Discipleship and Democracy
Once again we find ourselves in a full bore election cycle. Apparently, the world is made up of three types of people: Republicans, Democrats, and Those Pesky Independent/Third Party people. I suggest there is another category: Disciples of Jesus.
Disciples of Jesus approach an election with one primary concern: How can I faithfully and most effectively represent my King to the rest of the world (2 Corinthians 5:20). We face the temptation for other considerations to be considered–even given priority. I frequently hear:
–patriotism/love of country
–freedom
–the economy/standard of living
–national security
–social justice or human rights
And of course there are others. These aren’t necessarily wrong. Some appear to be good. But, like many, I believe Christians must put the Kingdom of God first, and specifically by faithfully representing our King. Some say these priorities are not inconsistent. They tell us God wants America to be safe, God wants us to prosper, God wants there to be justice and each person’s rights to be safeguarded.
I ask the Christians who would say this to answer one question. Why then did He not command us to put those things first? Jesus made us His ambassadors. He didn’t tell us we would have a safe (or any) country, that we would be prosperous, that we would live in a country that respects people’s rights. He told us to make disciples and represent Him to a lost world! We cannot serve two masters. And when we try, we have a bad habit of choosing the other master over Jesus and giving lip-service to following Him.
Our country is the Kingdom, not America. Can we faithfully represent the King to lost people when we take a stand on a worldly issue that alienates half of those lost people? History has shown us we cannot. So, to all who are getting excited about a political candidate and what you think that person may do, I say this: If you say you belong to Jesus, stop serving a worldly cause and put Him first. I believe we can do this by:
1) Speaking the truth about the gospel. This will of course immediately alienate you from most of the people involved in worldly politics. You will be called a hater, or intolerant, or “fill-in-the-blank” phobic. But the gospel is that we all sin and are cursed because of that sin. BUT, God has become flesh and died for our sin. Only faith in Him brings forgiveness. We are to be His ambassadors to those who have not accepted His Lordship encouraging them to do so.
2) Speaking the truth. We serve the One who said He is The Truth, so we need not fear it. When a candidate says something that is true, we can acknowledge it. But when they say something that is false (as two of them did repeatedly in a recent debate) we need to call out the lie and call the liar to repent.
3) Identifying issues that we know the King is concerned with because we have read His word. We need to support those issues. That doesn’t mean we support a candidate who agrees with us on one of those issues but ignores most of the others important to our Lord! It means we say “You are right on that issue, now what about these?”
4) Treating everyone with love and respect, serving them when possible, as the King commanded. Including–maybe even particularly–those who disagree with us.
5) Using our vote to further the Kingdom–not this worldly country that is destined to be destroyed!
6) Avoiding anything that might compromise our position as Jesus’ representatives–even if doing so costs us!
Few things in life will test our discipleship more than American politics. Let’s approach this test with a commitment to the King and His Kingdom!
Know Jesus and Be Faithful!
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