Sarawak Christians Need to Relook At The Borderline Between State & Religion

Ideally, as one Sarawak colleague remarked to me once, state and religion should be kept separate. In other words, what is of the world should remain in the world and what is of God should remain in God’s house.

In practise and in the case of Sarawak, the dividing line can no longer hold because the state has encroached on the religious values and integrity of the church (which is not an association but the whole body of Christians in Malaysia and the world community). This is evident in the two-state policy of the government on the Bahasa Malaysia bibles and Allah issue.

What should Christians do and does the behaviour/campaigns of Christian politicians (on both sides of the party line) in this election reflect the character of our Lord Jesus Christ? I am sure our Creator in Heaven is watching very closely as the protagonists argue and plead their case to the people of Sarawak.

Sarawakians have enjoyed freedom of religious worship for decades and I can see so many churches flourishing there. They have enjoyed this privilege while the persecution of the church and the gospel is happening at a very intense rate in the Peninsular and around the world (compare how much religious freedom is granted to Christians in Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, India etc versus Peninsular Malaysia. China is in a class of its own in the persecution index). 

But will the outcome of the 16th April elections change the perspective of Sarawak Christians about their position in Malaysia? Will it completely change their view (which in many ways is Biblically correct) that the worldly and the divine should remain separate?

These are hard issues which will engage the entire nation and the body of Christ for years to come. As Christians, we are the spiritual shepherds of this nation and we have to wake up to our responsibilities in this present end times: there will be increasing worldliness and political tensions on the one hand while a call for greater spirituality and blessings from God will also intensify on the other hand.

God is shaking the nations to wake us up and we must not remain indifferent and complacent.

So where shall we stand as Malaysian Christians? In the midst of the tranquility and natural beauty of Sarawak, a great spiritual battle has started.

We will do the nation a great favour by continuing this dialogue with our non-Christian neighbors and fellow citizens. In the process, we must remember to remind ourselves that our faith in the goodness and love of God goes beyond politics and beyond casting a vote in the ballot box. So in our prayers, when we ask God for justice and righteousness to prevail in the land, it is very much the Kingdom of God that we are seeking to be established on earth, not according to our own designs/will but God’s perfect will.

Malaysia At Spiritual Cross Roads Amidst Political Deceptions Locally & Globally

As Malaysia prepares for the 13th General Election coming right after the Sarawak state election, the political struggle that is being fought between the incumbent state government party and the Opposition parties in Sawarak threatens to overshadow the larger moral issues facing the nation.

 Do Malaysians, political experts, bloggers and man-in-the-street, know that we are heading towards the end of the age? Do we think we are immune from the earthquakes/tsunamis that hit Japan and other countries of the world? What do these natural disasters which wipe out thousands of lives mean for the people of Malaysia apart from taking precautions not to eat Japanese food or review our nuclear plans ?

The sins of the people of Malaysia are evident: one the one hand, we have corrupted politicians who have made themselves wealthy and powerful at the expense of the people and on the other hand, we have the yet-to-be-tested politicians in the Opposition who try to take power away from the corrupt. For the latter, the road to Putrajaya seems to be the ultimate solution to Malaysia's woes.

What precisely are the sins committed by this nation? Arrogance and self-promotion of our own communities, racial divisions and pride, pornography, adultery, divorce, hypocrisy at all levels and the complacency of the general citizens who only care for their own short-term interests. i.e. their rice bowls.

Will our rice bowls be taken away from us in the next global economic tsunami despite the fact that we console ourselves that Malaysia is blessed with oil and commodities? The deforestation of Sarawak, the mistreatment of the poor and enrichment of crony capitalists there is a testimony of our rape of natural resources and the indigenous people that God planted there.

The only way the nation can avert the divine judgement of God on this nation as He is indeed shaking each nation throughout the world (after Japan, the next natural disaster could be in the Ring of Fire) is by repenting of our sins and turning our eyes, our hearts to God. Therefore, Malaysians, especially Christians, should be careful not to put their faiths in new or existing political leaders to bring justice and righteousness to the nation.

And the churches of the country, as will be the case in Sawarak on 16th April, will play a major role in turning the nation to repentance of our sins, praying to God for mercy and forgiveness of our self-serving life-styles.

Indeed, the Lord Jesus is coming soon and the rapid deterioration of the current world order is happening before our very eyes on TV and the daily news. (Please do read my previous post Troubles in the Middle East and What It Means To Us)

Face the Spiritual Challenges First, then the rest will follow

Over the land of Sarawak, there is what the Christians call a principality that tries to rule over the land and its people.

We are not called to engage in spiritual warfare with flesh and blood (i.e. mankind) but with principalities who often portray themselves (through their human subjects) as kings of the land.

Once you pull down these principalities thru prayer, repentance for the sins committed against the land and declaring that Jesus is the King of Kings, you will deal the biggest blow to the enemy. Then perhaps we may see a real change in the land come 16th April 2011.

So it is important for the opposing political candidates and voters to be courteous and loving to each other. Let us not demonise Taib no matter how much he is vilified by certain people. Let us show love and mercy while praying hard for God's justice to be done on earth as it is in Heaven.

Early this year, tyrants and dictators have fallen in Tunisia and Egypt and even the principality of Sendai was shaken. Sarawak’s economic and social problems are far from Tunisia and Egypt and God has blessed this land with peace and abundant resources (albeit diminishing). But being the first state to usher in the next general elections, I think this state is key to Malaysia’s spiritual transformation.