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It seems others are zigging when I’m zagging. The past few days, I’ve seen a lot of exhortations by wise Christians I love and trust to not put our faith in the political realities of this world. It’s being said that regardless of what happens, the world will go on. This too shall pass. Framed within the context of the old adage “In the world but not of the world,” the emphasis I’m seeing is being squarely placed on the latter half. I’m leaning the other way. While I agree with those broad principles, my own discerned emphasis this election is on the former.
Yes, I believe in the separation of church and state. Yes, I believe in the separation of state and church. Yet I also believe Christians have a sacred responsibility to speak prophetically to the society in which they live and to the government under which they live. In other words, I believe in not being so “other worldly-minded” that we’re of no good in this world. This is especially true for those of us who are blessed to live within a democratic republic where our government actively seeks to hear our voices.
Jesus followers must always be mindful that our ultimate citizenship lies not in any temporal geo-political nation, but in the eternal Kingdom of God. There alone lies our allegiance. That’s a crucial principle that must always guide our identity. At the same time, we cannot forget the great prophetic tradition from the prophets of old to Jesus himself to the early church fathers like St. John Chryostom to the modern giants of faith like Dr. King. Therein lies the tension in which Christians must live. We are not of the world, but we must be in the world.
We are to be American Christians, not Christian Americans. That adjective-noun order truly matters. An adjective describes what kind. A noun says who we are. As Christians who happen to live in the United States, our guiding principles cannot be those of the United States. We are not people whose ultimate faith lies in democracy and capitalism. Our core values simply cannot be freedom and liberty. This is not a time for aligning our faith with a political party or ideology–let alone a particular politician–yet neither is this a time for apathy or quietism. Those who follow The Way of Jesus must center their lives around the ethics and virtues of his Kingdom.
Want to know what the Kingdom of God looks like? Here’s a sample list: truth, beauty, goodness, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control, humility, grace, mercy, empathy, compassion, forgiveness, reconciliation, prudence, justice, temperance, courage, faith, hope, and charity. That’s the stuff of Jesus. I would encourage you to meditate upon these prophetic Kingdom values before and after this 2020 presidential election. As you do so, just remember that these qualities cannot be left as abstract ideals. These must be tangibly lived in the world as Christ’s ambassadors to the world.
