A divided church lost the most important election concerning the fate of biblical marriage in our nation’s history. This election revealed a deep division between minority Christian’s sense of moral priorities and the ethical codes of the white church community. When I say “minorities,” I mean blacks, Hispanics, Asians, and others consisting of 28 percent of the electorate; this group voted for a different moral code than their white Christian brothers.
Could it be that the Lord is challenging the Church to deal with her deep racial divisions before He sends the rains of economic blessings back to the nation? In 2 Samuel 21:1-14, this was the very problem that David had. As he sought the Lord’s blessings upon the land, David found he had to deal with an ancient racial wound inflicted on the Gibeonites by King Saul. Even though David did not commit the offense, he had to make amends for Saul’s sin in his generation.
For nearly eight years, I have been talking to Christians about the need for us to embrace a call to champion a balanced societal agenda of righteousness and justice. I have used Psalm 89:14 as a guideline for spiritual engagement with the culture. It reads: “Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne; love and faithfulness go before you (NIV).”
I believe the word “righteousness” speaks of man’s commitment to God’s code of action and personal holiness. Conversely, I have often taught that believers are to bring God’s justice and glory into our spheres of influence in the world.
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In days of revival and awakening, God often gathers multitudes of people and gives them an assignment to bring His justice into the earth by righting specific civil wrongs. In the First Great Awakening in America, blacks were presented the gospel for the first time on American soil and a cry rose up among the awakened to abolish slavery.
The civil rights activities of the black church in the 1950s and 1960s were based on their understanding of biblical justice. In fact, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. famously preached from Amos 5:24: “But let judgment run down as waters, And righteousness as a mighty stream.”
On the other hand, the Moral Majority movement that gave birth to the Christian school movement can accurately be characterized as a righteousness movement. These movements overlapped in terms of time but never united in terms of power.
It’s time for the church to unite with one voice and one moral agenda. The problem is that there is a gulf of distrust between the various ethnic branches of the church. In this election, the black branch of the Christian Church voted for President Obama by a 95 percent to 5 percent margin, according to Pew Research.
Conversely, faithful white churchgoers who attend church at least once a week or more voted in overwhelming numbers against President Obama. The actual percentages were only 39 percent for the president and nearly 60 percent against. Far too little effort was spent attempting to bring these two branches of the Church together during this season.
Same-sex marriage advocates outspent traditional marriage campaigns by 8 to 1 in terms of media and public relations dollars. The shift in popular vote should not surprise us, but the change in the attitudes of believers concerning the value of human life; traditional marriage and our support of Israel should concern us all.
As faithful followers of Christ we should attempt to hear His heart and strike His balance between righteousness and justice. When that happens, the rains of divine protection for the nation and health will flood the shores of this great land.
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