Life in a Lost World: Serving Ungodly Governments Pt. 2: Acts of defiance

Last week I introduced four servants of God from the book of Daniel. What makes them relevant to our discussion about serving the government is their roles as public servants under captivity of the Babylonian, then the Persian empires. I talked about Daniel's choice to make godly choices in order to be an example for other Jews, and how he tactfully declined to eat and drink the food offered to idols with the king.

But what happens when a king not only makes a decree that is directly against God, but threatens severe sanctions, even death, for disobedience?

It's clear - God gives rulers the authority over nations. But when rulers attempt to take God place and usurp His divine authority,  the established order is tossed out of balance... not the least of which is that people of God will be put through persecution and punishment for their beliefs.
This was the case with Nebuchadnezzar. King Nebu had his eye in the clouds, so to speak; his ultimate goal was the restoration of Babylon to world dominance and recognition. His notable works were great architectural feats, like temples to the Babylonian gods, the royal palace, the Ishtar Gate, and the wondrous Hanging Gardens.
In Daniel's second chapter, Nebu had a dream in which a giant image made of gold, silver, iron, bronze and clay appeared. Daniel ended up interpreting the dream, telling Nebu that the Babylonian kingdom represented the golden head of the image, the first of many kingdoms that would rise and fall.
I'm sure Nebu had the dream in mind when he decided to have his talented builders erect a 100-foot statue of himself, in plain view on a plain, visible from everywhere in Babylon province.

King Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold, sixty cubits high and six cubits wide, and set it up on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon. He then summoned the satraps, prefects, governors, advisers, treasurers, judges, magistrates and all the other provincial officials to come to the dedication of the image he had set up. So the satraps, prefects, governors, advisers, treasurers, judges, magistrates and all the other provincial officials assembled for the dedication of the image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up, and they stood before it.

Then the herald loudly proclaimed, “Nations and peoples of every language, this is what you are commanded to do: As soon as you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe and all kinds of music, you must fall down and worship the image of gold that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up. Whoever does not fall down and worship will immediately be thrown into a blazing furnace.”

.... So Nebuchadnezzar took his narcissism and grandiose vision one step further and made himself a god to be worshipped. Indeed, it wasn't enough that the captive Jews were to live among idol worshippers or find a way to circumvent eating the king's feast... now, they were subjected to a universal decree that all must bow down to an image of the king or be put to painful death in a fiery furnace... the simple tolerance of a societal norm was now an unholy mandate. This would be a life and death test for God-fearing Jews... these are the Jews for whom Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah strived to be perfect examples of godliness... and apparently it rubbed off (and rubbed the pagan astrologers and priests the wrong way):

Therefore, as soon as they heard the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp and all kinds of music, all the nations and peoples of every language fell down and worshiped the image of gold that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.

At this time some astrologers came forward and denounced the Jews. They said to King Nebuchadnezzar, “May the king live forever! Your Majesty has issued a decree that everyone who hears the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe and all kinds of music must fall down and worship the image of gold, and that whoever does not fall down and worship will be thrown into a blazing furnace. But there are some Jews whom you have set over the affairs of the province of Babylon—Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego—who pay no attention to you, Your Majesty. They neither serve your gods nor worship the image of gold you have set up.”

Something I haven't related to yet is that Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah were given different names by their captors as they served the Babylonian kingdom. The names were given so that they would 'assimilate' into the Chaldean/Babylonian kingdom.
A side point about these names - observe the contrast between their Jewish names and their Chaldean names:
Hananiah means 'God who is gracious' , vs. Shadrach 'command of the moon god'
Misha'el means 'Who is like God?' vs. Meshach 'Who is what Aku is?'
Azariah means 'God has helped' vs. Abednego 'Servant of Nebo'

Now, they were being command to betray the one true God in more than just name. These three, obviously, were pointed out as the chief 'instigators' of this rebellion, which enraged the king.

PROBLEM: More than merely a decision of conscience, this was a life-or-death situation in which Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego had to decide which god they would serve. It is not indicated that they received any assurance from God or Daniel that they would be safe from the fiery punishment that awaited them for defiance. It was a choice - bow down before a giant golden image and live, or refuse and die painfully. 

