—A Warning to Christians Who Seek Political Power

There’s a shift happening. A slow drift, really. One that doesn’t feel like a revolution. Not yet. It feels more like a revival.

Like we’re “bringing God back.” Like we’re finally “standing up for truth.” Like we’re “reclaiming the nation for Jesus.” But underneath the worship music and American flags… beneath the talk of morality and mandates and “Christian values”… there’s something else at play. Something ancient. And dangerous. It’s the belief that God wants us to be in control.

The idea that the Kingdom of God arrives

on ballots

and bills

and benches

and borders.

But here’s the thing… When religion marries power, it doesn’t produce righteousness. It produces empire. And empires don’t typically love their enemies.

They silence them.

They deport them.

They legislate against them.

They crucify them.

---

The Whisper of Scripture

We’ve seen this before. Not just in history books, but in the pages of scripture.

Saul was chosen by God. Anointed. Humble. But somewhere along the way, he became obsessed with keeping control. He started trusting weapons more than worship. Started fearing his enemies more than following his God. And in the end,his need for dominance cost him the very thing he was trying to protect.

Or take Solomon—the wisest man who ever lived. He built a temple for God… and then altars to false gods right beside it. Why? Because empire doesn’t stop expanding once it starts. Because when the goal becomes control, compromise always follows.

These aren’t just ancient stories. They’re warnings. Road signs carved into the arc of human faith, for anyone who dares to claim God’s name while grasping for power.

---

Jesus Refused Political Power. So Why Are We Grasping for It?

When Satan tested Jesus in the wilderness, he offered him the kingdoms of the world. All the power. All the control. Jesus could’ve taken the deal. He could’ve ruled with perfect justice. He could’ve forced righteousness on the world.

But he didn’t.

Why?

Because the Kingdom of God is not a government. It’s not a nation. It’s not something you legislate into existence. It’s not enforced. It’s embodied. It’s a way of being. A revolution of love. From the bottom up. Not the top down. Every time Jesus was offered power, he rejected it.

When they tried to crown him king, he disappeared into the hills (John 6:15).

When Pilate asked if he was leading a rebellion, Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world” (John 18:36).

So why are we doing what Jesus refused to do? Why are we so desperate to seize control, to make laws in his name, to baptize power and call it faith?

A Theocracy Won’t Save Christianity—It Will Corrupt It

Let’s say Christian nationalists got everything they wanted. Let’s say America became a theocracy. Biblical laws enforced. Prayer in schools. Ten Commandments in every courthouse. Church attendance as civic virtue.

Would that make us a holier nation?

Would it bring people to Jesus?

Or would it just make people resent the God we claim to represent?

Because here’s the truth:

You can’t legislate love.

You can’t mandate mercy. You can’t police people into the Kingdom of God. The moment Christianity becomes a tool of government, it ceases to be the Way of Jesus and becomes just another instrument of control. And if history has taught us anything, it’s this: When the church grabs the sword, the gospel is the first thing to bleed.

And let’s be honest—which Christianity are we talking about?

Catholic? Evangelical? Baptist? Pentecostal? Mormon? Seventh-Day Adventist? King James Only? Joel Osteen’s fan club? The moment you say “Christian nation,” you have to answer: whose version gets to rule?

Because once you legalize one flavor of faith, you criminalize all the others.
And the power to decide what counts as “biblical” can shift overnight.

Imagine a president mandating Trump’s “God Bless The USA” Bible as the only approved translation. Your ESV becomes contraband. Your pastor gets fined for quoting the NIV. Youth group starts with a loyalty pledge to whatever theology is trending on cable news.

Now flip it.

Imagine a progressive president rising to power and declaring that only inclusive, gender-neutral Bibles are allowed in public spaces.
Your pastor’s sermon on Paul gets flagged for non-affirming rhetoric.
The Beatitudes come with trigger warnings.
Youth group can’t open in prayer unless every faith tradition is represented on stage.
And communion?
Only gluten-free, sustainably sourced, interfaith-approved elements allowed.

It’s still a theocracy.
Just not yours.

It sounds absurd—until it isn’t.

That’s the problem with theocracy. It only feels holy when your people are in charge.
It’s all “God and country” until the state decides your church is the heretical one.

---

What If We Took Jesus Seriously Instead?

If we really believed him, we’d live like he meant it.

Love your enemies.

Not just tolerate them. Love them. (Matthew 5:44)

Bless those who persecute you.

Not drag them on social media. (Romans 12:14)

The first shall be last.

Not “the faithful shall be first.” (Matthew 20:16)

Turn the other cheek.

Not build bigger walls. (Matthew 5:39)

Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s—and to God what is God’s.

Which, by the way, is everything else. (Mark 12:17)

Does this sound like someone who’d storm the Capitol with a cross in one hand and a flag in the other? Does this sound like someone who’d demand religious dominance? Or does it sound like someone who chose death over dominance, silence over slander, mercy over mandates?

---

A Call to Repentance (For All of Us)

I’m not writing this to win an argument. I’m writing this because I’ve been there. I know how easy it is to think we’re defending God when really we’re just defending our own comfort. I know the fear. The anxiety. The sense that the world is slipping away from us. That everything is changing and quickly. That we need to do something. But not all action is Christlike. Not all urgency is holy. And not all power is sacred.

So here’s the hard invitation:

If we’ve confused political power with the Kingdom of God, we need to repent.

If we’ve cheered for policies that harm the very people Jesus died to love, we need to repent.

If we’ve become more concerned with being right than being love, we need to repent.

And if we’ve allowed bitterness, arrogance, or self-righteousness to fill our hearts while pointing fingers at “them”— we need to repent, too.

Because the Kingdom of God is not built on fear. It’s not secured by force. And it’s not handed to politicians. It’s lived. Moment by moment. Choice by choice. In how we love our neighbor. And that… that is something no government can ever take away.

But if we ignore the warnings…

If we baptize our politics and call it faith… If we crown Caesar and think he looks like Christ… Then history will speak again.

Because we’ve seen what happens

when the church trades the cross for the sword,

when it waves the flag and forgets the poor,

when it preaches purity and forgets mercy.

It doesn’t lead to revival.

It leads to ruin.

Thanks for taking the time to read my blogs! I’d love it if you subscribed or left a comment, especially if something resonates with you, stirs something in you, or if you just want to say hello. -JD