Wise as Serpents, Harmless as Doves in the Political Sphere?

William O. Einwechter offers some Biblical guidance for Christians to be wise as serpents and harmless as doves as applied to the civil and political sphere:

Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves (Matt. 10:16).

The current climate for the participation of faithful Christians in politics is anything but congenial. It seems as though all overt attempts to express or implement biblical standards in the civil sphere, whether by citizens or by elected officials, are met with scorn, hostility, and outlandish charges of fomenting intolerance and hate. This has not always been the case here in America where a strong Christian heritage and influence made Christianity and the Bible central, respected aspects of the political sphere. But as the nation has slid increasingly into the abyss of secularism and humanism, those who confess Christ and seek to promote Christian principles of civil government are considered a public nuisance, fit only for ridicule and extirpation.

Where in the Bible can Christians find guidance for effective political participation in such an atmosphere as this? One place is found in Jesus’ counsel to his disciples in Matthew 10:16.

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