Furious with rage, Nebuchadnezzar summoned Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. So these men were brought before the king, and Nebuchadnezzar said to them, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the image of gold I have set up? Now when you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe and all kinds of music, if you are ready to fall down and worship the image I made, very good. But if you do not worship it, you will be thrown immediately into a blazing furnace. Then what god will be able to rescue you from my hand?”

Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to him, “King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”

I'm sure at this point, within his rage, Nebu was amazed that anyone would defy him, let alone three court vassals. The men to this point had obtained his trust, and on the surface, remained loyal to their duties for the king. But of course, they had a deeper loyalty, to the God who was with them during their darkest rebellions and miraculous recoveries over the ages.
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were not going to make excuses or defend themselves. You see, their defense was their conviction and utter faith in the power of God beyond what Nebuchadnezzar could ever understand. They certainly did not know what God would allow - but they were ready to walk right into the fire rather than serve the false gods of the Babylonians, particularly a human Nebuchadnezzar who had set himself up as a god.

Then Nebuchadnezzar was furious with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and his attitude toward them changed. He ordered the furnace heated seven times hotter than usual and commanded some of the strongest soldiers in his army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and throw them into the blazing furnace. So these men, wearing their robes, trousers, turbans and other clothes, were bound and thrown into the blazing furnace. The king’s command was so urgent and the furnace so hot that the flames of the fire killed the soldiers who took up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and these three men, firmly tied, fell into the blazing furnace.

A king's narcissism turns to uncontrollable rage, and Nebu wanted to make sure these three men not only got what they deserved, but that they were made an example. The furnace, which I'm sure was already pretty hot, was stoked so hot that the soldiers who were escorting Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego up to the mouth of the furnace were killed. The furnace was obviously some kind of pit, or roofless structure because 

we then read that the three godly men subsequently fell into the fire. 

SOLUTION: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were willing to risk extreme death for what they believed. 

None of them really knew what was going to happen... but it did, in amazing fashion:

Then King Nebuchadnezzar leaped to his feet in amazement and asked his advisers, “Weren’t there three men that we tied up and threw into the fire?”

They replied, “Certainly, Your Majesty.”

He said, “Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods.”

Nebuchadnezzar then approached the opening of the blazing furnace and shouted, “Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out! Come here!”

So Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego came out of the fire, and the satraps, prefects, governors and royal advisers crowded around them. They saw that the fire had not harmed their bodies, nor was a hair of their heads singed; their robes were not scorched, and there was no smell of fire on them.

Then Nebuchadnezzar said, “Praise be to the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who has sent his angel and rescued his servants! They trusted in him and defied the king’s command and were willing to give up their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God. Therefore I decree that the people of any nation or language who say anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego be cut into pieces and their houses be turned into piles of rubble, for no other god can save in this way.”

Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the province of Babylon.

Who was the fourth man with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego? Was it an angel sent to protect them (an ancient apocryphal text in the Greek Septuagint  mentions an angel who made the fire feel like the coolness of morning dew)? Was it Jesus pre-incarnate? It's not perfectly clear here. However, what is clear is that the men survived the horrific furnace unscathed, with not a singe on their clothes, hair, or bodies.

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were likely no more than 25 years old-- yet their unwavering faith stood up when tested with the ultimate choice.. of serving a real God and losing their physical lives, or bowing to false gods and maintaining the status quo. God never promised them the miracle he bestowed them, yet even with no foreknowledge, these three men defied a king who had command of legions of armies.

RESULT: As a result of the miracle which rescued them from a fiery furnace, Nebuchadnezzar was astonished and decreed that these were men of great value and faith, and that nobody in the kingdom was to oppose God... because there certainly was no god like Him.

