Die Free & Live Forever: How Politics, Power, and Praise Shape Us (A Guest Article by Jeremy & Katie Riddle)
A GUEST ARTICLE BY JEREMY & KATIE RIDDLE
Like many of you, we’ve been singing Jeremy’s songs for years—so we have some good news for you! The Riddles are releasing a new album in collaboration with their Dwelling Place Anaheim family later this year. They’re also preparing for the release of Jeremy’s first book, The Reset. Stay tuned and follow him on social media to be the first to hear its release. We’re so grateful for their voices and for this piece.
At the start of this fateful year, before most of us had any clue what was barreling toward us, our friend and pastor Alan Scott told us to be on the lookout for a political spirit that would be seeking to create division, chaos, and separation. He warned us that this divisive spirit wouldn’t just remain in the upper levels of government, but would attempt to flow all the way down into our churches, homes, and families. We didn’t think too much of this at first, but in hindsight, we’re so thankful for the awareness it has brought.
First of all, let us say that we believe in democracy. We believe in using the influence God has given each and every one of us to effect and encourage righteousness in the nations He’s planted us in. We believe in voting for biblical, God-honoring laws and leaders to whatever degree those options avail themselves to us. But we have also been troubled to watch so many trade the freedom of living wholeheartedly unto Jesus for the chokehold of serving a fragile political party, their well-being rising and falling along with the system. If our hope and stability oscillates with our political party, then politics has become an idol. We must lift our eyes higher than the dust cloud stirred up by the political spirit and look to the Lord who generously gives us wisdom without finding fault, and it will be given to us when we ask Him for it.[1]
We are living in a time when the Church’s unity in Christ is critical, which is precisely why the enemy wages such fierce warfare against it—because it’s loaded with heavenly promise. Oh, the power and possibilities a unified Body of Christ could bring to the earth in this moment! Instead of bickering and slandering, or cowering and pandering, we could be hastening His return by linking arms as a global, unified bride, full of the power and presence of the Holy Spirit, co-laboring with one another to see a great harvest of perishing people rescued out of the kingdom of darkness and brought into the marvelous light of Jesus.
We can’t help but feel the public posture of the American church towards our local governments in this moment needs quick re-alignment. Instead of coming alongside our cities as humble servants with Kingdom hope and solutions to help alleviate crisis, we’ve brought our bullhorns and entitlement and only added to it. We seem to have forgotten that the potency of our prayer and praise has never been dependent on the number of those we gather with. Scripture tells us all the potency and power of Jesus Himself is present even when only two or three gather. Let us no longer continue to allow this political spirit to fog our vision and stifle our purpose here on earth. Perhaps if we led with compassion, self-sacrifice, and servitude towards our governments and communities, most of the battles we are currently fighting for religious freedoms would be needless.
RELATED READING // Part 2 in our series with an Iranian apostle. What if God is doing something in the stresses of 2020 to ready His people in America to handle the greatest revival intake we’ve ever seen? Read more here
We must always remember to put our personal freedom where it belongs: at Jesus’ feet. We must remember we find our freedom in the laying down of our lives, not fighting for them. We find our joy walking in the way of Jesus, tying a towel around our waists, and washing the feet of those around us; yes, even Judas’.
Living a life in complete surrender to God aligns our hope, peace, joy, and fear rightly; it causes the fear of man, fear of impending doom, fear of rejection, and fear of discomfort to slip off of us like a veil that once shrouded our eyes from clarity. A surrendered trust in God enables us to see things rightly and keeps us from stumbling over objects in our path that once stubbed our toes.
RELATED READING // “If His Kingdom were of this world, we would fight. But it is not of this world, and we shouldn’t be either. The only war we’re fighting is against things we can’t see; for those we can see, we take the low road and wash a bunch of dirty feet.” Read more here
The political spirit would like us to think standing up for our rights is paramount. It would like us to destroy people and property in the name of justice instead of bringing healing that only Christ in us can bring. It would like us to see people as their opinions and actions instead of imago Dei. It would like for us to think this battle is indeed against flesh and blood. But we know better. It’s time to cast this spirit out of our presence because it’s meddling with the sacredness of our unity and calling. We need to repent, regain our spiritual authority, renounce our partnership with it—and tell it to go.
Let’s choose to follow how Jesus conducted His life on earth. He had all the rights and royalty in the cosmos, yet He chose to serve, feed, heal, and teach those around Him. His ultimate victory didn’t look like a political win. Quite the opposite. It was outside the city gates in complete surrender of His life that defeated death and separation. Instead of running from or fighting against His enemies, He rode towards them, fully conscious—offering His everything.
This is what it looks like to live as a son or daughter of God; not a democrat, a republican, or anything in-between. It looks like seeking first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness.[2] It’s fighting scarcity with generosity. It’s replacing fear with faith and remembering the only One worthy of our fear is the Lord. It’s remembering those who are truly being persecuted, even unto death, and doing what we can to build them up with prayer and resource. It’s getting our eyes off ourselves and onto Him, going where He goes, doing what He does.
May we always remember Who we serve, what we are battling, and where our strength, security, and future lies. It isn’t in the United States. It isn’t anywhere in the West. It rests solely with Jesus—our unshakable King and His Kingdom.[3] We will never discover how to position ourselves in the rhetoric of political camps. We will only find our correct posture by devoting ourselves to reading His Word, to prayer, and to serving the needs of our communities with the good works He ordained us to do.
Jesus is the world’s only hope. We are to be the carriers of this hope with the peace that passes all understanding.[4] Those around us are longing for this hope, this peace, and need our steady hands to deliver it, unswayed by all that is shaking. We are stronger than this current social climate, because He is in us, and He is unshakable.
Maranatha.
Jeremy & Katie Riddle have been married for 21 years and currently live in Southern California with their five kids and Katie’s parents. They serve as worship & prayer pastors at Dwelling Place Anaheim and founded Wholehearted School & Ministry.
[1] James 1:5
[2] Matthew 6:33
[3] Hebrews 12:25-29
[4] Philippians 4:7