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By December of 1776, the American Army faced a crisis. The continental army had lost New York and had been beaten in several other battles. Over 11,000 soldiers had returned home. The remaining soldier’s service contracts expired December 31st. General Washington had Thomas Paine’s just published pamphlet read out loud to the troops. It inspired them to continue. On December 25th, General Washington and his troops crossed the icy Delaware river and defeated the Hessians who were encamped in Trenton. The continental Army then defeated Earl Cornwallis at the battle of Princeton.
Thomas Paine – The American Crisis, December 23, 1776.
“THESE are the times that try men’s souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph.”
Thomas Paine defines sunshine patriot as one who gives up the fight when winter comes or when the going gets tough.
When American Pulpits Thundered for Truth and Liberty
John Adams argued that it was the preaching of Jonathan Mayhew that inspired the phrase favored by the revolutionary leaders, “Resistance to tyrants is obedience to God.” There were many other pastors whose thundering words inspired the American Revolution. Some of the best-known pastors included John Peter Gabriel Muhlenberg, Jonas Clark, James Caldwell, Jonathan Mayhew, and Samuel West.
Here is an example of a pulpit that is thundering with righteousness: A Discourse Concerning Unlimited Submission and Non-Resistance to the Higher Powers – Jonathan Mayhew, December 31, 1750.
Speaking on Romans 13: 1 – 7: “If it be our duty, for example, to obey our king, merely for this reason, that he rules for the public welfare, (which is the only argument the apostle makes use of) it follows, by a parity of reason, that when he turns tyrant, and makes his subjects his prey to devour and to destroy, instead of his charge to defend and cherish, we are bound to throw off our allegiance to him, and to resist…” He goes on to state, “Not to discontinue our allegiance, in this case, would be to join with the sovereign in promoting the slavery and misery of that society, the welfare of which, we ourselves, as well as our sovereign, are indispensably obliged to secure and promote…”
Notice how Pastor Meyhew speaks directly to the requirement that Christians have to “secure and promote” the society that we ourselves are a part of. This goes back to Jeremiah 29:4 – 7, in which the Israelites were commanded by God to build homes, plant gardens and to pray for the city that they had been exiled to. How many pulpits today actually speak of the requirement for Christians to promote the welfare of the society that we live in? The answer sadly is very few.
When Pulpits Whimper Instead of Thunder
Before the revolutionary war, the pulpits thundered for morality and liberty. Today, the pulpits whimper with sermonettes for christianettes. Does anyone really think that sermons such as ‘ten ways to live your best life’ given in just twenty minutes will inspire its listeners to understand what price was paid for our salvation? Would such a sermon inspire anyone to go preach the Gospel? No, these are sermons designed to speak to itching ears and to keep warm bodies in the seats so that the pastors can continue their religion business. They are sermons designed to speak to a culture that believes not in the power of God, but in the power of the individual.
Ronald Reagan echoed the words of Thomas Paine when he spoke, “Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children’s children what it was once like in the United States where men were free.”
Because many pulpits have been enslaved to the pursuit of filthy lucre, we have seen the rise of several troubling factions.
The Rise of the Keyboard Warrior
One could easily call Keyboard Warriors a product of the rapid expansion of social media, where everyone is a star and we are all locked in our own little bubble of information that appeals to us. Keyboard Warriors are becoming a major problem. We see examples of them praising Jesus in one post and then turning around and using unbelievably filthy, foul language to denigrate someone they disagree with. James 3:6 – 9 speaks of the power of the tongue to praise God and to curse men who are made in the image of God. There is nothing new under the sun, but it begs the question: How many of these mighty keyboard warriors are sitting in churches listening to sermonettes that have no power of God and lack conviction?
Keyboard Warriors Live in a Bubble
Keyboard warriors reveal just how disconnected they are from the real world when they believe political victories can be won by the number of times they ratioed a candidate or their supporters. Here is the definition of “Ratioed” from Mirriam Webster (yes, we had to look it up), “A social media post—as on X, Facebook, or other platforms—is said to have been ratioed when it has received more comments and reposts than likes, implying that it was tremendously unpopular.”
We would argue that keyboard warriors that never take any action beyond social media are Sunshine Patriots and will give up when the winter comes.