We claim to believers in Christ, but to what lengths do we believe? Would it inconvenience us terribly to live and speak openly as if we were His children? Consider how far these three men of God went to defy a king and not behold themselves to false gods.
How does this apply to living in the world today? What are the idols we may be compelled to bow to?
How about this - Do you value each and every one of God's created people as yourself? How about the lives of the unborn? What about purity and the sanctity of marriage? Or laws that attempt to restrict our religious freedom by imposing regulations that stand against our consciences?
To trust the government to uphold the kind of morality that a personal relationship of God would provide is absurd. Rick Warren once said that if we put our hope in government in the world, we had better stop, because government has never done such a thing. Imposition of this kind of change doesn't come from the top, it comes from within... from the heart of society, and the impact that the church, standing together and loving the world like Christ did, can make.
So far, I've described two ways we can serve ungodly governments: 1) Do what's right at every opportunity and be an example to all; and 2) Rely on God to help you resist the false gods this world to which the world compels you to bow. Next time, I'll show you something that can change the hearts of the mighty.

Life in a Lost World: Serving Ungodly Governments Pt. 1: A Quiet Word, A Godly Example

In a previous post I expressed my convictions about this year's election results, and how we as Christians should react to the political battle and its fallout. I gave 10 guidelines to follow in your day-to-day life in a fallen world.
I'd like to be a little more specific about what role we should play in ministering to our government. There may be some of us who are public servants, working to some capacity for our federal, state, or local governments. This also includes our brave young men and women in the military, who are bound to the orders of the Commander in Chief, the President of the United States. How should we conduct ourselves when we are given a command that is in conflict with our beliefs? Should we rationalize our decision based on Romans 13, where God has given the reins of authority to whom he allows?
I believe God indeed allows leaders to be appointed/elected. I do believe that with that divine appointment comes a vast amount of responsibility to the people over which the leader governs. If a leader abuses this power, the consequences for his actions will be far greater and more severe. Christians working for the government in any capacity are called to respect and defer to their leaders - in most cases. In all cases, the supremacy of God and the truth of His Word take priority, even when the earthly and heavenly kingdoms collide.
Let's take a look at a group of high-ranking public servants who were faced with three major challenges during the course of their service, and each of the three times not only challenged the orders of their superiors but managed to sway those leaders' thinking in a positive direction. There is no better example of how a Christian is to live under hostile rule than in the book of Daniel.
Daniel lived during a time of turbulent transition; the book begins with Judah in Babylonian captivity, and ends with the area under Persian influence. Judah was a vassal state under the Babylonian empire, and as such, had its most intelligent and able-bodied men deported to Babylon. Among these men were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. They were selected to become of members of the king's royal court.
During this time of captivity and service, Daniel and his friends underwent three tests of their loyalty to the government, which were more importantly tests of their devotion to God. One can observe from reading these three stories that there are three points to be made about the testing of our own political and spiritual loyalties.
The first such test happened shortly after Daniel's conscription. Under the Mosaic law, the Jews were not allowed to partake of food that had been offered to idols. Now, as part of their service to the king, they were to attend and participate in the royal feasts. David understood that the food and wine they were to be given had been previously dedicated to Babylon's many gods. He was well aware that the reason Israel was under captivity was a direct result of their recognition and worship of these foreign gods, and as such, taking part in the banquet, though not technically wrong, would present a harmful example to the Jews who observed him and were subservient to him in the king's courts.

But Daniel was determined not to defile himself by eating the food and wine given to them by the king. He asked the chief of staff for permission not to eat these unacceptable foods. Now God had given the chief of staff both respect and affection for Daniel.  But he responded, “I am afraid of my lord the king, who has ordered that you eat this food and wine. If you become pale and thin compared to the other youths your age, I am afraid the king will have me beheaded.”

 Daniel spoke with the attendant who had been appointed by the chief of staff to look after Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah.  “Please test us for ten days on a diet of vegetables and water,” Daniel said.  “At the end of the ten days, see how we look compared to the other young men who are eating the king’s food. Then make your decision in light of what you see.”  The attendant agreed to Daniel’s suggestion and tested them for ten days.

