Christians and Public Service (7)

Also Daniel petitioned the king, and he set Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego over the affairs of the province of Babylon; but Daniel sat in the gate of the king. Daniel 2.49

Then Pharaoh spoke to Joseph, saying, “Your father and your brothers have come to you. The land of Egypt is before you. Have your father and brothers dwell in the best of the land; let them dwell in the land of Goshen. And if you know any competent men among them, then make them chief herdsmen over my livestock.” Genesis 47.5, 6

Seeking God’s peace
It is important that Christians who take up a calling in any of the arenas of public service keep in mind at all times that God’s purpose for civil government is that it might do good in bringing His peace and justice to the governed.

Governments do not exist as a means for personal advancement. Government serves the needs of the governed, working to ensure a just, peaceable, free, and fruitful society, where opportunities for advancing personal wellbeing are available to all.

Since God is good, and His Law is good, and since the Good News of Jesus is good, Christians serving in the public sector will want to keep everything they do within the framework of these parameters.

By thus seeking the Kingdom of God through the arenas of public service, believers may expect to contribute to the benefit of society and its members.

Paul wrote that the Kingdom of God is righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. He continued, “For he who serves Christ in these things is acceptable to God and approved by men.” (Rom. 14.17, 18). The more consistent believers are in seeking the Kingdom of God through the opportunities presented to them in the public sector, the greater will be the impact for good to which they can contribute.

A blessing for our neighbors
In that respect, Christians who work in public service represent a beachhead for blessing to all their neighbors – both their colleagues and co-laborers as well as those served by their labors.

Civil government is a good and legitimate institution, ordained by God for the purpose of channeling His blessings to all people, believers and nonbelievers alike. When Christians are involved in public service in the ways we have been considering in this series, they carve the channels and lay the conduits for the goodness of God to flow through their work to the people they serve. Whether their labors be large or small, every contribution of good work establishes a beachhead from which the blessings of God’s Kingdom can break out to others.

Enlisting our friends
But, like Marines hunkered down on the beach of an enemy-held island, Christians serving in the public sector could use some reinforcements.

Both Daniel and Joseph understood the importance of making a place for like-minded others to join them in their service to God and country. Joseph had his whole family transplanted into the land of Goshen. The Israelites became a source of great productivity and wealth to an ungrateful nation and its tyrannical rulers.

Daniel made it possible for his three friends to assume places of significant service in the Babylonian empire. Their presence made his own work more effective and enhanced his witness for the Lord before the Babylonian king.

In each of these cases, Joseph and Daniel inspired other like-minded believers to join them because of the integrity of their lives, the excellence of their work, and the prudence and graciousness of their witness to the Lord.

We should expect it to be the same for us. Christians serving in the public sector should keep alert to opportunities to connect with other believers in public service, that they might pray for and encourage one another, study issues and policies together, and discuss the ways Scripture and the Biblical worldview might be brought to bear on matters of political or social importance.

At the same time, they may assist and reinforce one another in their witness for the Lord, and perhaps help recruit other qualified and called believers into vacancies in their area of endeavor.

Christians are beachheads for the Kingdom of God wherever they serve, and this is as true in the arena of public service as it is anywhere else. What God requires of all of us – like Joseph and Daniel – is faithfulness in serving Him.

For reflection
1.      What do we mean by the idea, “beachheads for blessing”?

2.      Meditate on Matthew 6.33 and Romans 14.17-19. What is the Kingdom of God? How do Christians seek that Kingdom?

3.      Meditate on Matthew 6.10 and Daniel 2.44, 45. How would you be able to tell if the Kingdom of God was beginning to have a greater presence in your workplace? Do you have anything to contribute to this?

Next steps: Make some copies of this study for several of your friends. See if they would be willing to join you in working through it. Share a copy with your pastor and several church leaders.

T. M. Moore

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This week’s study, Christians and Public Service, is part 4 of a 5-part series on The King’s Heart, a Biblical view of government and politics, and is available as a free download by clicking here. We cannot understand God’s view of government, or how to function in a political environment apart from faith in King Jesus and His rule. Order T. M.’s books The Kingship of Jesus  and The Ground for Christian Ethics to supplement our studies of God and government.

Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.