“For such a time as this”

A Christian’s Duty in Government

Esther was a remarkable woman. The niece of a government official in the Persian kingdom under King Ahasuerus, she was taken from obscurity to become the new queen of the land around 479 B.C. She was thrust into a world of privilege and wealth in which she was certainly unfamiliar, but every indication we have from the book of the Bible that bears her name tells us that she was a woman of grace, diplomacy, and wisdom. She became a queen in every sense of the word.

Eventually she was forced to make a very important choice which had, and still has, incredible ramifications upon the Jewish nation, and ultimately the entire Christian world. The account of this choice, recorded in Scripture, gives Christians a clear illustration of a vital and often overlooked principle. This Biblical principle has far reaching and powerful importance for Christians in every nation, at every time of history, of any background or education. Maybe that is why the Lord instructs Christians to give careful attention to this principle. 

A Believers Responsibility

The Biblical principle that Esther so clearly understood and displayed is summarized by this statement: it is the duty of Christians to influence government. Though once widely accepted and proclaimed, this concept has become increasingly unpopular in the modern age. The idea that we should surrender the area of government influence to the World because “politics is dirty” or the ever popular “my one vote doesn’t really matter” has unfortunately been adopted by a large portion of well meaning believers. This abandonment of Christian statesmanship is wholly unscriptural.

Before we can more clearly see Esther’s good example we must understand the Biblical foundation of this vital principle. In Acts chapter 10 Peter declares Jesus to be “Lord of All.” In Matthew 28:18 Jesus says he has been given “all authority in heaven and in earth.” Having authority over everything means that there is no area of our lives in which he is not in charge. Every aspect of our society is meant to be subservient to the principles of Truth presented to us in the person of Jesus Christ. Marriage, education, entertainment, law, freedom itself – all are supposed to be under the lordship of Christ. This would necessarily include the institutions of men which guide and govern nations and people groups.

This lordship does not demand some type of earthly theocracy in which church and state are one. However, to the degree that government systems and laws adhere to the principles of morality, liberty, and wisdom contained in the Scriptures is the degree to which those systems will thrive and its people find security. If Jesus Christ is Lord over all things, as he declared himself to be, then it is an important responsibility of the believer to proclaim that lordship and encourage principles of righteousness in every area of life, including politics and government.

Leading in Ministry

In Romans 13 the Apostle Paul teaches us that governing authorities are ministers of God. How can it be wrong for a Christian to seek to influence ministers? Or even to seek to become a minister of God in government?

If Christ is Lord, then Christians must lead. Believers are instructed to be leaders in doing good. In Titus 3 Christians are taught to maintain, or in the original language we can translate it as “lead” in good works. A good work is anything that brings glory to God without violating Biblical principles. This passage makes no exceptions for an area of life believers can ignore. One cannot find the passage which says “Do good works unless it is political.”

Influencing and even guiding governments to be more righteous, wise, or otherwise beneficial to the whole of a given society is an honorable pursuit for any Believer. To borrow a phrase from the Pledge of Allegiance, to preserve “liberty and justice for all” is certainly a good work which would please God.

An Uncle’s Advice – A Queen’s Example

Through out Scripture we find people that participated in government in a righteous way and were praised for it. Some were involved in the governance of Israel, some were in other nations: people like Moses, Daniel, David…and Mordecai.

And that brings us back to Esther’s story. Mordecai was Esther’s uncle, and he cared for her until she was taken to the King’s house and eventually became the queen of Persia. Mordecai was also some kind of a government official.

When a plot to overthrow the Jewish nation became known to Mordecai he fell into a great sorrow so intense that he publicly mourned in front of the king’s palace. When Queen Esther learned of what he was doing she sent to inquire of the cause for his grief. He responded by informing her of the entire plot, including confiscation of Jewish property and government approval to kill all Jewish people in the kingdom, “both young and old, women and children.” He ended his message by asking her to step in and plead for assistance from the king to thwart this evil scheme.

Esther’s first response is to remind her uncle that approaching the king without being summoned was a crime punishable by death, even for the queen. To attempt to intervene, even for such a worthy cause, was literally to take her life in her hands. Only a royal pardon could save her from immediate death.

Mordecai’s response to her is profound, and particularly applicable to Christians in the United States today. He points out that God is sovereign, and will provide deliverance for the Jews from some other place if she chooses to remain silent. He warns her of the personal consequences to herself if she does not act.

But he then tells her she may be part of an incredible divine plan, and while her place in that plan is often impossible to know, it could be for this very moment that God has put her in a place of influence. He said it this way: “Who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”

This statement provides the needed inspiration for her to act, and the rest of the story is history. Her artful and diplomatic appeal for the survival of her people was used by God to bring an incredible deliverance to the Jews. Her actions are remembered to this very day in the celebration of Purim, and there are few examples in Scripture more daring, more brave, more truly heroic than that of Esther.

She realized her duty to lead the way and stand up to evil men, even if that meant risking her life to do so. She exemplifies the attitude all Christians should have in the cultural battle in which we are now engaged. An attitude that recognizes our duty before God to influence our culture, even politically. An attitude that accepts responsibility to make a difference, even at great personal sacrifice. A willingness to risk much in order to do what is wise, what is godly, what is right.

A Purposeful Call to Action

Christians in the United States, and even other nations of the West, need to recognize their responsibility to make a difference. For many that means practicing their right to vote, both in the primary and the general election. And not just voting for the sake of voting, but using that privilege to select leaders who will most effectively advance and defend the principles of morality and liberty taught in Scripture. If we believe Biblical principles and ideas are the most important and powerful things in this world then shouldn’t we be promoting them in our government leaders also?

The fact that evil ideas have taken a foothold in our government and laws is an indication of the complacency of Christians. Ideas such as the justification of the murder of millions of children in their mother’s womb is only one example. If every registered Christian voter would simply vote to elect leaders that support the right to life for the unborn, ignoring for the sake of argument all the other important issues to consider, the result would be overwhelming. In just one election cycle we would see a government full of people that support the life of the unborn. If our government was full of such people it would not be long before such an evil practice as abortion would no longer be tolerated.

But because Christians are derelict in their duty, and believe their “vote doesn’t matter so why use it”, evil ideas advance and our entire society suffers. A needless tragedy which is at best born of ignorance and at worst born of a hard heart.

Believers in Christ should accept their responsibility to proclaim the lordship of Christ over every area of life. To seek for the principles of Scripture, applying them even to the government of a nation; to advance and teach those principles in our society and to our children; to stand against evil and oppose the ideas that violate Biblical morality; this is the duty of every believer.

We do not always know the sovereign will of God in the movements of nations and the rise and fall of empires. But we do know our duty. We know what an impact we can have when we do what is right. It could be that we have been brought to our communities, our states, or our nation for this time in history…on purpose: the divine, eternal, sovereign, merciful purposes of God.

In the immortal words of Mordecai to a young but brave woman of faith: “Who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”