It has become popular today for some to ask, "What would Jesus do?" in determining what course of action to take. This is certainly a valid point to consider since we are told to follow Jesus' steps (1 Peter 2:21) and to "walk just as He walked" (1 John 2:6). Similarly, Paul told the Corinthians to imitate him as he imitated Christ (1 Corinthians 11:1).

When Christ walked this earth as a human, He could have sought a position in civil service, but He didn't. He came to this earth on a mission to preach the gospel of the Kingdom (Mark 1:14) and had a single-minded focus to fulfill the work God had given Him to do (John 9:4).

On trial for His life, He plainly told Pilate, "My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here" (John 18:36).

In considering Jesus' example, some have reasoned that living in a modern democratic country today is so different from the circumstances that prevailed during Jesus' ministry that a comparison isn't relevant or applicable. But is Jesus' example really irrelevant?

Consider a slightly different situation. Even though God has called us into His Church, does it make sense for us to likewise maintain our memberships in other churches which have different doctrines and meet on a day other than the Sabbath? Would God think this was OK as long as we were simply trying to be good neighbors and to influence others the best we could? Or would this be a case of divided loyalty?

While the opportunities for participation in government are undoubtedly different today than the first century, Christ's single-minded focus on the coming Kingdom of God remains a valid example for us.

The real question for us is: How closely do we want to follow His example? We can choose to try to give God's Kingdom our priority while we also spend part of our time working for or against the party in power in a flawed government that will soon be replaced. Or we can choose to have a single-minded focus on the Kingdom (the only real solution). UN