James says that we show our faith by our works. Question: Are keyboard warriors that use their tongues to praise Jesus on Sunday and then describe someone they dislike as a homosexual sex object on Monday really Christians? Have they quenched the Holy Spirit operating in their lives?
The Church’s Responsibility Extends Beyond the Sanctuary
We have seen this argument online many times. It reflects the belief that the church should just stay within the four walls of the church. Some have referred to it as, “the right to worship,” and have used this claim to denigrate Christians from being involved in politics. Let’s break down the “Great Commission” in the book of Matthew. “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.
We are commanded to make disciples. Vine’s Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words sums up disciple thus: “A ‘disciple’ was not only a pupil, but an adherent; hence they are spoken of as imitators of their teacher.” But what are we teaching them? Christ stated that we are to teach them all of the things that I have commanded you. Christ had many commands. Those commands are all based on scripture from the Old Testament. “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.” – Matthew 5:17 – 18. Putting it all together, we are to make disciples and teach them ALL that Christ commanded. That includes everything in the Old Testament as well as the New.
As Christians, we are called upon to seek out the truth
We see far too many people choosing to blindly follow the whims of society, or the group that they associate themselves with. We all laugh at the on the street interviews of protesting liberals in big cities that have no idea of what they are actually protesting. They can’t explain what the issue is, nor have they even looked at the arguments on both sides of that particular issue. To them, protesting is a form of performance art.
Keyboard warriors online are frequently no better than the big city protestors. We see this frequently. A mighty keyboard warrior will declare, “I support x candidate 100%!!!!” complete with many emojis. When asked why they support this candidate there are usually one of two responses, either we receive complete silence, or they resort to name calling for daring to question them. If you can’t explain why you support or oppose a candidate, you might be a sunshine patriot.
Ministry Leaders Are Not Immune to Deception
Ministry leaders in many cases are no better. We recently had an email discussion with a ministry leader who was opposed to a particular candidate. This ministry leader had many moral reasons why he opposed this candidate. They even had a complete set of information that they were using as the basis for their moral judgements. The problem was that most of the information they were basing their moral judgements on, was false. Worse yet, it was easily proven false. When the information that this ministry leader had relied upon was shown to be false the response was silence and then they removed us from their political newsletter. Clearly the truth did not matter. As people of faith, we cannot be found guilty of these types of political tactics. Resorting to lies is unacceptable.
With Parental Rights comes Parental Responsibilities – This includes teaching them what we believe about politics
We are blessed to live in Idaho where parents have a great deal of rights when it comes to the education of their children. Many fail to exercise those rights. Many forget their responsibilities as parents. In God’s eyes, parents have the responsibility for raising their children. There is no option to hand over that responsibility to the local school district. Even if parents choose to send their children to public school, the parents are still responsible for the upbringing of their children.
On the topic of politics, how many children don’t know why their parents stand for the things that they stand for? Children without this guidance from their parents can easily wind up in the on the street interviews as knowing nothing about what they are protesting.
The Danger of “Win at Any Cost” Politics
Today, we frequently see both political parties (Democratic and Republican) willing to take whatever candidate they believe gives them the best chance at winning. They will lie, cheat, defame, and steal in order to win elections for the sake of power for their political party. Including tearing down fellow believers in Christ.
We also see this on television shows. It used to be that American television shows were focused on doing the right thing. Examples included The Andy Griffith Show, Perry Mason, Who’s the Boss, and Family Ties. Now we have reality tv where the object of the game is to win no matter what. To survive; lying, cheating, backstabbing, and immoral behavior are not only acceptable, but they are also praised.
Question to ponder: What price are we going to pay when the next generation follows our lead when it comes to “winning at any costs?”
Conclusion: Will we be sunshine patriots, or will we stand firm when the winter comes?
Thomas Paine’s words should ring loudly in this day and age given that we are closing in on the 250th anniversary of America. Christians have largely abandoned the field of politics, giving up on God’s commandment to seek the welfare of the city in which He has placed us. In America, we have the privilege of being able to not only vote for our leaders, but we are able to hold them accountable should we choose to do so. Are we willing to do the hard work of seeking the truth about the candidates we support? Are we willing to stand against our party and “Christian” candidates when they behave in unbiblical ways? Are we willing to abandon the “win at any costs” mentality that has corrupted our society? Are we willing to be something more than just a keyboard warrior and a sunshine patriot?
