Politics is making me depressed. It's a topic that is such a hot button issue for so many people out there, and everyone seems to have a pressing opinion about the whole thing. I've always been of the Boyd mentality, that what we need to be concerned about is the Kingdom of Heaven and the Church, and if we are effectively doing that, then true change will come about. It sounds good to me, it looks good on paper. Why wouldn't it work?

But I recently heard about a forum with Greg Boyd, Shane Claiborne, and Chuck Colson. Boyd and Claiborne are both about this idealistic mentality. But Colson said that they were just both being naive. In order to make a change in this world, Christians must be a part of the political system because no matter where you go, there will always be politics. Whenever a group of people gets together, there will be some type of system that binds how they interact with each other. That is simply politics. So does taking care of the Kingdom of Heaven and the Church also mean helping to contribute to the political system? I'm afraid I don't have the answers, just many questions.

Things like this tend to bog me down and make the future seem hopeless. But there's an awesome passage in Micah that brought me a lot of joy that I just haven't felt in a long time. The passage is Micah 4:5 and it says:

For all the peoples walk, each in the name of its god, but we will walk in the name of the Lord our God forever and ever.

This is real encouraging for me. Micah is a yonger contemporary of the prophet Isaiah. During their time, Assyria is the world power, and pretty much dominating everyone else around them. There are all kinds of crazy things happening, like Syria and Israel joining forces while Judah just sits things out. Everyone seem to be going every which direction. But this is what Micah has to say about this. Even though everyone is different and all of these nations have their own gods, we must choose to walk in the name of the Lord our God. Despite differences, despite confusion, what is important is walking in the name of the Lord. Not only are we doing it now, but it will happen forever and ever. The best part about this is, everyone else will follow suit.

I know it's a simple concept, and I know it's basic. But for some reason, it gave me a lot of joy when I started thinking about the mess of how Christians are to be involved in politics. Take it or leave it.