CHRISTIAN
CITIZENRY & THE POLITICS OF LOVE
The Fourth of July reminds those of us in
the USA of the great privilege that is ours to live in a country with great a heritage
and opportunities. Our country has never been perfect, so it’s right for us to
pray with the patriotic song line, “America, America, God mend thine every
flaw.”[1]
But is there more that we should do about those flaws than pray? And if so, what
shape should our public engagement look like? In particular, what about a
Christian’s involvement in politics and social campaigning? Is there a way for
us to put feet to our prayers that doesn’t put our feet on the wrong path?
This is a divisive issue amongst
Christians. On one side are those who advocate a militant political approach to
our nation’s moral ills. Frankly, I’m uncomfortable with some of today’s
prominent forms of Christian political activism. There’s a real danger for the
Church and Christians to become overly politicized. Sometimes Christians
embroiled in public arena battles seem to lose sight of what the good fight of
faith is really about. On the other hand are those who advocate a withdrawal
from all engagement, seeing it as a rival to true Christian ministry. In some
cases this includes prohibitions against voting of any kind. While I view my
calling as an ambassador of Christ of far greater importance than my being a
citizen of a great country, I believe there is such a thing as Christian
citizenry, a way to meaningfully engage in the concerns of public life without
getting our Gospel priorities out of order.
One thing that complicates this issue
are the different settings of the New Testament world and our own. The New
Testament was written in an era in which Christians had virtually no ability to
be engaged in political discussion about the common good. The Scripture tells
believers to submit to human authorities so long as such submission does not
impinge on their submission to King Jesus. Those directives are still
applicable today. But when God puts His people in times and places where they
have the freedom to influence public policy, what are they to do? Do they have
a civic responsibility?
At the very least, Christians in the
free world have a civic opportunity. Wisdom needs to dictate the degree of
involvement, and that degree will not be the same for everyone or in every
setting. Some might simply determine to take their role as voters more
seriously, some might become active in communicating respectfully with their
representatives, some might work to defend Christian liberties, and a few might
become statesmen or politicians themselves. But to whatever degree Christians personally
take advantage of the opportunities they have, their involvement ought to be governed
by Gospel driven motives and constraints.
Some of today’s Christian political
action seems to be motivated by anger, fear, and power. Christians can be very
vocal in their anger over the way our nation has degenerated. Along with anger,
fear seems to motivate the discourse of some believers whenever they talk about
the moral climate. This in turn motivates the pursuit of political power to
abate that fear and anger. While there are grave matters of concern in our
culture, we must not let that concern degenerate into angry,
power-hungry fear. There is a time to express moral outrage, but Christians
are taught by the Gospel to be motivated in all of life by faith, hope, and
love. Love in particular is a far greater motivator for Christian
citizenry than fear. Christians ought to
be known for their “politics of love”—that is, a love for others, for God’s
truth, for Christ’s church, and for the Gospel that drives our engagement in
public affairs. Consider how love can motivate us.
First, we are to love our neighbors as
ourselves (Lev. 19:18; Mk 12:31, etc.). We will be better motivated to vote and
engage in other forms of social action if we see such as opportunities to
love our neighbors. Our love should show itself by endorsing values, policies,
legislation, and leadership which promote righteousness, justice, and the
common good. At times, our non-Christian neighbors may not agree with us
as to what is the common good. For instance, the preservation of
traditional marriage and opposition to gay marriage is a common good issue, but
many progressives in our society don’t think that campaign is good at all. Love
for one's neighbors is not always understood or appreciated for what it
is. But we must love even when we are hated. Love for our neighbors and
pursuit of the common good is a much better Christian motivation than anger or
fear.
Second, we are to love God’s truth and
His glory. God is the originator of the principle of human government, and
He designed it in part to reflect His glory. Poor government reflects
poorly on God's glory. Thus we should seek to lift up God's truth so that
others might see the goodness and wisdom of His ways. We are not about building
a theocracy—a distinction that Christians need to articulate clearly. Only the
return of King Jesus will ever bring about the direct rule of God in this
world. But when laws and structures of society fail to promote truth, righteousness,
and justice, we should care, especially when we’re able to do something about
it.
Third, we are to love the
Church. Through our voting and social action, we have the opportunity to promote
freedom which can aid the promotion of the Gospel and the ministry of the
Church. Paul instructed Timothy and the church in Ephesus to pray for
their secular rulers, partly with a view that the church would enjoy liberty in
Gospel proclamation (1 Tim. 2:1-6). Now, liberty must never become an idol. God
knows how to make the Church grow whether in the soil of freedom or
persecution. And yet neither Jesus nor the apostles instruct us to pursue a
course of persecution. While early Christians had little voice in the days of Caesar,
we have the sovereignly-given opportunity to influence government for the
better and so care for one another.
Last, but not least, we need to love to
Gospel of Christ most of all. The real power to change people’s lives lies in
the soul transforming power of Christ. First and foremost, we want to be known
as people of the Gospel, not as social campaigners. If the Gospel is the soil
of our lives and ministries, then the main tree that we should tend is the
verbal proclamation of the Word and discipleship unto the obedience of Christ.
There is room in that same soil to grow the lesser vines of Christian social
action. But in the end, we want to be known for our commitment to the greater
rather than the lesser.
In conclusion, we must remember that our
faith and hope do not rest in our efforts, our laws, or our republic. Our faith
and hope lie completely in King Jesus, regardless of what may happen to America.
We are citizens of the Kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ, a kingdom which will
never fail. We need never worry about elections turning out badly in that
realm. The work of the Gospel must always claim our first allegiance and
our greater energies. But while we labor in light of Christ’s coming, there’s
both room and need for us to seek the common good as an expression of Gospel
motivated love. "So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good
to all people, and especially to those who are of the
house-hold of the faith" (Galatians 6:10).
[1] From Katharine Lee Bates,
“America the Beautiful” (1985).
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