Billy Graham’s Timeless Reminder About Politics and the Kingdom of God
As American voters brace themselves for the results of the 2026 midterm election, a point of perspective might be helpful.
At Focus on the Family, we have long encouraged Christians to enthusiastically participate in the political process. Despite what many of the cynics have suggested, we don’t do so because we’re angling for political power or the establishment of a Christian theocracy in America.
Instead, we believe Christians have an obligation to vote. We believe good Christians make for the best of all citizens. We believe Scripture is clear that believers are called to serve their communities – and one important way to do so is to vote for wise people and biblically sound policies.
Wrote the prophet Jeremiah, “But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare” (29:7).
The evangelist Dr. Billy Graham sought to do this by leading people to the Lord and also by ministering to those in power. In fact, over the years, the beloved evangelist developed a reputation as the “Pastor to Presidents.” But Dr. Graham wasn’t seeking power or access. Instead, it was politicians who sought his prayers and guidance.
When Dr. Graham was visiting Vice President Bush at the family’s home in Maine during the summer of 1985, son George W. Bush – the future president – told him he thought reading the Bible might make him a better person. Dr. Graham explained that Christianity was about total transformation, not merely self-improvement.
“Billy had planted a seed,” President Bush later reflected. “His thoughtful explanation made the soil less hard, the brambles less thick … He led me to the path, and I began walking.”
Dr. Graham was on friendly terms with every president going back to President Eisenhower, but in 1965, he gave a message in which he attempted to remind Christians that partisan politics would not lead them to the Promised Land.
“Various Presidents have had slogans to dramatize their philosophy of government,” he began. “Franklin Roosevelt had the New Deal, President Truman had the Fair Deal, President Kennedy had the New Frontier, President Johnson had the Great Society.”
He then turned to the Bible:
“Jesus Christ also had slogans. For example, He said, ‘Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven’ (Matthew 5:3). This was one of the many slogans that he used to announce His ‘great society,’ which is the Kingdom Society.”
Graham went on to describe the prosperity and oversized influence of Rome during Jesus’ life.
“Jesus saw the whole structure of the Roman Empire as something fleeting and temporary,” the evangelist observed. “He looked at the great buildings in Jerusalem and said, ‘Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone shall be left upon another, that shall not be thrown down’ (Mark 13:2). He talked of the world He lived in, with its armed might, its great edifices and institutions—the world that the Romans doubtless thought of as the ‘great society’—as something soon to crumble. He spoke of the seeds of war—hate, lust and greed. He talked of the end of the existing world of that day.
“The Roman world did end, the Empire did fall. Caesar’s ‘great society’ disintegrated. But Christ’s Kingdom Society will endure forever. It will endure because the Kingdom Society is not built on a false promise.”
As Christians, we are ultimately working toward that “Kingdom Society” – eternal perfection – but that obviously won’t be ushered in with today’s election. Nevertheless, Dr. Graham said it’s worth voting – and choosing imperfect people whom God can use for good.
“Fallible humans cannot create an infallible society, but redeemed people can redeem society,” he shared. But then he also pointed out the hypocrisy we all see.
“Today in what we call the society of the world we hold spiritual things in contempt and lust after the things of this world. Little wonder that the world is in a state of turmoil! Mammon is worshiped, and God is disdained. Pleasure takes precedence over purity, and gain has priority over God.”
Dr. Graham concluded with a timeless observation that provides comforting perspective on a day when good and bad decisions will ultimately be made:
“The history of man has been a continuous series of half successes and total failures. Prosperity exists for a time, only to be followed by war and depression. Civilizations have come and gone, and mankind still battles with the same problems over and over and over again.
“But the Kingdom Society will abide forever. The fluctuations of time, the swinging of the pendulum from war to peace, from starvation to plenty, from chaos to order, will end forever.”
