A Parent’s Guide to Talking with Kids About Political Engagement
Wrong Approaches to Politics
We should be clear about something: as important as political engagement is, no earthly political utopia is possible. Politics on this side of heaven often amounts to mitigating the effects of sin more than it does to ensuring the perfect political community. But realistic expectations about what’s possible in a fallen age with lots of different people living in a community do not lessen the importance of being aware of what is going on in your community and fighting joyfully and doggedly for justice. Some may disagree with what we’re about to say, but we think being a faithful Christian means faithful stewardship and faithful attentiveness to where one lives and what is happening that affects the lives of everyone. You have an obligation to know what is happening in your world and your community and to work in the ways appropriate to you, to see justice and righteousness reign (Jer. 29:4–7). We do not see this as the mission of the church, but the mission of godly citizens to shape their cities, states, and nation for the good.
If you’re a Christian parent, we’re not saying that you need to be listening to talk radio, watching cable news, or doomscrolling on social media all day long for the most fevered political views that are out there, but you should not have your head buried in the sand either. There is as much caution necessary to protect yourself from being politically obsessive as there is the need to reject political apathy. Apathy and obsession are equally alike in being the wrong approach to political engagement.
What Do I Say When . . . ?
Andrew T. Walker, Christian Walker
In a world filled with cultural confusion, this book provides busy Christian parents with quick and trustworthy answers to questions their children may ask about life’s toughest topics, including abortion, sexuality, technology, political engagement, and more.
Biblical Principles
Here are some basic biblical, theological, and philosophical principles related to political engagement that every Christian parent should know:
- Christian participation in the public square requires pursuing justice, social responsibilities, and a concern for human rights.
- Christians should be attentive to how political discussions impact public justice, the natural family, religious liberty, and public morality. The creation order categories of existence, identity, and family are three domains to be attentive to when it comes to the impact of politics on all three.
- Politics is coordinated action for the sake of justice.
- Elections have real-life consequences that affect society for good and for ill.
- The best way to engage politically is by starting at the local level.
- Christians should treat government officials with respect even if they strongly disagree with them.
- In political debate, it is important to identify where the disagreement lies. Identifying where disagreement is really helps chart a path for mutual understanding of divergent perspectives.
- Avoiding personal insults in political conversation is very important to maintain a spirit of civility.
- While lamentable, polarization is inevitable as worldview differences grow more stark between competing political parties, platforms, and candidates.
- There is no inherent virtue or vice in being in the political minority or the political majority. What matters is the moral content of what one’s politics are.
- Romanticizing political persecution is tone-deaf and fails to account for how real-life involvement in law-making can affect politics and culture in positive ways.
- As Carl F. H. Henry once remarked, it is the responsibility of the church to “declare the criteria by which nations will ultimately be judged, and the divine standards to which man and society must conform if civilization is to endure.”1
A Conversation Guide
Because we believe the home is central to the development of the next Christian generation, we call our sequence of conversational instruction “floors” that correspond to a home. Below you’ll see three “floors” of biblical truths and conversation starters. Instead of having strict age guidelines, we use “floors” to help guide you to determine where your child may best fit based on development, maturity, and age.
First-floor children are probably between the ages of four and eight, second-floor children are probably between the ages of eight and twelve, and third-floor children are probably between twelve and sixteen. If you think your child is ready for a more mature conversation, then move up to the next floor. If you think your child is not ready for a conversation, then move down to the floor below. The floors are not rigid and are intended to guide you in discussing the topics thoroughly as your child grows and help you to keep ahead of culture.
Remember that you want to be the first person to have the conversation with your child to be able to lay the biblical foundation. Otherwise, culture will form the foundation for you. Stay vigilant and keep ahead of culture.
The First Floor
Biblical Truths
- The government is the institution in charge of making laws for the country or state. It makes rules and laws to protect its citizens (people) who live in the country and state. Those rules and laws keep the citizens safe and punish the citizens who make bad choices (Rom. 13:1–7).
- All government is under God’s authority. God is in charge of everything in heaven and on earth.
- The government makes rules to help protect families and children and help the community (all the people who live and work together in one city or region).
- We should care about our government because Jesus tells us to love one another. We should help our government as it helps our neighbors and community live well together (Jer. 29:4–7).
- God tells us to obey our earthly leaders when they make laws about how we live on earth (1 Pet. 2:13–17).
- We must be kind and loving even when we disagree with others (Col. 4:6).
Conversation Starters
- Who is in charge of the country? Who makes rules and laws? What do rules and laws do?
- Government is under whose authority? God is in charge of what?
- What kind of rules does the government make? Are these rules good or bad?
- Should we care about the government? Why should we care about the government? Why should we care about our neighbors? How do you care about your neighbors?
- Whom does God tell us to obey? When do we obey our earthly leaders?
- Will we always agree with everyone? How should we act if we disagree with someone? Have you ever disagreed with someone before? How did you act?
The Second Floor
Biblical Truths
- Government makes rules and laws to protect citizens of countries and states. The goal of the government is to recognize the God-given rights of human beings, keep citizens safe, and punish evil (Rom. 13:1–7).
- Government is under God’s authority and is designed for the common good of family and community.
- The common good is when government makes laws in a way that allows human beings to live, families to grow, and communities to develop.
- God calls us to love our neighbor. Loving your neighbor will lead you to be involved in government and desire laws that allow their lives to flourish (Jer. 29:4–7).
