Sabbath Thought – What Manner of Persons

A week ago last Tuesday (11/3), the United States held what is called mid-term elections. In our constitutional republic form of government, the House of Representatives (elected to represent the people of their state district) are elected for a two-year term of service, the Senate (elected to represent the state) are elected to a six-year term, and the president is elected to a four-year term. The term “mid-term” has to with the middle of the term of the president. The election cycle was set up this way to have a balance of shared power and to not have every elected office up for balloting every two years.

With that in mind, the mid-term elections are oftentimes seen as a referendum of the president, and the political party of Congress (both the House of Representatives and the Senate). One of the downsides of this form of government is the seemingly endless jockeying for power – it can seem that as soon as individuals are elected to office, they start campaigning for the next election cycle.

The Church of God has a long history of staying out of politics. This is driven not because of an indifference, but rather an acknowledgement that our focus is not on this present world’s systems. Our focus is to be on the coming Kingdom of God and what we need to be doing and becoming before Christ returns. In spite of that, many will say that Christians have a responsibility to vote in order to have our voices be part of the discussion of what we want our government to do (and be) for its citizens.

One flaw in that thinking is that we are seeking to try and help solve the problems of this world, while claiming Christ must return to establish His perfect Kingdom. Mankind cannot fix the problems he creates (Proverbs 14:12), and quite honestly, if God does not step in as the end-time accelerates then mankind would erase all life from this planet (Matthew 24:22). Another flaw in that thinking is forgetting that God is ultimately in charge and He appoints (or allows) who holds these secular offices (Psalm 75:6-7; Jeremiah 27:5; Daniel 2:21, 4:17, 21).

For centuries, God’s people have refrained from voting in political elections as an act of faith, not passiveness or isolationism. This faith has been that God will place “whomever He will” in these secular leadership positions, independently of help from us. This has been one of the unique characteristics of God’s Church. In fact, one of the hallmarks in identifying the true Church of God since the 1^st Century has been the lack of involvement or participation in the politics of the surrounding cultures! This practice has also helped protect the Church from the unsettling political partisanship of this world. Though abstaining from voting, the Church has taught that government authorities should be respected, regardless of their political affiliation as the apostle Peter wrote in 1 Peter 2:17.

All of that then brings us to 2 Peter 3:11, “Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness…?” Peter was reminding the faithful about the return of Jesus Christ – some were already questioning His return, but God is faithful and true to His Word. Peter was saying to them, “since we know this world (mankind’s self-rule influenced by Satan) will come to an end, what should be our vision and focus?” Not the things of this world, its various forms of government, the economic systems or anything else along this line. 

In the end, it doesn’t matter who wins any political office, who the president (or equivalent) is, or what political viewpoint wins an election. Those are all temporary. If we allow ourselves to get caught up in focusing on those things, we run the risk of forgetting that our focus should be on holy conduct reflecting God’s character!

At the return of Jesus Christ, He will not pick up the pieces of this world’s systems and remodel them. His government will be predicated on His nature and character based on His love, submission to His rule and a desire to serve. In the meantime, we pray for a peaceable life (1 Timothy 2:1-2), while looking forward to the true peace of God’s soon-coming Kingdom on earth that will surpass anything in human experience!

I wish you a very meaningful Sabbath,

Dan Dowd

14 November, 2026