Citizenship a is powerful incentive in the life of the Statesman. The reality is that there is a citizenship that is even more significant than that of one’s birthplace in making one a Statesman.

In God’s Instruction to His creation is a fascinating chapter often referred to as the ‘faith hall of fame’. In the midst of this description of those with great trust in God is this insight:

These all died in faith without having received the promises, but they saw them from a distance, greeted them, and confessed that they were foreigners and temporary residents on the earth. Now those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. … They desire a better place – a heavenly one. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them (Hebrews 11:13-16).

What was so special about these giants of faith is that they understood that they had an eternal citizenship which would continue beyond their few short years on this earth. It is this understanding of this heavenly citizenship, which we can enjoy forever after we finish with our temporary citizenship upon this earth, that has the potential to make the Statesman more effective.

One servant of God recognized the need to keep in focus this greater citizenship when he addresses our Creator:

I am a stranger on earth; do not hide Your commands from me (Psalm 119:19).

As Jesus was about to leave this earth, He gave this insight about this citizenship to those who follow Him:

In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if not, I would have told you. I am going away to prepare a place for you. If I go away and prepare a place for you, I will come back and receive you to Myself, so that where I am you may be also (John 14:2-3).

Having this understanding and confidence in our Creator and ultimate King can have great significance for the Statesman. Let us consider the special role that recognizing this ultimate citizenship can have in helping the Statesman to administer nations in the healthiest possible way. Returning to the ‘faith hall of fame’ with which we began, we have this concluding summary:

Time is too short for me to tell about [giants of the faith], who by faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions, …, gained strength after being weak, became mighty in battle, and put foreign armies to flight (Hebrews 11:32-34).

It is the ability to recognize the need to depend upon God and experience His help and guidance resulting from fully embracing this citizenship that makes this resource so valuable to the effort of the Statesman. Several of the results of this ability to embrace this ultimate citizenship have the capacity to impact the life of the Statesman.  Let us consider just one of the consequences listed in this passage: “administer justice”. This phrase summarizes what makes the Statesman – the ability to create a society where everyone feels fairly treated and has an equal opportunity to reach their full potential regardless of their situation – both the heart and the wisdom to create such a just society. This kind of society was described by God as having the highest priority:

Pursue justice and justice alone (Genesis 16:20).

Achieving a just society might seem difficult due to human greed – the corruption of the human heart. And yet, God is teaching us that the best way to achieve this is by accepting our citizenship in heaven – whether we are in Government or civil society.

King David, as Statesman, also expressed that same attitude that we must recognize our ultimate citizenship as being in heaven when he prayed in the presence of his people:

For we are strangers before You, and temporary residents… (1 Chronicles 29:15).

How do we gain that citizenship? Another servant of God reminds us with these words:

Our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ (Philippians 3:20).

This citizenship in heaven is available to all of us based on allowing Jesus to be our Lord and Savior, acknowledging His death 20 centuries ago as payment for our sins which prevent us from experiencing this citizenship. In response to Jesus telling His followers that He was soon leaving to enjoy His citizenship in heaven, in advance of them, as we saw above, one of them, representing the skeptical nature within all of us, asked Him:

Lord, we don’t know where You’re going. How can we know the way [to get there]? (John 14:5)

In response:

Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 4:6).

Furthermore, once we have that citizenship, it impacts the way we make our decisions while we are briefly upon this earth. We are guided by a longer-term perspective – our eternal citizenship. As such, we can see how our actions fit into our Creator’s longer plan.

Thus, as human beings, we have available to us two citizenships: an earthly one largely determined by our birth and a heavenly one based upon a choice that we can make. The writer C. S. Lewis summed up the challenge we face as human beings in considering choosing this citizenship in heaven:

Aim at Heaven and you will get Earth ‘thrown in’: aim at Earth and you will get neither.

CONSIDERATIONS FOR THE STATESMEN.

