As we have been praying this simple prayer, Jesus has revealed the importance of this template. These seven pillars serve as the foundation of a good society, interdependently established to cultivate stability, productivity and longevity among families and communities. However because of their interdependent nature, the whole system can become adversely affected if one or two pillars experience corruption.

Now some may ask the question like “Why does this matter if in fact Jesus is going to usher in a new heaven and earth?” Allow me to briefly address this legitimate question. While it is true that this earth will pass away and that Jesus will usher in a new heaven and a new earth these are matters that reside in the future. This means that we do not have the privilege of knowing how or when this will come to fruition. So then the people of God are to have living hope for the future glory that awaits us while being faithful in our present Christian vocation.

Another reason why these seven pillars are important to Christians is because it is the opportunity for us to participate in building up God’s kingdom. In Matthew 6:9-13 Jesus gave us a template for prayer in which we were to pray that God’s kingdom would come and his will to be done in the earth as it is in heaven. Similar to how an earthly kingdom colonizes another country, bringing its culture and rule of law, God the creator and sustainer of the earth desires that his kingdom influence and culture is realized in the world through his redeemed people obeying his word and exercising their authority in their day to day occupation. It is worth noting that the bible is rich in principles relating to these seven pillars.

 

Moreover our Christian heritage is full of men and women who exercised their kingdom role within these seven pillars. Christians established hospitals and schools to both care for afflicted and educate future generations. Christians leveraged political power to abolish practices that desecrated the sanctity of life (i.e. human sacrifice). The people of God have always been on the cutting edge of media and technology producing invaluable inventions like the physical book and the printing press as well as leveraging television and radio to spread the gospel.

 

The devil knows that as long as God’s people are not exercising their dominion within these seven pillars he can weaponize them to oppress the poor, exploit the innocent, desecrate human life and corrupt future generations from knowing their true creator. With these stakes, followers of Jesus are to be vigilant in prayer for the country and world in which they live so that these pillars may be influenced and fortified by the power of God through the people of God.