"I am reminded of Matthew 7:3-5, "Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye." It is time to get the plank out of your eye when it comes to political involvement. Before you complain about the problems you see with the government, ask yourself, "What am I doing to get involved and make a difference?" Everyone can do something. To have a moral, efficiently running political system is as important as having clean water and healthy food." - Terri Hasdorff
This is the sad end for dominionists. In order to try and sound biblical, they are forced to mangle scripture. The cited verses are very important for believers and they deal with hypocrisy regarding sin, not politics. In other words, if we were to call out our brother for infidelity while being unfaithful to our own spouse, then we need to remove the plank in our own eye first. In her ridiculous example, complaining about how the government is run is raised up to the level of sin, as is not being involved politically. Beloved, Jesus will not be reviewing your voting record when you stand before Him, I assure you.
"Christians understand the concept of tithing, but they seem to be totally disconnected from the fact that just as money is needed to run a church and feed orphans, money is needed to run campaigns to elect the right kind of people to office. I have seen firsthand that people of faith can make an incredible difference in the needs of suffering communities here at home and all over the world. I have witnessed them fighting problems such as homelessness, youth violence, drug addiction, HIV/AIDS and malaria. I have seen them respond to disasters, provide education, deliver food assistance, and so much more. That degree of caring, commitment, and organization can also work toward strengthening our democracy and governance." - Terri Hasdorff
No, it really can't. Hasdorff is now comparing acts of charity to working in government as an elected official. There is a vast difference between volunteering at a homeless shelter and resolving a city's homelessness problem. The truth is that tithing is also not Christian but that is a subject for another devotional or check out the book I wrote on the subject (yes, shameless plug). Listen, if you think you have found a righteous politician and you want to donate to their campaign, knock your socks off. Just do not pretend it was a Christian endeavor and do not act surprised when they turn out to be Dennis Hastert. Or Bob Livingston. Or Newt Gingrich. Or Donald Trump. To be clear here, I am not suggesting Christian cannot run for office or have a career in politics. I am saying it is not required from our faith. The real sin here is in trying to link our faith to one political party, pretending they are somehow the righteous choice and demonizing anyone who disagrees.
"First and foremost, we must humble ourselves and pray, for this should always be where we start. "If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land" (2 Chron. 7:14, emphasis added). It doesn't stop there however. Saying to our leadership, "I'm going to pray for you," and then going on about our lives just isn't enough. To restore the country and preserve our freedoms, including our religious freedoms, you are going to have to get involved." - Terri Hasdorff
I want you to seriously consider what that says about the God we claim to serve. Sure, you can pray but to really see change? You have to get involved. So, I am more powerful than God? I don't think so. The application of the Chronicles verse is entirely wrong as well. First of all, it is intended for Israel, not the church. Allowing it to somehow become prescriptive for the church means examining the SIN of the church! That is what must be turned from if we want to see God heal our land. That means the church must repent of all of the prevailing false teachings that have infected the her so badly. That means repenting of prosperity gospel, word faith, false signs and lying wonders, gold dust, gemstones, angel feathers, glory clouds, grave sucking, dead raising teams, sneaky squid spirits, angels of abundant harvest, motivational schemes, self-help encouragement, purpose driven heresies, seeker friendly and of course, dominionism. That is just off the top of my head. Hasdorff skips the most crucial part of using the Chronicles verse and pretends if we just get involved that all of problems would disappear. Spoiler alert! They won't!
"What would have happened if Elisha stopped with prayer in 2 Kings 4:32-35? "When Elisha reached the house, there was the boy lying dead on his couch. He went in, shut the door on the two of them, and prayed to the Lord. Then he got on the bed and lay on the boy, mouth to mouth, eyes to eyes, hands to hands. As Elisha stretched himself out on him, the boy's body grew warm. Elisha turned away and walked back and forth in the room and then got on the bed and stretched out on him once more. The boy sneezed seven times and opened his eyes." Prayer was just the start of the miracle that was performed through Elisha!" - Terri Hasdorff
This is completely true about Elisha and of course has absolutely nothing to do with the church and politics. I might add here again how poorly Hasdorff seems to view prayer. The story he relates regarding Elisha starts with prayer. True, he does lay himself upon the boy twice, but we do not know why he does this. We do not know if God compelled him to or if he thought that it was important, but the overall question is which part was vital for the miracle? The prayer or the physical machinations? Obviously, the prayer since it preceded everything else. It is quite telling that Hasdorff wants to focus on the carnal machinations and downplay the true power on display that day, prayer.
