How Do I Hold to a Biblical Worldview Working on the Hill?

How does a biblical worldview apply in considering the myriad policies and issues while working on the Hill?

Traditional thinking holds that this view should permeate all that you do, including your day job of making public policy. If that’s the case, then we should take the time to consider its implications.

It’s much easier in theory than in practice to merge a biblical worldview with one’s work, but both can be steep climbs. We will miss the mark on a regular basis, so a process of honest self-assessment and introspection is essential to enable us to grow closer to the mind of Christ in a matter.

Based on my understanding of biblical truth and my several decades of working on the Hill, my view is that a proper biblical worldview informs rather than prescribes a particular outcome.

This informative process is honed as we look at the major themes in the scriptures. There we find:

• God’s world is one of order, beauty, and symmetry, as we see in Genesis 1:1-27.
• God provides for and blesses the world He created, as seen in Genesis 1:28-31.
• And, finally, while the brokenness of the world seems to contradict this, He is actively bringing it into oneness and completeness, as foretold in Revelation 21:1.

As we look at the world around us, we find symmetry and balance built into it. Look no further than the intricate and orderly cell structure found within every living thing.

In the scriptures, we see this beautiful symmetry and order explained in Genesis and elsewhere.  Night is juxtaposed with day, man is paired with woman, and good is contrasted with evil.

We also see this beautiful symmetry at work in God’s relationship with mankind; justice is complemented by mercy, charity with stewardship, and the first with the last.

The Beatitudes are a case study in balance and symmetry. The top and the bottom of the world order are tied together in the meek inheriting the earth. Those who hunger and thirst are those who become filled. Jesus goes on, in His Sermon on the Mount, to describe the preservative effect of salt contrasted to its absence.

Given this intentional order established by God in all of creation, the same should hold true, as we evaluate how we live, including our perspective on public policy issues while working in Congress.

In short, our approach there should also be balanced and holistic. We can’t fulfill one biblical admonition while violating another. A way of looking at this is the principle of charity and stewardship.

While we provide for those in need, we do so out of the resources God has given us. Even the widow’s mite was given out of what little she had, not what she didn’t have.

In Congress, we call the oldest committee the Ways and Means committee. The implication of the title is that we determine the means in which to accomplish the ways.

And, while the Lord designed an orderly creation, he also provides for and blesses it. When God leads in a particular way, He also provides the means in which to get us there.  He does not leave us empty-handed while living within His will. As we do, His blessings flow from it.

A dramatic example of this in Matthew 17:24-27, Jesus tells Peter to pay the temple tax using a coin taken from the mouth of the first fish he catches. If we believe only in the finite world of man, we limit the power of God to provide in a manner that surprises us.

Peter saw no human way to pay the tax, but Jesus showed God’s provision. This requires faith and trust in the providence of God to work through people and circumstances. This application of biblical principles holds true across all issues confronting us.

Criminal justice is informed by a biblical understanding of seemingly competing principles of justice and mercy. Environmental policy is informed by God’s creation made for the benefit of mankind, while we are also entrusted to its care. Racial justice has its roots in a biblical view of the harmony God built into His creation. They all represent this balance in His world.

In practice, the application of biblical principles to matters of public policy isn’t easy, nor was it meant to be. We find there is complexity in fulfilling what God intended. However, it doesn’t minimize either its importance or the need to pursue it.

As we use the lens of God’s beautiful symmetry and order in His creation, it will inform us as to the solutions to any issue confronting us.

Bret Bernhardt served on the Hill as chief of staff to senators Don Nickles of Oklahoma and Jim DeMint of South Carolina. He is now a member of the Board of Directors of Faith & Law and the Conservative Partnership Institute.