 At the end of the ten days, Daniel and his three friends looked healthier and better nourished than the young men who had been eating the food assigned by the king.  So after that, the attendant fed them only vegetables instead of the food and wine provided for the others. - Daniel 1:8-16

PROBLEM: Daniel and his friends had a moral problem with eating the kingdom-provided food and drink because it was dedicated to idols. They knew that eating the food in front of the other Jews would stir up God's anger because of what Israel had done in the past (which ended up leading them into this captivity)

David didn't go to the king, he went to the eunuch who was Nebuchadnezzar's chief of staff and made the request that he be fed a diet of vegetables and water instead of the expensive food and drink served at the king's table. The chief of staff was quite fearful, as to invoke the displeasure of the king often had a tragic, and most likely fatal, result. To calm his fears, Daniel went to his attendant and suggested they try this vegetarian diet for ten days... and if after ten days, if they were not any better than the men who had eaten the king's food, then it was up to the attendant to grant or revoke permission to Daniel and his friends. The  eunuch agreed.

SOLUTION: David and the three friends went, not to the king, but to his supervisor/caretaker, and asked permission not to eat the unacceptable foods. 

After 10 days subsisting on vegetables and water, Daniel and his friends not only lived up to the expectations that were given them, but they exceeded those of the other members of the king's court who ate the food and wine. 

RESULT: Eating a strict diet of vegetables and water, the men kept their consciences clean and at the same time served as a role model for the Jews in captivity. Without a king to rule them, Israel had a spiritual witness and leader... yet the large number of Jews still did not show faithfulness and continued to eat the king's meat and wine. Subsequently, they stood out to Nebuchadnezzar and were called upon to interpret his dreams and give him guidance over his own magicians and astrologers.

Often times we as Christians are told that our beliefs are antiquated. We certainly do not represent the views of the majority; yet when have God-fearing people been the majority? Countless times throughout the Bible, the majority had taken the easier life, which was the one that required less faith and effort to follow through - but in every case the majority was wrong! 

We need to remember this is true of America as well. Even though we are outnumbered, and the majority belittles our values, we can rest assured that we are in the right for sticking to what God tells us is the right way.. he says broad is the gate that leads to destruction, and the way of the righteous is but a narrow path that's rarely trod. Even if society makes us feel wrong for doing the right thing, we should have full assurance of God's blessings for listening to him. Though God puts in power governments that commit evil and blaspheme His name, the rewards for serving him in opposition are far greater than we can see or even comprehend.

Election: How should we respond?

Don't let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in Me. - John 14:1

What was I thinking?
I'm pretty much a product of my upbringing - brought up in a Christian home, going to church every Sunday, taught to respect my parents, be polite to others, and stand up for good. Even in a state that is as liberal as any part of our country can get, I realized the truth and stability behind conservative values, principles, and traditions. I spent a large majority of my teenage years in a country under the reassuring leadership of Presidents Ronald Reagan. I have vivid memories of his speeches, how he seemed to look me directly in the eye from his desk and tell things like they were, good or bad, yet always seemed to know all was going to be right. This is the country in which I grew up.. it's no longer the country in which I live.

Did I really expect things to remain the same?

If you ask me, I'd tell you bluntly that I'm very conservative. I would likely be unregistered to a party except that the Republicans, in which the last vestiges of conservatism still whisper weakly from within, have given me some flickering hope that there are still some principled people left in the world - but barely. The Democratic party as a whole I've all but given up for lost politically... in the last ten years they've morphed from a party of Clintonian compromise to one of full-on, ends-justify-means, brutal partisanship, a party with which I disagree largely in principles.... and it's become more than that. It's stoked a political battle that's got my blood boiling in anger and disillusion, as they've turned from a party that gave lip service to Christian values to one of full-on hostility toward Christianity and any semblance of absolutes in morality or ethical judgment.

So how could I deal with the other side winning on November 6th? These people were at odds with seemingly every Biblical principle learned in my lifetime. Why hasn't America come to its senses after four years of an administration that turned its nose on civility and honesty, with the economy going down the toilet, crises left festering across the globe, and people in so much despair? I truly thought that the majority would do the right thing and disregard the smears against someone who spend the better part of his life giving of himself to people.... how could I be so wrong?

