I’m a subject of King Jesus.
My destiny isn’t to elect a leader; it’s to bow to a monarch. By grace, I’m a subject of King Jesus.
To model this reality to my children, they need to see our family conduct ourselves in a way that anchors hope in Christ, not in American politics. When we gather for corporate worship, they need to hear proclaimed the truths of Scripture, not the platitudes of a political party. When I speak with people of differing political views, they need to see and hear my concern for the salvation of others, not political animosity.
As we lead our children in this way, I pray our family will cling to the political credo found in these words the Holy Spirit spoke through Paul: “Our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ” (Phil. 3:20).