“See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ.” – Colossians 2:8

An interesting thing often happens after elections in this country.

Followers of Jesus all over the political spectrum use language to describe the outcome of such elections in cosmic terms. If a believer feels the election results are favorable to them, they might declare that God has triumphed over evil. If a believer feels the election results are unfavorable, they might claim that evil has won out or at least that Jesus’ teachings have been ignored. What’s funny is that you can easily find differing, but passionate responses from Christians on both sides of the aisle within the same election. Christianity doesn’t represent a monolith despite the political exclusivism that some believers link to their understanding of soteriology.

And, of course, this has created all sorts of division within the Church that are only heightened in election seasons. Each side believes that they alone have good intentions and the other side is misguided at best. Each side believes that their actions, or vote, is what’s best for our country and world.

I am challenged by what Hauerwas reminds us of regarding the Church’s mission:

“The only way for the world to know that it needs redeeming, that it is broken and fallen, is for the church to enable the world to strike hard against something which is an alternative to what the world offers.”[1]

That is to say, when Christians champion a political party, candidate, or ideology, especially when they make exclusivist claims or stamp their particular side as “Jesus approved,” they’re actually doing exactly the opposite of what they believe they’re doing. They aren’t honoring Jesus, but committing an act of syncretism.

They are not championing Christ but the world.

Common Political Lies

What might be a healthier way that believers might understand politics, as well as our role in this particular political climate?

Here are a few unsolicited thoughts.

First and foremost, we should remember that Christians have been called to be a sign, foretaste, and a herald of God’s coming kingdom. And our witness for God’s kingdom is to be made manifest through the Church’s life together. The love we give one another, the unity we embrace, the homogeneity we renounce, the goodness and kindness we display, the forgiveness we work toward, and the hostility we reject are all meant to be small examples of the great and eternal goodness that will be reality in God’s kingdom.

By God’s Spirit, all believers have been made citizens of such kingdom. We’ve been given a politic that we’re to follow that’s distinct from any other. And our allegiance to God’s kingdom should supersede all other kingdoms. When we blend our allegiance to God’s kingdom with politics on the Left or the Right, we abandon our unique witness to that which has lasting relevance. That’s because Conservative Christian political action doesn’t really look Christian from the outside, it just looks politically Conservative. And likewise, Liberal Christian political action doesn’t really look Chrisitan from the outside, it just looks politically liberal.

Does this mean that we should abandon the just causes we might find advocated for on the Right or Left? Absolutely not. It does mean, however, that we need to operate in the way the Church has uniquely been empowered and called to take action.

It also means that we need to stop buying into the lies parroted by each political party.

Here are a few examples of what I mean:

1. The Church Will Cease to Exist if we Don’t Vote for Conservatives

Conservative leaning believers have anxiously expressed to me a deep worry that if right wing politicians aren’t elected to office, the church might not exist any longer in the United States. That is, there is a fear that liberal politicians want to enact legislation that might bring about the persecution of faith communities, which then, in turn, might all but smother out Christianity in our country.

If you have this worry, be assured that it isn’t founded on much. In fact, if we truly believe what we confess, we should not be afraid to lose out. National politics is in no way a threat to the cause of Christ. Jesus was king well before our country was established and will still be king long after our country ceases to exist. He does not need us to win battles for him.

In truth, if we are tempted by this lie, we might need to examine our hearts a bit. What exactly are we afraid of losing? If it’s social sway, or even certain luxuries that the church has been afforded in the past, know that such things are often counterproductive to truly living as a foretaste of God’s kingdom.

I do not believe that Christians are being persecuted in this country. But believers in other parts of the world are. And in those places, the church is growing and thriving because the only power they are able to rely upon is Jesus’.

2. The Political Left Has the Best Solution to Help Marginalized Peoples

In this particular election, the Conservatives have won. Because of this, I have heard a lot of anxiety surrounding what might happen to vulnerable people. Right wing politicians have talked a great deal about removing certain programs that people rely on for medical care, and many are afraid that the rhetoric which often comes with hyper-conservatism might produce more violence against minorities and other marginalized groups.  

The lie buried within all of that is this: liberal politics provides the best solution to the care for the vulnerable.

Personally, I do believe that those who align themselves with the Left have historically done a better job of identifying hurt within this world than those on the Right. Their grief and frustration because of the result of this election shouldn’t be minimized or ignored. Something is broken within this world and it needs to be fixed. However, we should not forget that God has created the Church as His missional arm within the world. We have been uniquely called to proclaim and embody a type of healing that lasts for eternity. Christians give up some of the most important parts of our witness when we assume that electing left wing politicians fulfills our responsibility to our vulnerable neighbors.

The Church is its Own Political Party

The Church’s calling to act as a sign of God’s coming kingdom cannot be divorced from the character of its life together. The way that Christians interact with one another is meant to be a reflection of the sinless society that is to come, one marked by love and void of disorder and the habits of death.  

This means that one of the most meaningful things a Christian can do in this nation, especially in times of political unrest, is to lean hard into the unique witness and politic of the Church itself.

Or, as Gerhard Lofink puts it: “the most important and most irreplaceable service Christians can render society is quite simply that they truly be the church.”[2] And as Hauerwas explains: “Calling for the church to be the church is not a formula for a withdrawal ethic; nor is it a self-righteous attempt to flee from the world’s problems; rather it is a call for the church to be a community which tries to develop the resources to stand within the world witnessing to the peaceable kingdom and thus rightly understanding the world. The gospel is a political gospel. Christians are engaged in politics, but it is the politics of the kingdom that reveals the insufficiency of all politics based on coercion and falsehood and finds the true source of power in servanthood rather than dominion.”[3]

This moment in American politics might be the best time for the Church to shed its tired attachments to partisanship in every form.

This is a time for the Church to focus on community, to overcome our anxieties, and to reassure ourselves that our God is sovereign over all things. It is also a time to creatively and strategically open our doors to the vulnerable in our faith communities and neighborhoods. We should provide safe haven for those among us who have been cast aside or are at risk, no matter who they are or where they’re from. We should help finance healthcare costs for those who might find themselves in need. And above all, we should fight tooth-and-nail for unity amongst ourselves so that we might genuinely be a safe place for all to feel welcome and to experience the real Jesus, the only One who can truly bring lasting change.  

---

[1] Stanley Hauerwas and William H. Willimon, Resident Aliens: Life in a Christian Colony, (Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 1989), 94.

[2] Gerhard Lofink, Jesus and Community: The Social Dimension of Christian Faith, (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1984), 168.

[3] Stanley Hauerwas, The Peaceable Kingdom: A Primer in Christian Ethics, (Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press, 1983), 102.  See also: Phillip D. Kenneson, Beyond Sectarianism: Re-Imagining Church and World, (Harrisburg, PA: Trinity Press, 1999), 95-96.