A better way to pray. But first, a joke.

A man is getting concerned about his son, who is reaching adulthood but still doesn't know what he wants to do with his life. The man calls the preacher for advice.

"We'll give him a little test," the preacher says, "and he'll tell us what he wants to do without knowing it."

The preacher goes into the boy's room and puts four items on his bed: a Bible, a dollar bill, a bottle of whiskey, and a dirty magazine. He explains to the father, "We'll watch through the window and see what he picks up first. If it's the Bible, he'll be a preacher, praise God. If it's the dollar, he'll be a businessman, which is still good. If it's the whiskey, he'll be a lazy no good drunkard, and if it's the magazine, he'll be a worthless skirt chasing womanizer."

They head outside when the son comes home and watch through the window. The boy takes a look at the items. He picks up the Bible and puts it under his arm. He takes the dollar and puts it in his pocket. He picks up the whiskey and takes a swig while admiring the centerfold in the magazine.

"Lord help us," says the preacher, "he's going to run for Congress!"

Like my earlier joke, it would be funnier if it weren't so true. Which leads me into the real point I want to get to. The relationship between a Christian and the government has been weighing on me recently. Beyond the standard platitudes of render unto Caesar, blah, blah, what is my real responsibility?

See, I have deep, fundamental philosophical differences with the current administration, and I have not been quiet about them. But it's been suggested to me that our duty to God is to pay our taxes and be model citizens. I don't take this to mean unquestioning agreement with the government, nor does it outlaw working within the law to stop or change policy. But I've been concerned lately that airing my disagreements may cause me to be perceived as an angry, complaining nut job. And that would most definitely hurt my testimony for Jesus.

So rather than spend my time pointing out the flaws of our never-perfect government or praying for "deliverance", I've decided to pray both for our current elected leaders to have wisdom, and also for God to raise up candidates for office that understand that being elected to office and placed in authority is a divine privilege and one of the highest forms of service to Him. What if we all prayed for that? Would it be possible that on a future ballot there would be a candidate you would actually be proud to vote for, and remain proud of afterward? How refreshing would that be?

Good thing I got that Congress joke out of my system first.