Christianity and Politics:

I’ve been hearing ramblings that being a Christian means voting Republican. Some have stated, “If you vote for a Democrat, you can’t be a Christian.” That is bunk. It is an outright lie with no basis in Christianity at all. Even so, I’ve heard multiple reports of pastors saying things along this line, as well as a national political figure making such a statement in a church sanctuary. Jesus does not play partisan politics. In the history of political parties, there has never been one that stood for Jesus’ priorities. Jesus himself never dipped his feet into politics. He actually refused to become a military or political leader. That was one of the temptations he faced as recorded in Matthew’s gospel.

Telling people there is only one party that stands for the principles of Christianity brushes over numerous issues on which political parties are divided or united in contrast to Jesus’ values. It might make for a great campaign sticker, but it is as worthless as the grime we wash off those stickers we place on our vehicles.

Politics is about wielding power. The gospel of Jesus is about how we wield love. Politics is concerned with victory over opponents. The gospel is concerned with loving enemies so to turn them into friends. Politics is about coercion, while the gospel values the freedom to love or even walk away from love. Politics creates losers. The gospel is good news to society’s losers, that they are loved and even pivotal to God’s care and attention.

Sure, we can argue over particular issues which divide us and even do so while doing our very best to serve God faithfully. Attempting to advance a political party as God’s instrument to bring about God’s Reign upon the earth, however, is tone deaf to a majority of what Jesus taught and how Jesus lived. He was pretty clear that no one can serve two masters equally. If I throw my allegiance behind a political party (any political party) or politician, I am placing any allegiance to God into a subservient category. Even politicians switch political allegiances, alliances, and party affiliations.

When I joined my wife’s family’s church in Aiken, SC, Senator Strom Thurmond came forward to shake my hand and welcome me to the church I would be serving as a missions pastor. He identified himself as a Christian. Over the course of his career, he identified himself as a Democrat in the beginning of his career. He became a Dixiecrat candidate for president. Then he switched his allegiance to the Republican Party in response to the Democrat Party defense of desegregation and Civil Rights. His career not only spanned his working with three different parties, it also spanned changes among the party platforms such that to remain unmoved in his position against Civil Rights and Desegregation, those changes were necessary.

Political parties change. Politicians change. Human beings change. Our understanding of human rights, appropriate sentencing, and even how we do and should vote is under constant change. For any party to be God’s Only Party, its stances on all issues of justice would have to remain consistent. Politics guarantees no such consistency. If faith informs one’s political leanings, it has to consider a host of issues and make determinations regarding their varied importance, as well as their relevance to governance at any particular time in history.

If following Jesus and Jesus’ directions is our essential purpose, our politics would have to be concerned with feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, sheltering the unhoused, forgiving debts, healing the sick, releasing captives, eschewing violence, treated all persons with equal dignity, loving our enemies, caring for all of creation, using our resources for the benefit of others, and recognizing God’s loving acceptance of every person in the world. I’ve never seen a political party or a politician adopt those principles of Jesus’ teaching as their political platform. At best, we have to settle for the best we can get in a game of power, as we play according to the rules of love. “No one can serve two masters.” Along the path of Jesus, the only game play available follows a vastly different set of rules than that of politics. “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Oh, and everyone is your neighbor.



— ©Copyright 2024, Christopher B. Harbin 



http://www.sermonsearch.com/contributors/104427/

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