Photo by Kristopher Roller on Unsplash
I wrote this piece a few years ago, pre-pandemic, pre-George Floyd, pre-the rapid fire spread of what some have called America’s “soft revolution” and the reactionary response. Back then masks were just masks, not political statements, and nobody was expounding on politically correct ways to dole out disaster relief in the aftermath of a hurricane. As the political strife has gotten meaner, louder, and more threatening, I stand by what I wrote.
As I write this, the political atmosphere is discouraging. Great fissures have opened between the two parties vying for power in our country. Passions are white hot with both sides looking for opportunities to trounce the opposition. The slightest misstep is eagerly pounced on and endlessly discussed. No one seems intent on searching for truth because the game is not about truth but only about winning. Watching the news seems pointless because the media is all about spin.
Unfortunately, many Christians have allowed fissures to develop in their relationships with family, friends, and other Christians because they do not see eye to eye on politics. Tragically, politics has sometimes trumped love in the Christian community.
Though political policies can be of critical importance to the health of a nation, ultimately politics is pretty much an outside-in game—a power play by people certain they know what’s best for everyone else. And though Christians should be involved in all aspects of the political process, we must resist the political illusions that characterize our age.
The first illusion is that there is a political solution to every single problem we face.
The second is that the most transformative power in the world is political in nature.
As Christians, we must realize that political power is both seductive and illusory. It promises more than it can deliver. Though it can do some things, it can’t do all things. Quite often it cannot even begin to resolve our most difficult problems.
Unlike political power, the most profound power in the universe is one that operates not from the outside but from within. It is a power that can shape destinies and influence history. The power I’m talking about is spiritual.
Think about the way you exercise power in your own life, particularly over yourself. How effective have you been in improving yourself simply by exerting your willpower? You may have met with some limited success, breaking a bad habit or two, but without the transformative power of the Holy Spirit you will never become the person you want to be and you will never do the things God is calling you to do. If you can’t change yourself, who can you change?
Spiritual power often operates undercover, working in ways that are subversive to worldly power. It’s not loud and often achieves its goals under the guise of weakness. Think Jesus or Francis of Assisi or some of the other great saints of history. It can’t be grabbed but only received. It’s pure gift, transmitted along the lines of faith and the love that expresses itself through seeking God’s will.
Today let’s ask for the grace to recognize that political power is not a panacea. Even when wielded with pure intentions—perhaps especially then because the righteousness of our cause can puff us up and blind us to complicated realities--it can create unintended consequences and poisonous side effects.
Broken people—and we are all broken—are always in danger of being distorted by the power they long for or already possess. Maybe this is why, in their earliest years as a nation, the Israelites had no king but God to rule them. You have only to read 1 and 2 Kings to apprehend the disasters that followed.
When it comes to the desire for more political power, let’s at least be a little bit skeptical of what we might achieve with it. Instead of vying for it at any price, like some of our leaders seem willing to do, let’s ask God to fill us with the only kind of power that can make us into people capable of building a better world, and doing it without destroying each other.
Wisdom Literature
“I never considered a difference in politics, in religion, in philosophy, as cause for withdrawing from a friend.”
Thomas Jefferson
“Good questions outrank easy answers.”
Paul Samuelson
“For other nations, utopia is a blessed past never to be recovered; for Americans it is just beyond the horizon.”
Henry Kissinger
“Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it everywhere, diagnosing it incorrectly and applying the wrong remedies.”
Groucho Marx
So true is the Groucho Marx quote. I think I remember a time when governments truly wanted to help the public, to create a peaceful and pleasant environment for everyone. Over the past 50 years I have seen politicians who are striving to help themselves at the expense of 'the people' more each year. Rather than uniting a country they are tearing it apart for their personal benefit. Shame on them.