Inspired
by the
Baha’i Faith
The views expressed in our content reflect individual perspectives and do not represent the official views of the Baha'i Faith. The official website of the Baha'i Faith is: Bahai.org. The official website of the Baha'is of the United States can be found here: Bahai.us.
GOT IT
The views expressed in our content reflect individual perspectives and do not represent the official views of the Baha'i Faith.
How do I become Baha’i?
Spirituality

Give Your Heart to God, not to Politicians

Greg Hodges | Nov 7, 2016

The views expressed in our content reflect individual perspectives and do not represent the official views of the Baha'i Faith.

Interested in Other Topics?

We’ve got something for everyone.
Greg Hodges | Nov 7, 2016

The views expressed in our content reflect individual perspectives and do not represent the official views of the Baha'i Faith.

Everyone can now breathe a sigh of relief—the United States presidential election is now behind us. I hope that all of you around the world weren’t too freaked out. It’s a wild ride for us Americans too. Now that it’s over and we can finally take a deep breath, it can be edifying to think about the individual’s emotional connection to politics and what the Baha’i teachings have to say about it.

One of the major themes of this presidential election has been the widespread disillusionment of voters with the political system. That disillusionment isn’t just an American phenomenon—it happens just about everywhere. It has led voters from many points on the political spectrum to consider supporting outsider candidates they might have previously overlooked. That restlessness appears to make people open to new things.

But this clashes with another theme that has also been widely noted but hasn’t received nearly as much attention. For all the drama and unpredictability of the election season, voters very consistently support the same parties that they have in the past, and very rarely cast their votes for candidates outside the two major parties. In the past two decades or so, that voting behavior has become remarkably stable and predictable. Strangely, widespread disillusionment with the partisan system coexists alongside a hardening of partisan loyalty.

Vote-for-a-Person,-not-a-PartyThe basic problem? Politicians have a much harder time to get voters to actively like the way they want to govern. People are too fed up and disillusioned for that. So in order to get people’s votes, politicians will focus on the flaws of their opponent. It’s bizarre, but politicians are considered effective campaigners if they can keep the negative attention on the person they’re running against. After all, if voters don’t have anything nice to say, it might as well be about your opponent rather than about yourself.

As a result, we’re constantly bombarded with horrible statements about our politicians and leaders, both before they enter office and after. As time goes on, we learn that this or that politician is corrupt, ignorant, hateful, etc., and that giving him or her power will lead to dictatorship and the collapse of civilization. For months on end we hear competing predictions about the decline and fall of the republic. It’s very dispiriting. But rather than tune out the partisan bomb-throwing, voters fall for it, aligning themselves more consistently with the party opposing the one they fear the most, and joining in on the hurling of insults.

It’s not just Americans who get very emotionally invested in their elections—many countries hold elections that descend into violence or even civil war. This oppositional dynamic contributes to the decay of the political system the voters want to reverse. It is on this point that Baha’u’llah, the founder of the Baha’i Faith, offered an alternative.

One of his simplest statements on the relation between religion and politics is found in these two sentences.

O kings of the earth!… It is not Our wish to lay hands on your kingdoms. Our mission is to seize and possess the hearts of men. – Baha’u’llah, The Most Holy Book, p. 49.

In another passage Baha’u’llah restates the separation between these two domains of authority:

The one true God, exalted be His glory, hath ever regarded, and will continue to regard, the hearts of men as His own, His exclusive possession. All else, whether pertaining to land or sea, whether riches or glory, He hath bequeathed unto the Kings and rulers of the earth. – Gleanings from the Writings of Baha’u’llah, p. 206.

In a superficial sense, it looks like the Baha’i teachings give politics considerable autonomy from religion. God gets the hearts of men and the kings and rulers of the world are given authority over all else. That sounds like a lot. But if you give careful attention to how societies maintain order and transform themselves over time, it becomes clear that the realm of politics takes a big loss by relinquishing the hearts of the people.

Think about it. The heart has to do with people’s sense of purpose in life, their moral and intellectual development, their loyalties, and their affections. Once we give our hearts to something, we will dedicate ourselves to it, in our life and through to our death. These matters of the heart, the Baha’i teachings say, are subject to divinely-revealed guidance found in religion, and are off-limits to political leaders. Baha’u’llah wants the love of God to be people’s source of motivation. He wants our hearts to belong to God, not to any politician, conqueror, or revolutionary.

Of course, some people may say that they haven’t given their heart to any politician. They’re just trying to keep this or that person out of power. While that may be true, it’s also important to consider that the politicians they vote for blatantly and successfully manipulate our emotions to win their support. They know how to grab our attention, and they know how to make us afraid. Once they control the hearts of the people in this way, they gain considerable power.

So don’t give your heart to politicians. It doesn’t rightfully belong to them. Give it to God. After all, He actually knows what to do with it.

You May Also Like

Spiritual Birth: What Being Born Again Really Means
Spirituality

Spiritual Birth: What Being Born Again Really Means

Finding the Hidden Mysteries in Ourselves – and In the Universe
Spirituality

Finding the Hidden Mysteries in Ourselves – and In the Universe

Meteor or Metaphor: Finding Meaning in Suffering
Spirituality

Meteor or Metaphor: Finding Meaning in Suffering


Comments

characters remaining
  • Hooshang S. Afshar
    Nov 10, 2016
    -
    Thank you Greg, I really enjoyed this essay. I think one reason that people are disillusioned with politics is that in the congress or in the parliament different political parties spend half their time bickering and nothing is get done. Although God wants our hearts, He also desires peace and justice in the world through unity which comprises of governmental unity and spiritual unity in one common faith. So, how do we go about this? As long as there are political parties rivalry and animosity are inevitable.
x
x
Connect with Baha’is in your area
Welcome!
What's your name?
Thanks my friend ! We want to connect you with a Baha’i in your area, where would that be?
Thank you so much! How can they best reach you?
To put you in touch with a Baha’i in your area who can answer your questions, we would like to kindly ask for a few details about yourself.
Connect with Baha’is in your area
Connect with Baha’is in your area
Get in touch with the Baha’is in your community.