Is my service on this earth guided by citizenship in heaven? Do I have anything to lose by accepting this citizenship? Do I have anything to gain by accepting this citizenship?

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Returning to the foundational truth:

God is King of all the earth. God reigns over the nations; God is seated on His holy throne (Psalms 47:7-8).

There is a special benefit for the Statesman that results from faith in the One who designed the system in which they serve. Therefore, it is beneficial to look at the implications of that faith. The Apostle Paul discussed giants of the faith in an interesting passage:

These all died in faith without having received the promises, but they saw them from a distance, greeted them, and confessed that they were foreigners and temporary residents on the earth. Now those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they were thinking about where they came from, they would have had an opportunity to return. But they now desire a better place—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them (Hebrews 11:13-16).

God was referring to the giants of the faith as being “foreigners and temporary residents” within nations upon the earth while living as a part of a greater kingdom and while looking forward to that greater kingdom. God, speaking to His obedient servants, tells us “our citizenship is in heaven” (Philippians 3:20).

What difference can this make for the Statesman?

While discussing this issue with a small group of U.N. Ambassadors in a Bible study, one Ambassador explained that his foreign ministry, while briefing him before his assignment, cautioned him not to allow himself to become attracted by the allures of the culture where he would serve, rather always keeping his eye on his own country until he could return. Our God reminds us to take the same approach as we serve in His creation: not to allow ourselves to become attracted by the allures of the culture where we serve, but rather always keeping our eye on our ultimate home as we await our return.

The Statesman faces the allure of many challenges due to the authority he or she wields. There is the accumulation of power. Jesus’s warning addresses the issue of our ultimate citizenship:

What will it benefit a man if he gains the whole world yet loses his life? Or what will a man give in exchange for his life? (Matthew 16:26)

While serving, we must resist the temptation to accrue the benefits of exercising power.

Then, there is the issue of material possessions. As civilization began to move toward centralized governments, God provided the following guidelines:

The king, moreover, must not acquire great numbers of horses for himself … He must not take many wives, or his heart will be led astray. He must not accumulate large amounts of silver and gold (Deuteronomy 17:16-17).

– his heart will be led astray from the ultimate kingdom to which he will return.

This proceeds to instruct how the leader is to protect him- or herself:

When he takes the throne of his kingdom, he is to write for himself on a scroll a copy of this law, taken from that of the Levitical priests. It is to be with him, and he is to read it all the days of his life so that he may learn to revere the Lord his God and follow carefully all the words of this law and these decrees and not consider himself better than his fellow [citizens] and turn from the law to the right or to the left (Deuteronomy 17:18-20).

It involves continually focusing one’s mind on and focusing our heart on our citizenship in our ultimate Kingdom and our accountability to our Master at its head. This does so by focusing on the Law of that Kingdom which supersedes our earthly kingdom.

The application here seems relevant. While serving in an earthly kingdom, there seems a certain irony in a Government leader being a citizen of a kingdom other than his/her own nation.

I would submit to you that because of being a citizen of that higher kingdom – God’s Kingdom, I believe God is telling us that one can better serve the nation’s interests. God contrasts those whose ultimate citizenship is not in heaven:

Their end is destruction; their god is their stomach; their glory is in their shame. They are focused on earthly things, but our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. He will transform the body of our humble condition into the likeness of His glorious body, by the power that enables Him to subject everything to Himself (Philippians 3:19-21).

The Statesman who knows his or her citizenship is in heaven has the valuable resource that keeps him or her from giving into the temptations faced by one who holds power in our world system. Hence, we are admonished:

Set your minds on what is above, not on what is on the earth (Colossians 3:2).

We are admonished to continually focus our minds on the eternal Kingdom to which we will ultimately return after our brief service on this earth is completed.

Set your minds on what is above, not on what is on the earth.

Let us keep our minds focused on that Kingdom within which we look forward to spending eternity with our ultimate Master and Saviour. And may this help us to make our maximum contribution while on this earth!

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