by Michele Jackson

Created on: July 01, 2007   Last Updated: July 02, 2007

In Matthew 22:21 (Amplified Bible) Jesus Christ told us to ". . . Pay therefore to Caesar the things that are due to Caesar, and pay to God the things that are due to God." He was specifically talking about paying taxes, but the spirit behind His comment is to be obedient to those placed in authority. No authority exists except those allowed by God.

The United States' government is a republic. Our governing authorities have set up a system whereby we can vote for who governs us, and we can even tell them how to govern us. Christians, get busy being obedient to your governing authorities; that is get busy voting and encouraging legislators to vote for what is right and to regulate us rightly. The following are eight actions for Christians to take to participate in government:

1) Educate yourself on various issues. One way to educate yourself is to sign up to receive newsletters from advocacy groups. Many of these newsletters are free.

2) Form church committees to educate each other on the most important issues. Don't keep good information to yourself. Share it. Many are perishing due to a lack of knowledge.

3) Call your representative or senator to tell them how to vote on issues that you value. Call legislators at the federal, state and local level. Your federal legislators can be reached at the Capital switchboard by calling the toll-free telephone number 1-800-826-3688.

4) Write to your representative or senator to tell them how to vote on issues that you value. Also commend them for right votes, and chastise them for wrong ones.

5) Write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper or write an article for a freelance writing website like Helium.

6) Call and discuss an issue on a talk radio show.

7) Financially support advocacy groups. Advocacy groups can be political parties, political action committees (PACs) which defeat or elect certain candidates, and groups used for voter mobilization and/or issue advocacy. If you decide to contribute to a political candidate, the Federal Campaign Finance Law places limits on how much and what you can give.

8) Volunteer for an advocacy group or particularly faithful politician. The law allows you to volunteer an unlimited number of hours. The Federal Election Commission's website says "an individual may volunteer any personal service provided he or she is not compensated for the service by any other committee, individual or organization . . . If an individual provides free legal or accounting services, without compensation, during his or her personal time, he or she is considered a volunteer."

For more questions about campaign rules, check out the website of the Federal Election Committee at http://www.fec.gov.

Just imagine if all Christians participated in government. Perhaps some of the social ills that we are facing would be drastically diminished. Our current administration spends a sizable amount of money on faith-based initiatives. According to a White House report, in fiscal 2005, seven federal agencies awarded $2.1 billion to religious charities. If more Christians put pressure on the executive and congressional branches of our government, even more would be spent on faith-based initiatives. These types of initiatives use government funds to bring the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to a lost and dying world - Could there be any better use of taxpayer dollars? The answers for society are found in Jesus Christ. The church represents Jesus' body. If the government funnels money into the church body; the church is that much more able to save souls and help the needy. Don't wait another day to do something to participate in government.

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