And then, last week, I happened to read through Matthew 10. Jesus was commissioning his disciples, and gave them instructions to go out into the world and continue what he started.

"Look, I am sending you out as sheep among wolves. So be as shrewd as snakes and harmless as doves. But beware! For you will be handed over to the courts and will be flogged with whips in the synagogues. 
"You will stand trial before governors and kings because you are my followers. But this will be your opportunity to tell the rulers and other unbelievers about me. When you are arrested, don't worry about how to respond or what to say. God will give you the right words at the right time. For it is not you who will be speaking - it will be the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. 
"A brother will betray his brother to death, a father will betray his own child, and children will rebel against their parents and cause them to be killed. And all nations will hate you because you are my followers. But everyone who endures to the end will be saved. When you are persecuted in one town, flee to the next. I tell you the truth, the Son of Man will return before you have reached all the towns of Israel.
"Students are not greater than their teacher, and slaves are not greater than their master. Students are to be like their teacher, and slaves are to be like their master. And since I, the master of the household, have been called the prince of demons, the members of my household will be called by even worse names!
"But don't be afraid of those who threaten you. For the time is coming when everything that is covered will be revealed, and all that is secret will be made known to all. What I tell you now in the darkness, shout abroad when daybreak comes. What I whisper in your ear, shout from the housetops for all to hear!
"Don't be afraid of those who want to kill your body; they cannot touch your soul. Fear only God, who can destroy both soul and body in hell."

There is much more to this chapter than just this section; but for now we'll look at what Jesus instructs his disciples and how this applies to us as Christians as we face the world. First ,we need to realize a few things that have been true since long before our time - indeed, long before the time of the Gospels:

1. Man cannot be trusted to do the right thing by himself.  In the beginning of the formation of this country, our Founding Fathers realized that to succeed as a nation, we had to establish a framework based on timeless truths, and that God (and even Deists like Franklin and Jefferson realized this) was the ultimate source of those truths through his Word, the Bible. However, outside that truth, man left to his own devices seeks his own purposes above all, particularly when in power. Lord Acton in 1887 coined the famous phrase: "Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely."
2. History is a better judge of man's tendency to do wrong than we sometimes care to believe. The Old Testament is full of examples - almost in its entirely - of man's failure. God is gracious! That must certainly be believed when one reads through the Old Testament to see how many times, over and over, He grants Israel chance after chance to follow Him and redeem themselves.... but it only shows, in cyclical fashion, that even after a running start, Israel falls into decay and ends up invoking God's wrath and the direct consequences of their actions. Yet in their deep despair, God hears their cry and delivers them again and again, knowing that they're about to repeat their failure yet again in the years to come. 
3. Earthly government can never be counted on to solve man's primary problem. After years of wandering around in the desert, looking at other nations that were so well organized (but pagan), the Israelites decided one day that they, too, wanted a king, like everyone else. During the time of the Judges they had been beaten down time and time again by these outside oppressors, and they probably figured that they would stand a chance if they had strong human leadership like these other nations, that they would stand a chance. While they may have thought this was a great idea, they didn't realize that by doing so they were supplanting the leadership of God. When Samuel was confronted with this, he warned the people that they would be subject to the whims of a king, however corrupt, and that the further out of the picture they wanted God, the less willing He was to help them when they reaped the consequences of their selfish desires. They were granted a king; and even though they had a couple of God-fearing rulers on the throne, the nation of Israel split in two and the kings that were to follow became increasingly corrupt and evil until, over time, God's grace reached a limit once again and the consequences of Israel's actions led them into captivity.
4. We shouldn't expect any different this day and age. You'd think we'd have learned by now that we're flawed without God's guidance.. but man's inclination is to put himself on that throne, as the master of his own actions. And the outcome, like the premise, is the same as it ever was. Man's technology and knowledge of the world around him has changed, but the consequences for his actions have not. The names have changed... Jereboam, Ahab, Bush, Obama... it makes no difference. Our leaders are not our saviors, and when they're deified, some of the most horrific human tragedies happen as a result... think of the giant pictures of Saddam Hussein, or the monuments erected to Hitler . It's a testament to unbridled human power's legacy.
5. It's only going to get worse, no matter how much we try to prevent it. We can elect politicians to try and solve our problems, but the Bible says that until the end of history, when Christ returns triumphantly to earth, things will continue to worsen. Natural and manmade catastrophes, apocalyptic as it may sound, point to the end times. Entropy is a natural law - disease and decay, made possible by sin, are unescapable.
   And by every indication, Biblical and otherwise, Christians will be subject to more intense and widespread persecution, and the United States is and will be no exception to that. We've been the recipients of a fairly godly culture for many years, and until relatively recently, the majority at least paid a cursory respect to Christian culture and ethics in America. That is no longer the case; the majority is now at least ambivalent to Christians, a plurality of them hostile to Christian values. Christ in Matthew 10 said that we should expect this.. we should expect to be imprisoned, persecuted, even put to death for our faith.

