Last Monday evening, Beverley and I negotiated the floods and power outages to get into downtown Newcastle for a CDP dinner and meeting. Over thirty others attended, many going through difficulties to be present. Congratulations to the CDP branch for what was a great night.
During the evening one potentially good candidate said to me, "I don't know how you stand it!
I couldn't stand being in Parliament, all that mudslinging and abuse."
Many people have a similar view - they criticise Parliamentarians strongly, but would never want to be one personally. My experience is that almost uniformly politicians are well behaved, respectful people. Maybe that is because I treat them that way.
Most never become abusive, shout or act differently to any other well behaved citizen. A few play up in question time, but that is because the television cameras or on them and they are trying to impress the news editors who want action in news footage! A few have committed criminal behaviour, violence and abuse, and that percentage is about the same as in other occupations.
I admire Chuck Colson greatly. He writes in his new book, God & Government, "As someone who was once known for political dirty tricks, I know, better than most, how ugly politics can get. Does this mean Christians ought to avoid the cutthroat business of politics? The answer: an emphatic "no!"
First, as I have the same civic duties as all citizens: to serve on juries, to pay taxes, to vote, to support candidates they consider the best qualified. We are also commanded to pray for and respect governing authorities.
Second, as citizens of the kingdom of God, Christians are to bring God's standards of righteousness and justice to bear on the kingdoms of this world - what is sometimes called the cultural commission. Among other things, this means bringing transcendent moral values into public debate.
Laws establish, from the view of the state, the rightness or wrongness of human behaviour. For example, statutes prohibiting drunk driving, or mandating seat belts, are designed to protect human life. They reflect the moral view that values the dignity and worth of human life. Christians are supposed to express their views to government officials. We all need to be engaged.
And third, some Christians are called themselves to political office. Christians have led the fight against the evils of abortion, euthanasia, and are engaged in all human rights crusades.
It's easy to become discouraged, as some Christians are today, when we don't succeed politically. We need to remember the example of William Wilberforce, who spent decades fighting the British slave trade. His persistence paid off. Not only was the slave trade abolished, a great awakening swept across England.
Christians who are called into the political realm must do their best - no matter how many dirty tricks are played, no matter how much opposition. And don't get discouraged. Remember that success is not the criteria: faithfulness is.
In the end, Christians have the assurance that even the most difficult political situations are in the hands of a sovereign God."
