As
Christians our primary allegiance is to Jesus as Lord of all, and to God’s
kingdom in which he reigns over all things as sovereign. We live in an
in-between time, after the kingdom’s inauguration but before its final
consummation, when we acknowledge Christ as king yet realize a prince of
darkness actively disputes his right to the throne.
It is
always difficult to be in a now/not-yet situation. Living by kingdom values is
never easy—which is why it’s called a life of faith—and as our Lord promised,
doing so would never be popular in a world in revolt against its rightful
sovereign. It is hard to be content when things don’t always seem to be moving
in the correct direction. Waiting has never been a strong suit for fallen human
beings. And it is hard not to be seduced by visions and agendas that promise
relief and better times, if only they could be implemented by the powers that
be. Every political ideology—libertarianism, conservatism, liberalism,
progressivism, nationalism—takes an aspect of created reality, makes it central
and then builds a political vision and agenda around it. This is why each
usually has some good ideas and good proposals: each is rooted in an aspect of
created reality and so is not completely removed from life in a fallen world.
Which is what makes political ideologies attractive even to the people of God.
A great
deal is at stake in all this. The primary issue is God’s glory and the honor of
Christ as Lord of lords. Ideologies are grounded in something less than Christ,
and that is why the biblical term for ideologies is idolatry. Also at stake is
the integrity of Christ’s church. If political ideology supersedes commitment
to the gospel of the kingdom the church’s unity begins to crumble. And at stake
is the church’s witness to the gospel, because the perspective of a believer
shifts radically when they move from a kingdom vision to seeing things as an
ideology defines life and reality.
A gloomy “slouching toward Gomorrah”
view of culture leads, I think, to meanness. If we think we are on the losing
end of the arc of history, we slide into outrage. If we see ourselves, though,
as part of a kingdom that is triumphant in Christ, we ought to display a kind
of provocative tranquility. We see those who disagree with us not as
threatening to us or to our gospel, but those who, like all of us were, are
held captive to an accusing power. We speak with convictional kindness because
we love our neighbors, and because we are confident in our gospel. If the gates
of hell won’t prevail against Jesus’ onward march, then why are we terrified by
Hollywood or Capitol Hill? [Russell Moore, Ethics & Religious Liberty
Commission, Southern Baptist Convention]
I believe
Moore is correct, and in this brief statement has put his finger on something
we as Christians need to take seriously. As I read his words, several practical
questions came to mind. Reflecting on them can help us identify the extent to
which we have slid from a kingdom perspective towards an ideological framework
in our thinking, feeling, and doing.
1. Am I
discouraged, disappointed, or depressed after an election cycle, a Supreme
Court ruling or a legislative effort? It is true that in each case kingdom
values may cause us to prefer one outcome over another. Still, we know from
Scripture that there is ebb and flow in history. Read the Old Testament and see
how good and bad kings, moral and immoral leaders rose to power but never once
did God’s rule slip out of control. Our calling remains the same regardless of
the details, and that is to remain faithful to the kingdom of God. If our hope
is in God and his kingdom alone, we have reason for contentment and joy.
2. Do I
consider leaving a church or Christian fellowship because I disagree with the
politics of leaders or other members? Or as a variation on this, are there
people in my church I shun because I find their political views untenable? This
is, from a biblical perspective, an extremely important issue. It is dangerous
when we essentially see our political agendas as equal in significance to our
commitment to the historic orthodoxy of our faith. Christian unity is grounded
in the teaching of Scripture, summarized, for example in the beliefs of the
Apostle’s Creed and not in the values of a political vision. Make the wrong
choice here and our souls can be at stake.
3. Do we
tend to see the citizens that do not share my political views as rivals (to be
defeated or convinced) or as people I am called to befriend and love, even at
cost (economic, time, health, life, political) to myself? Ideologies and
agendas call their followers to work in order to win. The kingdom calls us to
set aside our preferences and rights in order to help those created in God’s
image to flourish though the gospel of Christ’s life, death, resurrection and
ascension. I fear that much of the younger generation dismisses the gospel as
irrelevant at least partly because of the politicization of the church.
4. Am I
content as a Christian being faithful in the political sphere of life when that
requires the hard work of being co-belligerents with disparate parties or
candidates on various issues at different times because no single party fully
embraces kingdom values and convictions? Because political ideologies are
ultimately rooted in some aspect of created reality, none are completely
separated from life. And there will be times we will need to abstain because no
option is available that adequately reflects the imperatives of God’s law and
character.
We need to
read St John’s Revelation regularly. Don’t read it as a puzzle to be solved (it
isn’t one) but as a series of imaginative visions (which they are). Each one is
actually fairly simple: God’s reign is disputed, God’s kingdom is challenged,
God’s righteousness prevails. It’s how the story ends, and the ending is
certain. And that is why we can be kingdom people now as we wait, and wonder, and
be content, and wait some more.
I don’t remember—no, scratch that. I was going to say I don’t remember when I’ve received so many fear-full emails from Christians as in the past couple of weeks leading up to this year’s election. But I do remember the last time. There were two times, actually: they were in the months leading up to Y2K and in the weeks leading up to Bill Clinton’s election. Now, my memory might be faulty, but as I remember, in neither case did the dreaded scenarios come to pass. But once again, the emails have been burning through cyberspace, warning of all sorts of horrible outcomes if we vote incorrectly.
About which I have a few reflections.
Reflection #1. We are a highly politicized people. I agree that Christians needs to be responsible citizens—that is a part of faithfulness as we live under Christ’s Lordship. But we must not be politicized—by which I mean grant the religious importance to politics that is common in our secularized society. Voting is important, but God remains sovereign. Our calling remains unchanged, and our gospel remains the power of God regardless of who is in the White House.
Reflection #2. We should work faithfully for just policies and vote for good leaders, without for a moment allowing our hope to rest in either. Or, to put it another way: Christians should never be either pessimistic or optimistic about politics (or about anything else in a fallen world, for that matter). We should remain hopeful, instead, whether the policy we seek to enact succeeds or fails, and whether the one whom we believe is the best candidate wins or loses.
Reflection #3. Even if you think you have a gift of prophesy, be humble about predicting the future. And if you claim to have that gift remember that the biblical standard is that all prophets whose predictions were less that 100% accurate in every single tiny detail were to be stoned.
Reflection #4. Know that fear—like guilt and shame, other common motivators in the emails I’ve received—are not how Christians should seek to persuade one another concerning what faithfulness looks like. Remember, we live before a watching world. If we are fearful over an election—an election! for goodness sake—what does that witness to our confidence in the sovereignty and grace of our heavenly Father?
Reflection #5. Cultivate Christian contentment so that it infuses, shapes, and informs every aspect of your citizenship—and our emails on the topic. “Christian contentment,” Jeremiah Burroughs (1599-1646) says, “is that sweet, inward, quiet, gracious, frame of spirit, which freely submits to and delights in God’s wise and fatherly disposal in every condition.” [The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment].
