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How Does Mišpāṭ Connect the Government shutdown & Iran?

How Does Mišpāṭ Connect the Government shutdown & Iran?

Last updated on: February 1, 2026 at 6:56 pm by Martin Thomas Johnson

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How Does Mišpāṭ Connect the Government shutdown & Iran? 2026-02-01T18:56:31-05:00 Martin Thomas Johnson

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One of the major headlines this week has been the new partial government shutdown. This should concern all Americans, because it will decide how our tax dollars, which all Americans and even most immigrants pay into the government, are spent.

Image by Wikipedia Commons

Currently, many Democrats are threatening to vote against any bill that continues to fund the power-hungry ICE and homeland security departments because of their abuse of power and use of extreme and deadly force.

The idea of a government for the people has slipped through the cracks of tyranny and abuses of power by our own government. It is both ironic and hypocritical of conservatives in Congress who are more focused on an earthly kingdom than doing what God commands His people to do:

Love thy neighbor
Care for the least of these
Take care of foreigners
Forgive
Don’t seek revenge

From a biblical perspective, we are all sinners and warned not to do what is right by our standards, but God’s (Proverbs 31:8-9, Isaiah 1:17, Romans 3:23). We are not called to any political party or earthly kingdom.

We are not called to follow our hearts (Numbers 15:37-41, Jeremiah 17:9). We’re not called to follow anyone who does the opposite of what our Lord and faith command (Matthew 7:15-20, Galatians 1:8-9). We are commanded to do what is right and in God’s eyes, no matter how much it hurts (Micah 6:8, Hebrews 12:11).

What Is Right

Most of us understand the need and importance of doing what is right; however, because of the sin nature that we all have, doing the right thing doesn’t come naturally, and we must learn to do it (Romans 3:10-12).

Image created by Martin Thomas Johnson using Canva

Right is defined as “Being in accordance with what is just, good, or proper.” The reason why we have to teach children to do what is right is because their sinful nature inclines them to do what is wrong (Deuteronomy 6:6-7, Proverbs 22:6).

It is prideful for anyone to believe they are the only ones who know what is right, when God is the only one who is just (Isaiah 44:6, Acts 10:34). Despite what many conservatives believe and practice, right and wrong are not politically exclusive. Republicans and Christians are just as capable of doing what is wrong because of our sin nature (1 John 1:8).

That is why the Bible has a lot to say about what is right (Proverbs 14:12, Ecclesiastes 12:13-14, Acts 10:35, 1 Timothy 6:3-4). This is why God’s people are called to avoid evil and to be the light; our flesh is naturally bent on doing evil (1 Thessalonians 5:22, 1 Peter 3:11).

No one is immune to doing what is evil in God’s sight, regardless of your political affiliation. Republicans’ hearts are just as corrupt and evil as any Democrat’s heart (Genesis 6:5, Jeremiah 17:9, Mark 7:21-23).

God’s people are called to do what is right by God’s standards, not ours, or even our government’s (Romans 12:2, Ephesians 2:10, Philippians 4:8, 1 Peter 2:9, James 1:22). The apostles remembered their Jewish education about doing what is right.

Mišpāṭ

I have always found it amazing that the Torah tells us that after mankind chose to know the difference between good and evil, mankind continued to choose evil over what is good and right in God’s eyes (Genesis 3:1-13).

Humanity continued to disobey God to the point that God regretted making us (Genesis 6:5-6). Mankind’s sinful nature causes us to choose wrong over what is right by God’s standard (Psalm 51:5, Jeremiah 17:9).

The Hebrew word in the Old Testament for what is right is mišpāṭ, and it can also mean “Judgment, ordinance, law, order, justice, or cause,” depending on the context it is used in.

So God decided to create a holy people and set them apart from this corrupt world to do what is right (Exodus 19:5-6, Deuteronomy 7:6). That is why Judaism emphasizes the need to do what is right by God’s standards:

Torah study
Honor God
Fight for justice
Forgive
Stand up against evil

When Jesus began His earthly ministry, He called Himself the light and taught His followers to also be the light in this dark world (Matthew 5:14-16, John 8:12). He reminded His followers how to be the light by doing what God commanded them to do (Matthew 5:16; 6:10, John 14:12).

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Our Rabbi made it abundantly clear what we are to do while we are here in this dark world: love thy neighbor, care for the least of these, and the foreigners (Matthew 22:39; 25:35). He emphasized the need to do God’s will because only God is right (Matthew 6:10; 7:21).

Our Lord rebuked the religious leaders of His day for doing the works of their father, the devil (John 8:38-44). We cannot be of God and do the works of Satan, that is having two masters (Matthew 6:19-24).

Iran

For weeks now, there has been a lot of news out of Iran about the Iranian revolution. The Iranian regime has been oppressing the people for decades. There have been thousands of Iranians killed, and many Christians in Iran have also faced death.

Image by Wikipedia Commons

The world is watching how a ruthless dictator and his government are murdering their own people and denying them basic human rights. The injustice in Iran has been condemned by our own government and the president himself.

The president has been threatening to use force against the Iranian regime for weeks now if any protesters are hurt. The Trump administration and the MAGA movement are clearly hypocritical. If it is wrong for protesters to stand up to their government for harming citizens in Iran, then it is just as evil and wrong for the president and his administration to murder US citizens or label protesters as terrorists for standing up for the right thing God calls His people to do:

Care for foreigners
Take Care of the least of these
Stand up to evil
Love our neighbors

For the past year, many conservatives have called protesting against the Trump administration both un-American and un-Christian because we are called to obey the government and leaders God has put in place (Romans 13:1-2, Hebrews 13:17, 1 Peter 2:13-17).

However, these same conservatives will be the first to tell you, they’d refuse to do anything our government does our demands, if it goes against their spiritual beliefs. Yet, they continue to support a president and administration that clearly goes against not only our laws, but the commands and teachings of the Christian faith.

They try to rationalize why we shouldn’t care for foreigners and the least among us; their pride has blinded them to their own hypocrisy. The early church stood up to the religious leaders and governments God put in place because they knew we must obey God rather than any man or government that does our demands the opposite of what God has told us to do (Acts 5:28-30).

The hypocrisy of many conservatives is embarrassing as MAGA tries tojustify disobeying the basic teachings of the Christian faith. We cannot condone this ministration and movement’s evil ways instead of doing what God calls mišpāṭ!

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