The Sacred and the Secular

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   As I write this, it is the first Tuesday in November, and which we all know means Election Day. With it being an off-year election, there typically isn't much to vote on. As a matter of fact, my ballot only had one item. Still, I dutifully marked my ballot and dropped it off at the closest designated drop-off place. As I think about it, I miss the old days of going to a polling place, walking in, finding my name on the list, getting my ballot, and filling it out there. There was something special about seeing the community come together in a common expression of civic duty, even if we didn't agree with one another much of the time.

   As Christians, we have a responsibility to both the sacred and the secular. In Mark 12:13-17, Mark records how the Pharisees and Herodians (we could probably think of them as the conservatives and liberals of the day) tried to set a trap for Jesus regarding the issue of paying taxes to Rome. Jesus responded by saying, "'Why are you testing Me? Bring Me a denarius to look at.' They brought one. And He said to them, 'Whose likeness and inscription is on this?' And they said to them, 'Caesar's.' And Jesus said to them, 'Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's and to God the things that are God's.' And they were amazed at Him."

   It is easy for us to distinguish between the sacred and the secular in such a way that we elevate one responsibility over the other or to ignore one or the other. As Christians, we must acknowledge that we have an equal responsibility to both. God is sovereign over the nations. He raises and deposes leaders; He works in the affairs of men. God is sovereign over the ends, but He is also sovereign over the means. As Christians who live in a country where we have the privilege of providing our voice to the direction of our governments at all levels, let us be good stewards over that privilege and not squander it. God is sovereign over all, so let's be the type of people who God is pleased to be sovereign through as we make our voice known on days like this.