New President, Same Responsibilities—Vol. 2

On Monday, January 20, 2025, the United States will swear in a reelected President, the first such reelection since Grover Cleveland began his second term in 1893. While polls were close before the November election, Donald J. Trump defeated rival Kamala Harris and was elected to succeed President Joe Biden. After a very contentious election, many commentators were shocked that the U.S. would seemingly reverse course from liberal policies to a government that is expected to be very conservative in tone.

For many of my friends, the last two months have been times of extreme emotions. Those who are of the liberal mindset have bemoaned the reelection of Mr. Trump as nothing short of electing a dictator who could end democratic principles in his nation. Conservatives, on the other hand, are elated at “their” victory and have almost cast Mr. Trump into a messianic role—expecting him to save a nation they see as sliding further from greatness.

However, as most regular readers and viewers of Tomorrow’s World know, true Christians should not be swayed by these extreme emotions affecting our friends and family members who do not use the Bible as the foundation for their lives. This is because the Scriptures reveal that, regardless of our human leaders and the changes they may or may not bring, Christians have universal responsibilities toward their civil leaders.

The Bible directs Christians to view themselves as ambassadors of God’s government. This should help balance our interactions with the civil government where we reside (2 Corinthians 5:20; Philippians 3:20). It helps remind us that, regardless of the political rancor in our nation, we have duties we should be fulfilling: obeying civil laws, paying taxes, respecting the offices our leaders hold, and praying for them—that we may live peaceable, godly lives (Matthew 22:15–22; Romans 13:1–7; 2 Timothy 2:1–2). Remember that these verses were written when a profoundly corrupt Roman emperor ruled over most of the civilized world—hardly a man most Christians agreed with about religion or policy!

Nevertheless, these verses are still difficult to follow today. There are many things the U.S. government does, and will almost certainly do in the future, that should not sit well with true Christians. Yet the Bible declares that we are supposed to act the same toward our government regardless of the many issues that most Americans focus on. The Bible tells us to pray for our leaders, regardless of their party or politics. The Bible tells us to show respect to our leaders, regardless of what they post on social media. The Bible says to pay taxes, regardless of whether those taxes go toward paying for a wall, universal health care, military expeditions, or a host of other government policies that we may or may not agree with.

This transition of power can be a good time for Christians to ask themselves if they are truly acting as citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven and as Christian ambassadors. One thing we can do is evaluate how we Americans have done in praying for President Biden these last four years. He has been president for more than 1,400 days—on how many of those days did we offer a prayer for God to guide him? Even weekly prayers would come to more than 200 prayers for Mr. Biden. I know I have some room for improvement.

Are we planning on praying more for Mr. Trump than we did for Mr. Biden? This question might help us identify a bigger issue we need to address in our lives. If we plan to pray more for Mr. Trump because we realize we need to improve our prayers regardless of who the individual president is and we are trying to grow in Christian maturity, that is wonderful. Growth is always good.

However, if we plan to pray more—or less—for God to guide Mr. Trump because of political motivations, we still have a lesson to learn. If we allow politics to dictate how we follow Scripture, we have allowed our nation to become a false idol in place of following the plain instructions of the Bible. Praying more for a Republican than a Democrat—or vice versa—simply because of his political party shows us that we still have work to do if we are truly to be Christian ambassadors.

True Christians will never completely agree with this world’s political leaders, but they will recognize that their obedience to God, and to His instructions concerning how we treat our political leaders, is not based on party politics and which individual is in office. They will instead see that it is based on an earnest desire to live by “every word that proceeds from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4).

To learn more, be sure to subscribe to the Tomorrow’s World Bible Study Course. This free 24-lesson program will guide you through many vital issues, applying God’s word to life in today’s world. Also, be sure to check out the telecast “Is Christianity Dangerous?”