With the federal election coming in just over a month, we are riding the crest of the political wave. People are tense. People on the left think that Christian Nationalism or a dictator on the right is going to destroy America. And people on the right think that a socialist communism is overriding our freedoms by imposing its collectivist, secular value system on all of us. I’ve come to believe that neither side is necessarily wrong.
The Right and the Left
Throughout the history of the United States, the political left has acted as a check to unbridled greed and capitalism on the right: monopolies, robber barons, etc. And the political right has acted as a check to the government wielding abusive power over the people. The left fears big business. The right fears big government. The left fears a dictator like Hitler. The right fears a party dictatorship like Stalin. Monarchs and mobs—wrote Alexander Hamilton. The great American experiment set about in 1776 was designed to stop the spread of our human greed for power by restricting state authority and separating the various kinds of state powers between legislative, executive, and judicial branches and federal, state, and local levels.
There are two things that are deeply concerning to me as a pastor and as an American citizen at this moment. First is this idea that you have to pick a side in order to win. Both political sides feel they have a moral imperative to save the nation from the other. But when Joshua encountered the angel of the Lord, he asked the angel, whose side are you on? The angel answered: “Neither. But as commander of the army of the Lord I have now come.” God’s purposes stand above and outside of our tight little boxes. As a Christian, I believe the good of the people is joined to God’s leadership and not the strategies or ambitions of a political entity. The church never wins by picking sides. The church should be on the Lord’s side, seeking the truth and declaring it to anyone at any cost. One particular issue at one specific moment in time may look partisan, but through a consistent and unbiased pursuit of the truth, it should rise above partisan bias and team endorsements.
The Church as Prophet and Martyr
As a prophet, the church is also a martyr. The prophets were martyred and murdered by kings and crowds who didn’t like what they declared. The church lays its life down to love people into truth instead of coercing people by force. The church shouldn’t be so attached to any one candidate, party, or political philosophy that we can’t love our enemies or rebuke our friends.
The second development I find deeply concerning is that, more and more, our society is succumbing to the idea that a candidate or a party is going to solve our problems for us. It reminds me of 1 Samuel 8, when the Israelites cried out, “Give us a king,” as if a king (political solution) was going to solve all their problems. God told Samuel, don’t be angry; they’ve rejected my leadership, not yours.
When society begins looking to human governments to solve all social and spiritual problems, we’ve abdicated our responsibility to our families, schools, businesses, communities, churches, and local institutions. The government isn’t going to fix our social and spiritual sickness. When the church begins looking to human governments to solve all social and spiritual problems, we have lost our clarity of what God’s kingdom is. The greater battle of the church is to win over the free will of the people—their hearts and minds. Changing laws is a short-term battle of some value. Changing hearts is the greater war. Controlling people through political power is often the last resort of a socially sick society.
I believe in the role of government, and we’ve written a number of articles helping people see the valuable but limited role that it plays and to empower the many layers of societal responsibility. We absolutely believe Christians need to be engaged legislatively and vote for the values we believe in. You can read our perspectives on the intersection of faith and politics:
Individual Freedom of Conscience
But I, for one, still believe in the precious middle ground that is vanishing beneath our feet—that individuals should maintain the freedom to act according to their conscience. I don’t want to live in a country where we punish people who don’t believe exactly as we believe or who don’t allow the freedom of individuals to make those calculations for themselves.
I’d be happy to have a personal conversation with you about the wisdom of certain governmental policies. There are a few issues that our church feels a collective moral imperative to speak openly against, and we have done so. There are many other issues, poverty, for example, in which people have varying political solutions to solve the same ethical problem.
As a church, we’re not going to use our spiritual influence to endorse a political party. We are adhering to our own belief that individuals should be permitted the freedom to vote and act according to their values.
In next week’s article, I hope to build a basic scriptural framework for understanding the role of government. In the weeks to come, we will explain why our church has been outspoken on certain issues and silent on others. Finally, that will lead us to the pressing issue of Christian Nationalism and the dangers that it poses.
Prayer
I end with this prayer. May the Lord rekindle a passion for his Word that guides us morally. May he make us a wise and virtuous people who seek truth in humility, pursue justice with tenacity, and act compassionately. May we have the fortitude to defend liberty, the compassion to tolerate freedom of conscience, and the discernment to distinguish between the two. Amen
Tags: freedom, kingdom, ethics, government, prophet, hearts, politics, conscience, martyr, america, morality, legislation, laws, minds
