𝗪𝗔𝗥𝗠-𝗨𝗣
• Growing up, how involved were you in school activities? Recall an instance explaining this.
• How do you respond to national and local government initiatives? On a scale of one to ten, how involved would you say you are?
• What do you think it means to be a good citizen? Why?


𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗗
It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom 120 satraps, to be throughout the whole kingdom; and over them three high officials, of whom Daniel was one, to whom these satraps should give account, so that the king might suffer no loss. Then this Daniel became distinguished above all the other high officials and satraps, because an excellent spirit was in him. And the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom. DANIEL 6:1–3

Lest we think that the Christian response to political issues is always religious and spiritual in nature, this lesson will tackle our need to practically participate in the political life of the nation. We are talking about going beyond the confines of our church walls right into the heart of civic involvement.

Daniel’s story gives us a peek into his exemplary life dedicated to serving God’s purposes in the political arena. The balancing act that he did, the way he navigated the political and religious tensions, and the personal piety he displayed all throughout his long career as a court official show that it is possible to be faithful to God while serving in a regime that doesn’t share your religious convictions. His public witness was so outstanding that when the Babylonian kingdom fell and the Medo-Persian empire took over, the new king placed him in a position of power.

While we cannot cut and paste Daniel’s story into our modern political experience, some principles are applicable.

𝟭. 𝗦𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲.
𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘋𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘦𝘭 𝘸𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘈𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘤𝘩, 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘉𝘢𝘣𝘺𝘭𝘰𝘯. 𝘏𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘶𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘮: “𝘋𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘉𝘢𝘣𝘺𝘭𝘰𝘯; 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯.” 𝗗𝗔𝗡𝗜𝗘𝗟 𝟮:𝟮𝟰

Back when Daniel was younger and Nebuchadnezzar ordered the killing of the sages of Babylon for their failure to tell the king his dream and its interpretation, Daniel stepped in and volunteered himself even if he didn’t know the dream yet. He did this primarily to save himself and his friends, but the result of his volunteerism also saved the entire community of sages in the kingdom. He even got promoted because of it.

Obadiah, the chief servant of king Ahab’s household, secretly saved 100 prophets of the Lord when the queen started killing them off to promote Baal worship in Israel (1 Kings 18:3). His service to the prophets of God and the nation of Israel was largely unknown in his lifetime but the biblical record bears witness to how God honored his faithfulness—even at great personal risk.

Daniel served God from a position of political power; Obadiah served God by doing what he could as a regular citizen. Moses served as liberator, Joshua as military commander, David as king, Ezra as priest, Nehemiah as civil servant, and so did many others in biblical history. All these men expressed their service to God by serving people differently.

This is an encouragement for Christians to prayerfully consider how they might serve with the talents and gifts they have. Some might want to work in non-government organizations, serve as public school teachers, or join the police force. Those who have the aptitude and desire might even want to run for public office. How would you respond if your friend who loves God and desires to serve people chose to run for public office? What would you say to him or her?

𝟮. 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴.
“𝘛𝘩𝘶𝘴 𝘴𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘖𝘙𝘋 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘐𝘴𝘳𝘢𝘦𝘭, 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘹𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘮 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘹𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘑𝘦𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘮 𝘵𝘰 𝘉𝘢𝘣𝘺𝘭𝘰𝘯: 𝘉𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮; 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘨𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘦. 𝘛𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴; 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘥𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘨𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴; 𝘮𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘪𝘱𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘧𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘹𝘪𝘭𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘖𝘙𝘋 𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘧, 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘪𝘯 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘧𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘧𝘢𝘳𝘦.” 𝗝𝗘𝗥𝗘𝗠𝗜𝗔𝗛 𝟮𝟵:𝟰–𝟳

When people think about politics, they mostly think about politicians, political controversies, and elections. No wonder many people back off and choose not to engage. The bickering is too much for them. But there are so many ways to be politically engaged without getting into fights and word wars.

When Judah was in exile, Jeremiah encouraged God’s people to seek the welfare of the city they were living in. He meant for the exiled Jews to build houses, plant gardens, marry off their children, get involved in trade and other industries, and be productive citizens of Babylon. The reason was quite practical: whatever good they did in that foreign land will also benefit them in return.

In our context, this could mean building strong marriages, raising godly children, excelling at work, participating in community projects, and getting involved in other civic activities like organizing a sports league or a book club, conducting first aid training, or teaching underprivileged students in your area of expertise.

This is what practical political engagement looks like on the ground. It is not contentious and soul-crushing but loving, sacrificial, and good. Share how a fellow believer or church member has been an example to you of community building. What did you learn from his or her motivation and experience?

𝟯. 𝗣𝗮𝘆 𝘁𝗮𝘅𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘃𝗼𝘁𝗲.
𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘱𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘢𝘹𝘦𝘴, 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘎𝘰𝘥, 𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘗𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮: 𝘵𝘢𝘹𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘢𝘹𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘥, 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘶𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘮 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘶𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘥, 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘮 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘥, 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘮 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘳 𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘥. 𝗥𝗢𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗦 𝟭𝟯:𝟲–𝟳

Another way to participate in the political process of the nation is by paying our taxes and voting. These two are connected.

Taxes are intended for the beneficial running of society, which includes spending for hospitals, roads and bridges, and education, among others. This is why citizens are obliged to pay taxes. But how do we ensure that government officials spend our tax money properly? We can have a say in that when we participate in the elections by campaigning for righteous advocacies, voting for candidates that best represent our values, and doing our part in ensuring honest elections. This is an oversimplification of government systems but the point is clear: we are all individually and collectively responsible. Our vote determines the direction and future of our nation.

A biblical understanding of our role as Christian citizens is important in the current online bickering surrounding politics and its process. It is easy to brush up the image of or hurl insults at some political candidates behind our keyboards now. But Christian ethics dictate that the people of God should approach elections with sobriety and the fear of the Lord. We don’t lose when our candidates lose. We suffer the consequences when corrupt and wicked people are put in power. How would you encourage others to be involved in the political process? Why?


𝗔𝗣𝗣𝗟𝗜𝗖𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡
• What attitudes or mindsets have you had about participating in civic activities? How has this lesson challenged those attitudes and mindsets?
• What change do you want to see happen in your community and nation, and what are you willing to do about it?
• What does being a good citizen mean, according to the Bible? Think of someone you can encourage this week on the lesson. What will you tell him or her?


𝗣𝗥𝗔𝗬𝗘𝗥
• Thank God for the examples in the Bible on how we can be involved in civil government. Ask God for wisdom and the grace to apply the lesson in your life this week.
• Pray for people to be involved in the political process and to reflect Christ in civil activities.
• Ask God for godly and righteous leaders to serve in government and your nation, to shine His light in the darkest places.