In the days of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will shatter all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, but will itself stand forever.
Daniel 2:44
I used to be very political, with a defined opinion regarding every political talking point.
As all of us usually do, I started off as I was raised — a staunch Republican (my grandfather made his money in the oil business, so I guess at that time, voting Republican was expected) — but gradually, perhaps to much of my family’s chagrin, I veered towards a “live and let live” approach, possibly best exemplified by a more “small government” Libertarian lean.
Over the years of observation and a broadening understanding of the spiritual, however, my political views have become very much Apolitical. Some might even say I lean towards Anarchy, and given all political options, between one evil and another, I wouldn’t be offended by that label at all.
It’s not that I am opposed to the rule of law, or that I reject order. It’s just that I have a different view of what Law should be, where this Law comes from, how this Law should manifest in our lives, and the individual Responsibility each of us have to this Law and the part we all play in ensuring Order.
Ultimately, I believe in One Law—the Law of Love—that is expressed equally in three ways: the love of God, the love of self, and the love of others.
This same view is expressed similarly by many different religious and spiritual leaders of all different sorts of paths, but when questioned by law experts in his day as to what the greatest law was, Jesus said it this way:
‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.
Jesus Christ – Matthew 22:37-40
As one who lives in the U.S., I can’t speak for other cultures outside of mine, but citizens here are largely brainwashed from an early age to believe that their rights come from the government. Other get more defined and say that their rights come from the Constitution.
There are degrees as to how severely brainwashed people are, and to how strongly people hold to these beliefs; and, of course, there are always debates about what role government should play in our lives, whether a large role or a small role, and what exactly that role should be.
But the way I see it, regardless of big or small government, and regardless of who holds public office, whether local, state, or national, too many people are used to being told by their government what to do, how to do, when to do, that they can’t even imagine doing something so simple as driving their vehicle back and forth to work without someone telling them how to safely navigate the roads.
By-and-large, society has been so dumbed down now, and people are so used to “sucking the government’s teat,” as the saying goes, that very few take personal responsibility to see to the care of their own self, much less the care and safety of others, including their own children (!). Instead, they are happy to relegate those responsibilities to the government.
I could rail on and on, but I won’t waste my energy or your time. Instead, I’ll just say that I believe and trust not in government systems that are built by the minds of the few that have been granted an imagined power, and who are given an ungodly legitimization through the ignorance and sloth of the masses.
I do not place my hope in government systems that are given power and authority by the god of this world, and are kowtowed to by the fearful.
I do not pledge my allegiance to corrupt governments, nor to their emblems.
I have no faith in draconian governments that are given an unholy life by the Beast system, nor will I bow to such a system.
Perhaps some would judge my views to be rather naive and impossibly utopian, and that’s okay. People have a right to their opinions. But I bow to God alone; I pledge my Allegiance to God alone, and to His Kingdom; I believe in, have faith in, and trust in the Kingdom of God, and as Jesus taught, I believe that the Kingdom of God is within us.
So what does this mean, practically speaking?
I’m not entirely sure yet. I’m working on shifting my thinking to this new paradigm. And I’m learning to allow the Spirit to manifest God and His Kingdom through me. What that means in a year from now, or five or ten or fifty, if my physical body lasts that long, I don’t know. I’m just focused on what God is working within me right now, and not worrying about what may be later, because right now is the gift that I’ve been given.
But I know how it is changing me for the better. I recognize the peace and the wholeness that is blooming inside my Spirit, expanding my thinking and my whole Being. And in spite of the craziness that is going on in this earthly plane of existence right now, I also know that I am excited about what the Spirit and the Spirit Guides frequently show me. And I know that whatever happens on this earthly plane, the spiritual is where the real action is, and that’s where joy and the beauty and the Goodness of God IS.
Maybe I can’t see the Kingdom of God with my physical eyes, but I see it every day with my spiritual eyes, I interact with it everyday, and I am daily being transformed by it, as the Spirit fills me with righteousness, peace, and joy. (Romans 14:17)
If our rights to Freedom and Sovereignty are given to us by government, then such rights can also be taken away by government.
If our rights to Freedom and Sovereignty are given to us by a legal document — a Constitution of any Nation — that can be interpreted, amended, and enforced by the differing factions within said government, then our rights can easily be amended and interpreted away, and our subsequent slavery enforced.
But our Rights come from God alone. Whether or not any one government or any man-made constitution gives recognition to that fact is irrelevant: Our Freedom and Sovereignty is given to us by God, and no one can take that from us.
It is my prayer that more and more people, regardless of who they are, where they come from, and no matter how they express their spiritual and religious beliefs, will begin to realize the Beauty and the Power of what God has placed inside of them, and lay hold of the Responsibility of what it means to be a Citizen of God’s Kingdom.
Diary of a Christian Mystic 