Seems grim, right? I must admit, thinking of the implications of this last election really had me worried, at first. There are a lot of potential bad things that could happen in the very near future. Yet do we really believe that electing the right person is going to do anything but put off the inevitable for another 4-8 years?

This is where I had it completely wrong. By fretting the consequences of the election, I was not obeying God and acting in faith. Jonah probably had the same misgivings and bad feeling in his gut that we do, and he didn't obey God either when he was instructed to go to Ninevah. He thought, "No, God! Anyone but Ninevah! They're completely lost to the cause!" and with that he fled to the exact opposite corner of the known world, and we all know what happened after that. But God knew better than Jonah what was good for  Ninevah... He knew that the city was on the verge of transformation, something that Jonah had to trust because he had a ground view of everything.

There is a time to weep about the state of our country, but after that we must come to a reckoning - that our will, however well-meaning, is not God's will. Like Jonah, we don't see from God's perspective. We don't know the big picture, but God does. And we can take the news about the election and the state of our country badly, or we can choose to act rather than react and claim our area, our city, county, state, yes even our country for Jesus!

From Matthew 10 and Jesus' instructions, we are told how to live in light of such circumstances:

1. Be wise. Use God's word as a handbook for your daily lives in this tumultuous world. It contains absolute truth, and if you're in the Word every day, this truth will come to light in the midst of your circumstances. You need to be able to discern between truth and deception, between grace and compromise. Tolerance has been given much too broad a definition these days - to many, it now means embracing lifestyles that are not pleasing to God. We need to understand the difference between loving your neighbor and seeing that person as God sees him.... and compromising what is truly known as right and wrong. God loves the sinner, but it's not His desire for the sinner to stay that way, lost and separated from Him. 
2. At the same time, be humble. Love and humility go hand in hand. You can preach until your mouth goes dry and shake your Bible until the pages fall loose, but as 1 Corinthians 13 says, unless you have love, it's useless. Have you ever heard "do as I say, not as I do?" When people observe your actions, and that goes for acting better than anyone else, coming across as 'holier-than-thou', as well as any other circumstance, they ascribe what they know about Jesus to what they see in you - because we as Christians are all living representatives of Christ on earth. We should do our best to mirror him.. what better way than to read His Word and talk to him daily, always keeping in mind that he went so far as to die for all of us?
3. Prepare for persecution or worse. We have the privilege of living in a country that has been founded on Christian principles and has lived more or less by them for a number of years. That foundation, if you keep up with today's media culture, is crumbling around us. Ironically, the same people who call for tolerance of their sinful lifestyles show no such tolerance for Christians. Some even go out of their way to attack and denigrate Christians. Believe me, though, that is far from the worst it could be. Christians in other countries, like those under Islamist and atheist governments, are severely persecuted, tortured, and executed as a matter of routine. This has been the truth since the beginning - every single one of Jesus' disciples except John was put to death... and John died in exile on the isle of Patmos. Throughout the centuries, Christians have suffered and died for the cause of Christ at the hands of evil men. Our good fortunes in America will most likely not last for long.
4. Consider opposition an opportunity. It is when things are darkest that the light is most visible. In the face of true opposition to Christianity, one should be reminded that the in this contrast of good and evil, the light of Christ shines strongest. The people in China, for example, where they are in danger of death for their beliefs, are strong Christians and part of a living and rapidly growing church. I've heard stories about them memorizing pages of the Bible to recite to each other in case their physical Bible was taken from them. In such severe circumstances, it takes strong faith to survive.
