Welcome to this instalment of the series, The Church and Politics. If you’ve not been following the series please go to www.myilluminare.com/the-church-and-politics/ to read the last twelve instalments.

However much we hate the fact, money is the lubricant of politics. Money gives you a seat at the table. There’s an economic cost attached to changing people’s perspective. If you want to change a point of view, or cause people to switch allegiance in a democracy, there’s required spending. Man responds to his material makeup. He responds to images because he’s made from an image. He responds to words because he’s made from words. Genesis 1:26-27. Imagery and words are tools of political persuasion. They cost money, a lot of money. Media costs money. The richer the country the more expensive media is. But the poorer the people the cheaper it is to persuade them to vote a particular candidate. They’re focused on survival. They’re desperate. Third world politicians know how to exploit this factor. And so the people cast their vote in a particular direction in exchange for something as basic as a loaf of bread. It’s Esau Syndrome – the trading of birth right. The Bible calls such foreign exchange transaction profanity. Hebrews 12:16 KJV. Some ingeniously label this “stomach infrastructure.” It’s essentially vote in exchange for food – an intestinal affidavit of poverty.

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