Warning! If you have a thin political skin do not read further because you will be offended.
One of the three great temptations of Christ in the wilderness was to bow before the gods of this world so that he might inherit the glory of the kingdoms of this world. Jesus refused to bow. Instead, he laid down his life, was lifted high upon a cross for the powers of this world to mock, was executed and buried. So much for humanity’s desire for a new world order. This present world order will do just fine, thank you very much.
This election cycle has placed me in a position I’ve never experienced. For the first time, I’m utterly indifferent. That indifference has given me a new political lens. I refuse to choose between the lesser of two evils – especially when the evils are so great. I know that all political candidates are fallen humans with feet of clay. I’m not looking for a saint, just someone who isn’t addicted to power and can offer a vision of hope, liberty and justice for all. I think those leaders are out there. But, apparently that’s not what the electorate desires. One candidate is a politically corrupt congenital liar; the other is a morally corrupt serial adulterer. Both candidates are toxic leaders, the products of a toxic national system.
Toxic leaders only rise to power because they have a base of support so intoxicated that their senses are dulled to stupefaction.
My point is not to address the toxic Republican or Democrat parties. I wish to address the toxicity, the hypocrisy, and the self-righteousness of Christian leaders. I have been utterly perplexed by some Evangelical leaders on the right who embrace the Republican candidate. The same leaders who excoriated the US Supreme Court for the Obergefell ruling legalizing same sex marriage have willfully embraced a Republican candidate who supports so-called marriage equality. How can conservative evangelical leaders who have proclaimed a deeply held conviction that Holy Matrimony is a sacred rite between one man and one woman compromise themselves by supporting a candidate who has lived a life of serial divorce, serial adultery, objectification of women, and made millions in the casino business? Because they have been intoxicated by power.
Then, there are my Christian brothers and sisters on the left who have self-righteously exalted their candidate as morally superior, because they see themselves as morally and intellectually superior. They have reacted in horror to revelations of Republican debauchery and bigotry. But when Democrat debauchery and bigotry come to light, they form an impenetrable wall of support and obfuscation. When it was revealed that Planned Parenthood was running an infant organ factory, so-called pro-life Democrats remained silent. When POTUS and the Democrat presidential candidate said that people of faith must change their religious convictions regarding homosexual marriage, Christians on the left prefer to trust their leaders’ good faith commitment to religious freedom. How can progressive Christian leaders who claim to support equity and justice support a political party that is hostile to people of Christian faith? Because they have been intoxicated by power.
The truth is that our nation is sick – racial strife, family disintegration, spiritual malaise, economic recession, sexual immorality, injustice, abortion, xenophobia – are all symptoms of our national toxicity. Christians should be healers, ministers of reconciliation. I fear that Christians on the right and left have become nothing more than court prophets, or maybe even court jesters. Every political leader seeks some form of public religious sanction, even if they privately mock religious faith and conviction. Christians on the right and left have become intoxicated by political power and embraced a false gospel of political expediency.
Like Jesus in the wilderness, we must not bow to the powers. Instead, we must boldly stand face to face and speak the truth to the powers. How can we bring healing in such a toxic environment? Do not be intoxicated by the wine of this present age which leads to immorality, debauchery, and injustice. Instead, be filled with the Spirit which leads to love and soundness of mind. The fullness of the Spirit leads to “sound judgement and sober spirit for the purpose of prayer” (1 Peter 4:7; cf. Ephesians 5:18; Revelation 17:2). Instead of allowing our politics to separate us, we must find ways to speak to, and listen to, each other in ways that inform the mission of Jesus Christ. Christians who support Democrat or Republican politics must set the example for civil political conversation.
Christian mission is not about building walls of separation, but bridges of invitation.
As long as the powers of this age separate Christian leaders the powers win. As Christians, our hope is not in the powers of this world, but in the authority of the resurrected and exalted Christ. We pray “Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven!” This world will pass away. A new world is coming!
