POLITICS is almost second nature to Filipinos. Elections feel like fiestas and politicians are treated like celebrities. There is nothing wrong with loving one’s country or supporting leaders. Government matters. Leadership matters. But a dark danger begins when political support turned to blind political worship. Political idolatry happens when people defend politicians blindly even when there are already visible proofs of wrongdoing, corruption, abuse, dishonesty, injustice and disrespect of God’s standards.
We Filipinos has seen this repeatedly, and sadly never learns.
During the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos Sr., many remained loyal despite corruption and the abuses committed during Martial Law. Personality worship became stronger than a stand for accountability. Somehow, our moral compass was lost as political convenience was exchanged for biblical obedience.
Years later, supporters of Rodrigo Duterte defended whatever he stood for: drug war with little regard for life’s value; vulgar and insulting disrespect for God; and the pursuit of political vendetta than justice. This gave birth to the “DDS” phenomenon—a cult-like allegiance centered entirely on a leader’s persona rather than on moral or spiritual discernment. And many blindly fall for it: hook, line, and sinker.
Today, the bitter divide between supporters of Marcos and Duterte reveals how deeply
personality politics dominated the country. Issues are often viewed not through truth and justice, but through political alignment and loyalty.
This is where Scripture strongly warns us.
The Bible never teaches blind loyalty to earthly rulers. Leaders are accountable to God, and citizens are commanded to uphold righteousness, justice, truth, and integrity above personalities and political tribes. Evil prospers when good men do nothing.
Psalm 146:3 warns: “Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help.”
Political idolatry happens when it replaces moral truth with partisan loyalty, such as: when wrong becomes acceptable if done to serve a selfish interest; if corruption becomes negotiable; if lies becomes propaganda, and silence becomes blind adherence towards compromise.
BUT GOD IS NEVER BLIND to corruption, abuse, oppression, dishonesty, and injustice. Throughout Scripture and history, God judged rulers who abused power, oppressed people, distorted justice, and exalted themselves above righteousness. A ruler’s temporal power cannot overrule God’s eternal righteousness.
Isaiah 5:20 declares: “Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil.”
The danger lies when corrupt leaders and acquiescing citizens knowingly justify evil for political
convenience and blind loyalty. When loyalty to personalities has become stronger than loyalty to the truth, to the moral standards based on Scriptures, and to the example from the very life of Christ, then anything in exchange for that is plain political idolatry.
Christians especially must remember that our highest loyalty is not to politicians, dynasties, parties, ideologies, or governments, but to God’s moral and spiritual truth. It is an entirely myopic view to consider and speak of issues only from a purely partisan political perspective, instead of subjecting the issue front and center to God’s standards and demands.
For in the end, every leader, every supporter, every citizen and every nation will answer not before public opinion, but before the righteous Judge of all.
Proverbs 14:34 says it all: “Righteousness exalts a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people.”/PN
