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Rightly Dividing
Some brothers I love dearly challenged me recently. They suggested that a Christian may not have a right to participate in civil government. "But, that's un-American!" Exactly. They're not Americans. :)
Anyway, the thrust of their argument was that civil governments are in place to reward the righteous and punish the wicked (see Rom 13, 1 Pet 2). Since Christians have no such mandate, but, rather, are instructed to be a blessing to all, the role of a Christian and the role of civil governments are incompatible to the point of mutual exclusivity.
As tantalizing as it may be to pursue this particular topic, I'd rather consider the principle at work here: "rightly dividing the word of truth." These brothers challenged me to slow down and really consider if I was making appropriate distinctions in God's word.
Paul wrote to Timothy in 2 Tim 2:15, “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth." The Greek word the NASB translates "accurately handling" and the KJV translates "rightly dividing" is orthotomeo. The word is used only once in the Bible, and it means "to cut straight."
Many examples of crooked cutting come to my mind: crooked ditches that can't hold a straight pipe, circuitous congressional district lines designed to generate a predictable outcome, intentionally vague contracts enacted for the purpose of graft. Such crookedness is either accidentally useless at best or intentionally harmful at worst. Making those ditches, lines, and contracts straight requires care, attention, honesty, and integrity.
When we approach the Bible, we need to slow down. We don't want to "divide" it messily and incorrectly. We also must approach it honestly. God's intent behind the message must override any preconceived intent behind our reading of that message. One of those "divisions" that we must make "rightly" is what Christians should do versus what we shouldn't do.
There are aspects of God's character that we pursue (love, patience), and there are aspects of God's character that we leave to Him (wrath, condemnation). There are roles that define appropriate and inappropriate actions (marital, familial), and we must take care to understand our roles and appropriate actions. For example, there are things parents are commanded to do (discipline) that if a child undertook, would be wrong.
I'm not sure I agree with my brothers about the separation of Christians from civil authority, but I am much less certain about my own understanding than I was before. That's not because I've never thought about the topic. It's because I've been forced to ask bigger questions. So, now, I'll ask you those questions.
Have you taken the time and effort to rightly divide the word of truth? Are you aware of the various roles you fill and what actions are appropriate to those roles? Have you considered that we are not to pursue every aspect of God's character, like wrath or condemnation, because we are children, and He is the Father?
Read the word. Live the word. But divide it accurately in the process.
