With our national election just days away, what are your thoughts and feelings about it all? I realize your impressions could change day to day, depending on how the polls are trending. But seriously, are you excited? Anxious? Agitated? Indifferent?
I’m also curious … how much of the social interaction you’ve heard around politics would you describe as substantive and thoughtful dialogue? Are people wrestling productively over the issues our country faces? Or fighting to win the debate of the day?
I’ve found much of the content filling our digital platforms to be reactionary, critical, belittling, antagonistic, and laced with misinformation. If that weren’t enough, we live in a day when news –originally intended to be unbiased journalism – is now unapologetically partisan and dedicated to trafficking political propaganda.
What are we to do with all that?
I guess a chaotic cultural moment like this shouldn’t surprise us, should it? Though the world ultimately answers to the sovereign will of God, it operates under the domain of darkness … rulers, authorities, cosmic powers and spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places (Eph 6:12). So, we should probably expect the world to act, well, worldly.
Dr. Hall Harris (DTS prof.) defines the world as “the rogue system ruled by Satan and organized to undermine the redemptive work of God … ‘the world’ epitomizes all the persons, values, and forces in opposition to God and to his Son Jesus Christ.”
That means we’re surrounded by it! That is the context wherein we live our lives. We are, as Jesus prayed in but not of the world (John 17). I take that as a descriptive statement of our potential, but so often something we aspire to and fail to realize. Grasping its meaning and significance can help us navigate cultural moments like the political storm of our day.
Historically, the Church universal hasn’t always agreed on what its posture toward the world ought to be. As you probably know, church folk have taken a variety of positions over the course of two thousand years.
- Withdraw / “Holy Huddle”
- Blend In / “Chameleons”
- Throw Down / “Fight Club”
- Stand Out / “Ambassadors”
While each of them is understandable, only the last tactic truly aligns with our commission to make disciples (Matthew 28:18-20) and to be salt and light everywhere we go (Matthew 5:13-16). So, if our intent is to “stand out” in fruitful ways, how might our Savior’s high priestly prayer help us?
Let’s focus on the concept of being in but not of the world. That’s not exactly the way Jesus said it, but it conveys his overall sentiments. He was acknowledging that while Christians live on earth, they are resident aliens passing through on their way to what will one day be the new heavens and new earth (Revelation 21:1). Likewise, the apostle Peter calls believers “sojourners and exiles” (1 Peter 2:11-12), traveling through a world that is not their home … “in but not of.”
Practically, while we are eternal citizens of heaven, we are at the same time temporal citizens of our place of birth. With that in mind, it seems clear from the whole of the New Testament that our heavenly identity informs how we interact with the societal structures of our national context.
Admittedly, earthly citizenship is not a Christian’s source of ultimate hope, peace or joy. But shouldn’t we see it as a stewardship; a means of influence? Specifically, as U.S. citizens, we have the freedom/right to participate in the process of determining who will govern our country, and which policies will be implemented and enforced. That being the case, how does one who is in but not of the world approach the opportunity (responsibility?) to vote?
Some might say, in our current political situation, we should just abstain (“withdraw”), as if by doing so we deflect responsibility for the outcome. But isn’t refusing to cast a vote that one has the freedom to cast still contributing to the outcome?
Abraham Lincoln spoke to that sentiment in his day … “Elections belong to the people. It's their decision. If they decide to turn their back on the fire and burn their behinds, then they will just have to sit on their blisters.”
What if every Christian disengaged from civic life (voting, holding office, public discourse)? Do you think that might affect the direction a city, a state, or a nation might take? That isn’t merely hypothetical. It is estimated that as many as 40 million professing Christians will likely take a pass on this year’s election. 40 million. To assume that number has no real impact on the outcome seems absurd.
Quite contrary to the withdrawal tactic, the earliest Church leaders encouraged Christ followers to engage as citizens as long as their participation didn’t violate the essentials of the faith. Consider the two passages below, and keep in mind, their world was the Roman Empire, the very same governing authority that crucified Jesus unjustly.
Titus 3:1 “Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work.”
1 Peter 2:13–17 “Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God. Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor.”
I’m deeply heartened by the fact that Jesus (in John 17), while not asking the Father to take us out of this world, asked that he protect us from the evil one … that he transform us in the truth … and that he enable us to experience oneness with one another in a way that resembles the oneness found among the Father, Son and Spirit.
It is this powerful protection and provision of our heavenly father that compels me to engage this broken world in which we live. I pray it might do the same for you.