7924879_sJesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. “It is written,” he said to them, “‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’ but you are making it ‘a den of robbers’.”
(Matthew 21:12–13 NIV)

The moneychangers and those selling animals for the temple sacrifices were providing an essential service. Worshippers at the temple came from all parts of the Roman Empire. They needed to change whatever currency they were using to currency acceptable for the temple offerings. Similarly, people who had travelled from afar would find it inconvenient to bring along the animals they needed for the temple sacrifices. They would need to buy doves or whatever animals they were going to use in their offerings. The moneychangers and those who sold animals for the temple sacrifices provided a necessary service. That was not the problem. The problem was where they were doing it.

The temple was to be a place where people met with God. By doing their business in the temple complex, the moneychangers and those selling animals were distracting people from their worship of God. This is not the first time that something legitimate done at the wrong time and in the wrong place distracts God’s people from something that is primary. I think of the church and her involvement in politics.

Regular readers of this column will know of my passionate conviction that followers of Jesus should live out their faith in every sphere of life. Governments are one way that God structures human society (Romans 13:1–7). And God has made known what He expects of rulers.

The sayings of King Lemuel—an inspired utterance his mother taught him.

Listen, my son! Listen, son of my womb!
Listen, my son, the answer to my prayers!
Do not spend your strength on women,
your vigor on those who ruin kings.
It is not for kings, Lemuel—
it is not for kings to drink wine,
not for rulers to crave beer,
lest they drink and forget what has been decreed,
and deprive all the oppressed of their rights.
Let beer be for those who are perishing,
wine for those who are in anguish!
Let them drink and forget their poverty
and remember their misery no more.
Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves,
for the rights of all who are destitute.
Speak up and judge fairly;
defend the rights of the poor and needy.
(Proverbs 31:1–9 NIV)

Leaders are to be people who judge fairly, who do not use their office for personal gain, and who care for the weakest in society. If I am in a country that practices democracy and I have the privilege of voting for the government of the day, I must vote…and vote for a government that better approximates God’s ideals for leaders.

I am a realist. This side of heaven, there are no perfect leaders or political parties. Often I end up having to choose the lesser of two evils, but this too we must do. We must never lose sight of Jesus’s command for us to preach the gospel and to make disciples. We are called not just to preach the gospel but also to live out and to exhibit gospel values in all of life. We are called to be salt and light (Matthew 5:13–16).

I am grateful that the Malaysian church now better understands this. I am old enough to remember a time when the church operated with a sacred-secular divide and attended only to “spiritual” things, and that excluded any serious theological reflection and praxis in the area of politics. (This was true of the evangelical protestant circles I come from. Our Roman Catholic friends were much better on this score.) It gives me great joy that we have moved away from this false dichotomy. But I now have another concern. I am now concerned that we may let something that is good and legitimate distract us from our call to be God-focused.

The 13th Malaysian general election will soon be upon us. Many see this election in apocalyptic terms—a tussle for the heart and soul of the country. The battle lines have been drawn. The politicking is intense, and a church newly awakened to her societal responsibilities is also very engaged in this political battle. We have brothers and sisters running for political office from both sides of the political divide. (I know some of them and I pray for them and will do what I can to support them.) But I am also concerned. I am concerned that the intensity of the political battle may distract the church from her primary call—to attend to God, to be God-focused.

Politicians from both sides of the political divide are courting the church. It feels good to be courted and the possibility that we can make a difference in the life of the nation is heady. People are beginning to take notice of the church. We are now relevant to their purposes. But our purposes for any political involvement, as God’s people, must be God-led. Indeed, with so many voices calling out to us, we must, more than ever, listen to the still small voice of our Lord. Therefore we must ensure that the intensity of our political involvement not distract us from our devotion to the Lord.

The church is now the living temple of God (1 Corinthians 3:16–17). When people come into our gatherings they should encounter God. They should encounter a people who are excited about their Lord, not a community that is more excited about political activism than about the God they serve. Maybe I am getting older and worry too much. But I have seen a church that has too often let what is important distract us from what is central. Let us take care to always put God first. When we do that He will let us know what we should do in all areas of life, including the area of politics. Politics is one area we need to redeem for the King. But we will get involved as an expression of our love for God and neighbour, as an act of worship, not an involvement that distracts us from worship.