   Can you imagine, though, what these people might be thinking when they're arrested by secret police, or taken in front of the judge or cast before their executioner? When one does not fear death, and has eternity in heaven to look forward to, the people who stand in opposition to them are another opportunity to speak the truth with the realization that God can indeed change men's hearts. (e.g. the conversion of Saul; the jailer at Phillipi; etc.)
5. Let the Holy Spirit guide you. Sometimes when we're put in situations where we can witness to others we're afraid what or how to say so as not to offend, or be put off, or look dumb. What are we thinking? The people you talk to, whether they be in some seedy bar, on the street, at the supermarket, or whatever, may never have another chance to hear the Good News. If you're thinking that the people around you might judge you because of what you say, consider this - there's 100% chance that the person you're talking to has just as many fears/doubts/hangups as you do. We're all human, and we need to get past the human way of looking at other people and consider looking at them from God's perspective. If you're trusting in Him, then you will have no problem saying the right thing at the moment - even if it may seem awkward. God knows a LOT more about that person than you do, trust him.
6. Accept that you will be hated but persevere nonetheless. Why? Because it's worth it! If you were fleeing a burning building and saw people sleeping on your way out, wouldn't you wake them vigorously to join you? Should we have so much antipathy for people who are asleep spiritually that we would want them to suffer eternally in Hell? I would hope and pray not... especially considering the Lord Jesus loves every single one of us, tragically flawed that we are, equally, and he died to prove it.
   He too was reviled, and if you are following in his footsteps, it's going to happen to you too. But we have an example to live by, and nothing that will happen to you for your testimony has never happened to Him.
7. REPEAT: Don't give up. We have to remember that there is something much, much greater than this, and that God rewards those who endure persecution and suffering to the end. And if you've exhausted all of one area, move to another, and don't stop. Anticipate the final goal, whether it be your reunion with the Bridegroom or his imminent return to earth.
8. Vocalize the truth. Do stand up for what is right. Proclaim God's word. If God lays something on your heart, "shout from the housetops for all to hear!" The disciples didn't have the advantage of knowing what Jesus was going to do, that he was going to die and resurrect himself from the dead in three days. They were living it with him. Jesus assured them that everything that they were going to preach to the world was going to be revealed as truth in time... that they indeed had a mission, and they should not be fearful of threats in light of God's promises.
9. Participate in the process. By all means, don't cower in fear and neglect to participate in the political process. We can still make our voice heard, see above, by voting, signing petitions, and participating in our electoral process for as long as it exists. Our forefathers knew very well what tyranny was, and the system they devised of checks and balances, while it may not last forever,  is a hardy one. Be a citizen, not an observer.
10. Don't be afraid. Death is not the end of this... this is our assurance.  Our body, like all before us, will end up rotting in the grave... it's of temporal use; however, our soul is eternal.  The only one who should be feared is God, who has control of our eternal destiny. And this is more than just the prompts of a puppetmaster - it is the hand of God that rescues the lowly sparrow; it is the mind of God that knows all the hairs on your head individually, and it is God in his eternal capacity for love who values each of us personally as his children. 

Don't let your heart be troubled because of an election. Many tragic things have happened during the brief history of this planet; abominations are a hallmark of man's fallen nature. It's not our purpose to lash out, but to reach out. We are not merely aliens on this planet awaiting our rescue from a doomed world, but fellow created beings with a Heavenly Creator God who should be reaching out to others. Love tears away the veil and pierces the darkness, and we should be equipping ourself to share it with the world at large. What politics and rhetoric may cloud, God's truth makes clear - we are citizens, not merely of the United States, but of heaven itself. Let's think that far ahead, and everything will turn out just fine.