What Will a Conservative-Christian-President Mean?

(Article first published as What Will a Conservative-Christian-President Mean? on Technorati)

During the Republican candidates’ ongoing quest to become their party's nominee for President, evangelicals have cast their vote a few times. At first, they were excited about Governor Rick Perry. After he dropped out of the race and they sought an alternative to Mitt Romney, some evangelicals were even willing to embrace Newt Gingrich; never mind that he has been married three times, among other things.

Now it seems that the dominant choice among evangelicals is former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum. Recent polls show him surging, making it a real possibility for him to defeat Romney in the upcoming Michigan primary, which had been regarded as a sure win for Romney just weeks ago.

OK, so evangelicals have been rallying behind one conservative candidate after another, and for some reason it becomes national news when they do. And it is no secret that a number of the Republican candidates have courted evangelicals for their endorsement. Being a Christian myself, it is my desire to see God-fearing men and women occupy political offices. And we should labor to that end.

But let us bear in mind that we can never fulfill Christ’s mandate through politics. The Office of the President of the United States provides the occupant a powerful platform through which he can influence the moral fabric of the nation-- to some degree. On the other hand, there are so many strings attached to almost everything that gets accomplished in Washington.

So even if a presidential candidate has solid, conservative, Christian values and he promises us the world in terms of what he will do and what he will overturn if elected, there is very little that he can get done. Excuse me for sounding a little sarcastic, but it’s just that I have been around awhile, and I have heard lots of empty promises made on the campaign trail over the past few decades. This is not to question a politician’s sincerity. It’s just that change in Washington comes painfully slow.

Like all other sectors of our society, evangelicals should rally behind candidates that espouse their interests and values. But let us make sure that we stay focused on the real deal. The most effective way for Christians to effect change in the moral fabric of our society is by passionately being about our Father’s business at the grassroots level. No one in Washington can get that done for us.

Copyright ©2012 by Frank King. All rights reserved.