when Scripture says "And whatever you do..." that whatever is never qualified... so if a Christian enters the political... that's a "whatever" if I'm reading my English correctly and defining it correctly... then i vote yes... no pun intended on Christians entering politics...

but I think it's also important to finish that verse as well... which goes on to say "... do it all in the Name of the Lord Jesus."

So if a Christian is in the running for an office of political stature, then be the best stinkin, God honoring, Scripture adhering, Christ exalting politician you can be to serve the people you represent...

that goes the same for pastors, baristas, social workers, bond traders, models, photographers, musicians, video game designers and etc etc etc...

@leadworshipper82 - But you know that 'whatever' is qualified.  You wouldn't support a Christian becoming the best, God-honoring, scripture-adhering, Christ-exalting porn star they can be. 

So the question is whether somewhere else in the New Testament sheds light on whether Christians could be in government.  Romans 12-13 seems to imply that Christians and rulers have complementary but distinct roles in God's economy.  After all, Christians should model Christ's forgiveness of enemies and should love unconditionally, but the President can't forgive our enemies and be a good President.

If you read the quoted passage from Matthew 20 closely, it does not explicitly forbid or even discourage participation in government; only that one should not expect or seek to be served but to serve. I hardly see that as a disqualification or contraindication for Christians in government.  Christians should regard elected public service with great caution and forethought, but should not abandon it by any means; to do so would mean leaving principles of civil society entirely up to secular methods and reasoning, which is strikes me as a fairly non-redemptive view of the world.

@Diogenes - I'd love to read that.

Christians are simply far too worried about forcing everyone else to be like them.  They're fighting for political roles and sending their kids to Jesus Camps to get brainwashed to learn how to fight for their political party and "take back America for Christ."  They're tactful.  They know exactly what they're doing and why they're doing it - they want to force their world-view on everyone else, and what better way than by taking over America via a political party?

The problem with learning about life from a book is that you miss out on reality.  Simple common sense for Christians says that morality is good and morality in government is good.

Also, the notion that Christians are a special group of persecuted outsiders no longer serves.  It hasn't served for centuries.  The early disciples followed Christ's directive and evangelized the entire Greco-Roman world.

Christianity went from a being a persecuted religion to being the coin of the realm. 

Renegades such as the OP need to focus more on evangelizing modern people who struggle in a materialistic world.

Somehow trying to pound the round peg that is modern day Christianity into the square whole that was antiquity seems a bit futile.  Kind of like pounding your head against wall.

It is difficult for me to see why Christians would desire to be politicians or attempt to turn the United States into a nation ruled by an iron fist that they claim belongs to the selfless Christ.

There are tons of Christians already serving in government, always have been.

Zero iron fist.  

Christianity just isn't that way

@foxes_have_holes@xanga - So we should ignore important, obvious, and timeless messages of the Bible to suit our needs?

Absolutely not!  In fact all of my comments for this post stand for the complete opposite.  The OP thinks that every Christian other than his most holy self is evil and should therefore stay cloistered away out of the public eye.

I favor the opposite.  Since Christianity teaches profound morality and ethic that makes Christians ideal candidates for representative government positions and the OP should keep himself cloistered away out of the public eye.

@foxes_have_holes@xanga - But what about the position of humility? How do we be humble and be in power?

We simply follow the example of Jesus who was all powerful Lord of the universe and yet was humble.

God is humble by nature.  We are created in his image and so strive to be humble like him.  Our worldly status is irrelevant.

And how can a nation support a Christian as a candidate if their allegiance is to another kingdom?

The answer is simple.  Christians are commanded to love their neighbor.  All governance is about public service.  People need to know that they can count on Christians who run for public office.  Christians have an obligation to be honest, moral, caring public servants.

@TheGreatBout@xanga - It is difficult for me to see why Christians would desire to be politicians or attempt to turn the United States into a nation ruled by an iron fist that they claim belongs to the selfless Christ. It seems completely backwards to me. Even in a democracy it seems strange to me.

Thus my assessment:  "The OP thinks that every Christian other
than his most holy self is evil and should therefore stay cloistered
away out of the public eye."

@fallingraindrop@xanga - "...the notion that somehow Christians must remain outsiders to government is not very reasonable."

Without giving my full opinion on the matter I'll say that with the government in the United States, I'd agree to an extent. There has to be a healthy balance. The early church decided on leaders based upon whether or not the person would be capable of governing over an entire city (which was a bit different than now however) since they believed that the leaders of the church would one day govern cities when the new earth is established. While that says more about character examination than it does about political involvement we can't abandon reason. Surely Christians must be involved in their communities and enrich the world they live in (like salt), but they have to remain bright and contrast to the darkness around them (like light). I'd say there is a great difference between Christians running a government and having a hand in the micro-activity of a government within a local context. I have much more difficulty with the idea of Christians running government than I do with them playing a small role in government activity.