Last month I clumsily put forth the notion that following Christ’s greatest commandment to inform our political behavior can profoundly counter any threats we see in the political realm. That is, by remembering the shema, that the Lord our God is one and we are to love Him with our whole being (and, love our neighbors as ourselves), we can see the transformation of our communities and nations. That by placing our adoration of Him as the prime focus of our being, and the love of the other, all other concerns will either fall into place or be properly addressed.
It is my contention that many in the church, including myself, have allowed the political to get in the way of the relational. We have a lot of people peppering their relationships with “truth” about little things rather than the Truth himself. People get in fracases about the political topic du jour or some front of the culture war but not once approach their opponent with the Gospel! What a shame!
But I get it. These political issues are certainly something to be concerned with. Be it the topic of transgenderism or tax policy, the leaky border or the number of wars in our world, there are things happening to people making them a victim and it usually so happens that there are other people who are the perpetrators. Sadly, this has been the story of human history. This victimization could be the result of an intentional act of evil being perpetrated, but all too often it is sheer ignorance about certain issues. And it is the latter that is most maddening; for we know that evil exists and seeks to harm, but when the perpetrator’s motive is ignorance. Ugh!
Pardon me…I got a little too excited there – so let me use that as an example. You see, even when I begin to talk about these issues, making it as general and non-specific way as possible, my attention wanders off and I shift my gaze from Jesus to the problem. In that moment, all sorts of very specific examples pop into my mind, clouding up and crowding out what should be my main focus. When this happens, my tendency (and possibly yours too) is to want to proclaim the truth more than show the love. And if our tendency and first instinct is to be enforcers of the truth rather than givers of love then how are we to keep our focus on God? It’s almost as if our desire to demonstrate truth turns us into a bludgeon of judgement rather than a balm of healing.
Some may offer a rebuttal to this, and I would love to hear yours. Perhaps the first one to come to mind is the scripture about “speaking the truth in love” (Ephesians 4:15). But let’s look at the context of that passage. From the start of the chapter, the apostle Paul emphasizes that the unity of believers is through the Spirit. He says that the Holy Spirit equips us and gives each of us a responsibility through the five-fold ministry to equip the saints. And that the truth, spoken of in verse 15, is not that someone is wrong about a political topic or opinion. The truth spoken is the Truth, the reality that we are adopted children God, holy and blameless through the loving sacrifice and finished work of Christ on the cross. The language of Paul is clear in this chapter: we are to pursue unity in love through the Spirit. Paul furthermore admonishes us to:
Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior. Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.
– Ephesians 4:31-32 (NLT)
Christ set the example for us in how to love God with our whole being and to love each other equally as much. You can continue reading on into Ephesians 5 for further direction.
Taking shema as a political manifesto sets our priorities first on God, then on others. If there is a shift in the church to going to back to these first things, starting with us (for we set the example), then it is through our love that God moves human hearts. It is not our role to be the judge of others, but to love them. We need to place the emphasis on love, not judgment or condemnation. We first need to pray for those with whom we disagree, however much that may be. We need to pray that their eyes are opened, and that the plans of the enemy (who is often manipulating and using them) is thwarted. We need not get anxious over them or the situation, but to pray.
What changes is how we approach them; how we dialogue. As the Spirit equips us, we can certainly have challenging discussions with others with whom we have relationship. But we need to always offer love, effusively so, along with the Truth of the Gospel. We do not need to get discouraged by fighting in a war that is not ours to fight. We do not fight against flesh and blood.
With that, let me take my leave. We will get deeper into what this might look like in another installment. In the meantime, try thinking about how we can be more counterintuitive to the political systems of this world while also being a lantern to the lost. How can we set ourselves apart from the world in which we live, yet at the same time be truly, honestly engaged with it? Christ came into this world because He loves it. How as his followers can we do likewise? For me, the answer is not going to be getting into the little culture war melees over things our earthbound minds give inordinate attention to…especially when the real weapon is the love of Christ.
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Cover Image: “Unity in Discording Times” – AI-Generated Art by Mic Montalbano