- God calls us to obey our earthly leaders. We are to obey, respect, and honor the government, as long as it doesn’t disobey God’s commands (1 Pet. 2:13–17).
- We must speak with truth and grace when we disagree about politics (Col. 4:6).
Stay vigilant and keep ahead of culture.
Conversation Starters
- What is the job of the government? Do you think that the government always meets its goals correctly? Why or why not?
- Whose authority is the government under? How was the government designed? Who designed it that way? Why do you think God designed the government for us on earth?
- What is the common good? What kind of laws do you know about that allow human beings to live, families to grow, and communities to develop?
- How are you expected to interact with your neighbor? How do you show love to your neighbor? If you love your neighbor, how will that lead you to want to be involved in government and law-making that is good for them? What are some laws that are good for your neighbor?
- How are you expected to interact with your earthly leaders? Do you obey, respect, and honor the government and its leaders? When would you not obey the government?
- What does it mean to speak with truth and grace about politics? Have you ever disagreed with someone about politics? How did you respond in that disagreement? How could you have a disagreement and speak in truth and grace?
The Third Floor
Biblical Truths
- The goal of any earthly political regime is to recognize the inherent rights of human beings, promote systems of equal justice under the law, facilitate access to the common good, and punish evil deeds that human beings commit against one another (Rom. 13:1–7).
- The common good is the benefit or interest of all people in a group or society. As Christians, we should engage in politics to pursue the common good that allows individuals, groups, and institutions to flourish for their purpose: human beings to live, families to thrive, and communities to prosper. Politics is how we organize our lives together (Jer. 29:4–7).
- Prudence is the virtue of exercising attentiveness or caution to possible danger. Christians must be prudent when it comes to political policies. We will not all agree on what policies are best. Some policies can be held lightly and debated among Christians: gun control and healthcare. Other policies are moral realities that must be held tightly among Christians: for example, the right to life, the identity of male and female, and the definition of marriage. We must be discerning about what parties, platforms, and politicians we are willing to support who will knowingly stand for or against moral evil (Ps. 34:14).
- God calls Christians to obey, respect, and honor the state and comply with its laws up to the point of disobedience to God’s commands. The government is not designed to point you to God or solve theological debates. Government’s role is limited to earthly issues.
- Christians must be courageous and civil. We will disagree about policies, politicians, platforms, etc. Avoiding personal insults in political conversation is very important to maintain decorum. We must practice civility and learn how to agree well and also how to disagree amicably (Col. 4:6).
- The best place to engage with the government is at the local level. And don’t forget to register to vote when you turn eighteen.
Conversation Starters
- How should Christians see government authorities and laws? How far should Christians take obedience to earthly government? Why is the government limited?
- Will we always agree on politics? What should happen when we disagree? Have you ever had a disagreement regarding politics or policies? How did you handle that conversation? How could you handle it differently next time?
- What is the goal of the government for how God intended it? What are human rights? How do we recognize the inherent rights of human beings and whether our laws reflect God’s standard for justice? How do we promote equality of justice under the law and what needs to change to better reflect God’s standard of justice? How do we promote the common good? How do we punish evil deeds? Looking at the many forms of government in the world, who is doing this well and who is doing this poorly? Why? What do you think is the best form of government and why? What do you think is the worst form of government and why?
- What is the common good, and why, as Christians, should we pursue it? How do you see the government allowing human beings to live, families to thrive, and communities to prosper? Do you agree that politics can be boiled down as simply as organizing our lives together? Why or why not?
- What is prudence, and why is this a virtue Christians must exercise in the political arena? What does it mean that some policies can be held loosely and some policies must be held tightly? What policies do you think Christians must agree on, and what policies do you think Christians can disagree on? What is moral evil? Why must we be so diligent and discerning when it comes to political platforms, politicians, parties, etc., when it comes to moral evil? Have you ever liked a politician but disagreed with his or her policy? How did you think through that issue?
- How should Christians respond to government authority? What is the government’s role between earthly affairs and heavenly affairs? How far should we take our commitment to politics and the government?
- Have you ever disagreed with someone about politics or policies? How did you handle that? What does God say about how we should handle disagreement as Christians? Can we allow politics to create division within our church or among Christian brothers and sisters? How can you plan to debate these heated topics next time?
- Where is the best place to get involved? When can you register to vote?
Notes:
- Carl F. H. Henry, “An Ecumenical Bombshell,” Christianity Today, September 15, 1967, 28.
Andrew T. Walker and Christian Walker are the authors of What Do I Say When . . . ?: A Parent’s Guide to Navigating Cultural Chaos for Children and Teens.
Related Articles
Nietzsche or Christ? Who Will We Follow amid Our Political Angst?
The days of rage are back. In the face of current social and political events, resentment may not be flooding the street (at least not yet), but it is raging at the level of the heart.
What Happens When the Governing Authorities Are the Wrongdoers?
Some wrongful convictions are merely honest mistakes, the tragic results of criminal justice administered by well-intentioned but finite humans. But some are not.
The Church Should Mind Its Spiritual Business
The calling, or mission, of the church as the church is to proclaim the gospel to the ends of the earth, not to be another merely (or even chiefly) political, social, or economic institution.
Podcast: Should Our Churches Be Political? (Alan Strange)
Alan Strange discusses the doctrine of the spirituality of the church—a doctrine focused on clearly defining the church’s central mission and mandate.
