New Year's Resolutions for Christian Advancement of Politics and Culture

With this last post of 2013, I would like to establish some resolutions that every Christian in America should adopt to improve our country's political and social structure. This is not an exhaustive list, of course, nor does it necessarily indicate the most important things for Christians to focus on.

1. Witness

It is no surprise that witnessing is sure to help out with any social decline. When we discuss social problems after all, we are usually referring to the increase of certain immorality. We all know that God transforms lives. Thus, a society based on Christianity would naturally have fewer social issues. Of course, that is all from a Christian perspective. Non-Christians would likely view these social issues as no concern at all. That is exactly the reason why witnessing can impact social structure so positively. 

So we see that as the Bible says, 

"Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord."

This is obviously not the most important reason to witness. The most important reason to witness is not any mere practical consequence in this earth, but rather for eternity. This though goes without saying. 

2. Stay Informed

Here's the thing about having Christians to influence politics and culture. It's absolutely fantastic, but it doesn't actually happen if Christians live like hermits in caves, completely unaware of what is going on in the world. We shouldn't obsess over any social, cultural, or political crisis. We are after all called as the cliche says to be in this world, but not of this world. But sometimes, I think Christians forget that we still need to be IN the world. 

You may think it doesn't matter what happens in the world, but we know that the politics of this nation could threaten the right of people in this country to worship the Lord freely. Right now, we are already seeing attacks on prayer in schools and other similar items. We need to be informed about threats to every one of our rights because every right protects the others. 

3. Engage

So we're informed. Christianity now allows our society and politics to advance, right? Not exactly. It does little good to be informed if we don't use that information for good. We must be willing to engage with the society, with the government, with the courts. We need to be prepared to act. There is a quotation attributed to Samuel Adams that goes, 

"It does not take a majority to prevail, but rather an irate, tireless minority, keen on setting brushfires of freedom in the minds of men."

If we manage to witness effectively and strengthen a Christian majority in this country, a majority that is now informed about the troubles facing our country, we have accomplished nothing if we don't actively pursue change. Knowing the plagues and issues in our country only will serve to depress us if we don't do something about preventing them. That is the final step for Christians to positively influence America.