Shutdown Looming

The clock is ticking down toward a U.S. government shutdown yet again. The current fiscal year ends on September 30, 2025, after which the government will move into partial shutdown unless a funding agreement can be reached. To this point, Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill have been unable to reach a funding deal, and a House-passed bill to fund the government through late November was rejected by the U.S. Senate. Both chambers are currently in recess but return on September 29—just one day before the deadline.

Analysis and eternal perspective: This story continues to be on loop. While the two major U.S. political parties have divergent priorities, including on matters of spending, shutdown politics has become ubiquitous across all versions of partisan control. In every variant of partisan control, Congress and the White House have been unable to fund the government under anything close to regular order.

The result is perpetual government shutdown watch. We have said it before—when one deal is reached to avoid a shutdown, it is really just setting the date on which you can expect the next shutdown threat.

So how should you as a Jesus follower—knowing the facts above—interact with a story like this? How can your participation have an impact that is beyond simply assigning blame for this perpetual cycle?

First, you will be told to be anxious. Choose God’s peace instead (Philip. 4:6-7).

Next, avoid foolish arguments (2 Tim. 2:23). We at The Equipped want to impact the temporal for the eternal, so this is not a call to disengagement. It is, however, a call to learn from what is repeatedly not working. The blame game has a proven outcome across all iterations of partisan control. We should not expect the outcome to change if our inputs remain the same. Regular order management of the federal budget is quite hard! But it is what we should expect of our leaders—both when we are aligned politically with them and when we are not.

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philip. 4:6-7).

“Don’t have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels” (2 Tim. 2:23).

The following article originally appeared in Thann’s “The Equipped” Weekly Newsletter. For more information on Thann’s weekly email, click here.