Christians need authority, not power
How should believers engage our political culture?
I’ve always been fascinated by the ongoing dilemma of how Christians should engage the secular, political world. In college I remember reading and watching Francis Schaeffer’s “How Should We Then Live?” and being inspired by the thought of robust engagement by believers in the public square. Years later, the scene in “Amazing Grace” where William Wilberforce is challenged that he “can do both” the work of a political activist and the act of serving God, only inspired me further.
How could we not become active participants in the halls of earthly power when we were owned and motivated by a Truth and Power far beyond mankind’s impotent efforts to imitate? We Christians have the answer – the only answer – to what ails the human condition. Why shouldn’t we seek to dominate worldly thrones in order to apply that answer through political means as widely as possible?
But then…
Jesus didn’t raise an army or run for office. He nor the great Apostle Paul ever led political opposition to Rome’s abject mistreatment of the poor and enslaved. Paul actually counsels Christian slaves on how to properly obey their earthly masters, even while suffering under an ungodly system. And for His part, Jesus bluntly told Rome’s pompous governor, “My Kingdom is not of this world.” He told Pilate that He came to earth not to rule some temporary, mortal empire, but to bear witness to the truth of His Lordship and the eternal salvation He was offering to all who would accept it.
So shouldn’t Christians follow in the footsteps of Jesus and Paul, and seemingly forgo political engagement in order to concentrate more fully and completely on evangelistic outreach?
In a recent article, author Trevin Wax outlined more of these pressing dilemmas for believers living in modern day America:
Is it time for a more vocal, more muscular, clearly partisan approach to enshrining Christian morals in society?
What are the demands of justice when ideologies lead to the defacement of the human body in the name of “progress” and “inclusivity”?
Is it enough to carve out exemptions for Christians who claim conscience rights against being conscripted into life-ending procedures for the elderly or the unborn or into surgeries that diminish the dignity of the human body’s natural use and purpose? Or should we use persuasion and power to go further?
Wax didn’t necessarily answer those questions, arguing that instead of concentrating on the “how should we engage,” it might be wiser for Christians in this moment to contemplate on “who we will be” in this fallen world. He contends that “the question of identity – ‘who we are’ – must precede the question of function – ‘how we live.’”
Admittedly, I superficially dismissed his thesis as being unnecessarily high-minded. I struggle when we Christians tend to overcomplicate matters, talking ourselves out of bold, public declarations of righteousness due to some fear we will fail the world’s arbitrary test of winsomeness. But then in a moment I refuse to believe was the result of chance, I providentially happened across an article by Jake Meador where he was responding to the moral panic being exhibited by Christians in our current cultural environment.
The anxiety, anxiousness, and alarm which defines the world we live in, encourages a flood of negative emotional responses. Arm that emotion with access to a medium like social media and it’s no wonder we are all adrift in a sea of rancor, angst, and polarizing, political turmoil. In such an atmosphere, Meador reasons that it will be particularly difficult for Christians to effectively influence others if we merely pick a side and engage the culture war as the world does. He writes,
“Know what your kids are hearing in school and seeing on their phones,” is great. But more basic then all that is having good habits of care and attentiveness to your kids, such that you have a relationship that allows your authority over them to be fruitful and effective. Likewise, “appeal to your leaders to address it,” is also good. But are you the kind of person your pastor or representative actually wants to hear from? Do you have the kind of presence in your community and relationship to your leaders that they actually listen when you speak? And “build enduring institutions designed for resistance,” is great, but you can’t build such institutions when your coalition is filled with enraged, belligerent, anxious people, as are virtually every movement and institution on the anti-woke right.
I’m reminded that in the book of Daniel, the noble Jewish young man rose to a position of great prominence and influence in ungodly Babylon not through a shrewd political operation or some cunning community strategy, but through simple faithfulness to God. His radical allegiance to the things of God set him apart in word and deed, ingratiating himself to even the worldliest tyrant.
Coupling that example with the wisdom of Meador’s article, I’m tempted to say that the most effective “political strategy” for Christians moving forward…