December 4 | Standing Against Political Corruption

Series | The Life of Revival

Scripture | Micah 3:9-12, “9 Hear this, you leaders of Jacob, you rulers of Israel, who despise justice and distort all that is right; 10 who build Zion with bloodshed, and Jerusalem with wickedness. 11 Her leaders judge for a bribe, her priests teach for a price, and her prophets tell fortunes for money. 12 Therefore because of you, Zion will be plowed like a field, Jerusalem will become a heap of rubble, the temple hill a mound overgrown with thickets.”

Lesson 4 | Standing Against Political Corruption

God is a good God that stands for truth, justice, righteousness, and charity, Isaiah 58.  The Lord has always stood against the corruption and sinful ways of men in power.  All throughout the Bible it can be clearly seen that God has judged and brought down nations that rebelled against Him.  God judged the Egyptians because of Pharaoh’s pride (Exodus 11-12), He allowed Babylon to be conquered by the Assyrians (Isaiah 13:9), and He even sent the leaders of Judah and Israel into captivity when they refused to obey Him (Micah 3:9-12).

Daniel 2:21 boldly declares, “He changes times and seasons; he deposes kings and raises up others.”  Therefore, God is always against political corruption.  Sometimes it may seem like the corrupt leaders in power will never be stopped- but eventually they all come down.

In the U.S. we see leaders in the government arrested all the time for bribery, lying, and breaking the laws of the land.  Sometimes corruption comes in the form of overlooking crime in a certain area because the criminals pay off the local officials.  Other times it can be seen when lobbyists try to buy and manipulate leaders to vote a certain way for a bill to pass.

Ordinary citizens like you and me may not be able to always know what our government leaders and local judges are doing right or wrong but we can be sure that God does.  So we should be people that do our best to pray for our officials and ask God to expose any corruption that may be in their lives.  Plus, we should help empower people to vote for the best leaders to serve the people.

Here are three things you can do to stand against political corruption, (1) Vote for leaders that hold to godly values and morals; (2) Promote integrity in your everyday life so it becomes the normal behavior in your community; and lastly, (3) Pray for God to remove corrupt leaders and to raise up good ones that are “God fearing,”

Remember the words of King Solomon in Proverbs 29:2, “When the righteous thrive, the people rejoice; when the wicked rule, the people groan.”

 

Reflection | Do you believe God can remove corruption from your nation’s government?

Action | (1) Clearly explain from the Bible why political corruption is a sin.  (2) Pray for God to rise up good leaders and bring down the corrupt.  (3) Lastly, for more information regarding godly leaders in government read the following books, “God & Government,” by Charles Colson and “Politics According to the Bible,” by Wayne Grudem.

One Year Reading Plan (Optional) | Daniel 11:36-12:13, 1 John 4:1-21, Psalm 123:1-4, & Proverbs 29:2-4. Click here to read online.