Hitching Our Wagon

One of the things I kept saying during the previous presidency, and I wasn't the only one, was how dangerous it was for Christians and Christian church leaders to link themselves with a political party or a particular politician. We are still seeing the ramifications of this, and they aren't pretty.

Basically, when the Church links herself to a political party or someone who is a part of a political party, then the world sees the Church and that party as synonymous.  If someone from the party behaves badly, that badness is reflected on the Church. Reflected on Christians. Reflected, even, on Christ. Even if the political person who behaved in that way was not a Christ-follower themself.

By publicly and loudly tying ourselves to a political movement - not even just to the Republican party, but to the extremists of the Republican party we hitched our wagons to - our reputation is now tied to theirs.

Until we denounce this connection and repent of it, our reputation will never recover.

For example, this week at the Democratic National Convention, we saw individuals from many different stages and philosophies come together in unity. It was encouraging to watch. One particular bright spot was during the speech of Governor Tim Walz, or, as they call him, Coach Walz. Walz' 17-year-old son, Gus, was moved to tears at the sight of his father on stage. "That's my dad!" he exclaimed. The moment was powerfully moving.

However, within minutes of this moment happening on live television, members of the RNC snapped back. They made fun of - bullied, really - this poor boy, criticizing him for crying, calling him "weird". 

Now, it came out later that this young man has intellectual disabilities that he lives with. Tragically, this means he is probably no stranger to teasing and bullying and finger-pointing. To be on the receiving end of this from adults, however, who spread images and taunts about him across the internet, feels even more cruel.

Truthfully, even if he did not have any kind of disability, it was still extremely inappropriate for those in power and position to be bullying a seventeen-year-old boy for crying. 

Here's the kicker. Because Christians have tied themselves to the RNC so closely, those comments, regardless of whether or not they were made by actual Christians, are now reflecting back negatively upon us and the Church.  In fact, I saw a post today, which stated, "If your Christianity moves you to make fun of a 17-year-old with disabilities, who you are serving is not Jesus." I had to like that, because they were right. Those who made those comments - and those who are sharing them forward - are not acting in a Christ-like way.

Can you imagine Jesus teasing a 17-year-old boy for showing emotion? I can’t see it. Jesus Himself cried. He was a man. He was the Son of God. And yet He was moved to cry on more than one occasion. Where do we get this idea that crying is weird or non-masculine anyway?

I am certainly not advocating for Christians to ditch the RNC and join the other party. I am not advocating for any party in particular. Both sides have certainly been guilty of mudslinging. Belong to whichever party you feel best represents the country you want to see - but remember, that's not who you are. 

First and most importantly, we are Christians. First and most importantly, our allegiance is to God, not to a political party or a country or our ethnicity or cultural group. We are first and most importantly, citizens of the Kingdom of God.

Therefore, we should act as such. Regardless of what is happening around us, we must be examples of the King that we claim to serve. If we call ourselves "Christian", which means, "little Christ", we should act accordingly. We bear His name. People judge what He is like based on what we are like. This is not a calling to take lightly. After all, souls are at stake.

In a kingdom, soldiers carry shields with the emblem of the king they serve. It shows their allegiance and loyalty. It shows which side they are on. If they are out on the battlefield, bearing their shield, everyone knows whose soldiers they are and who they represent.

Imagine, however, if a soldier is carrying the shield for his king, but then he switches sides and starts fighting for the enemy! Surely, the other king's men would strike him down for treason.

If we call ourselves Christians, we are carrying the shield of our King. We are literally carrying His name! If we call ourselves Christians, our allegiance and our loyalty is to God. We are His representatives. We are His soldiers. If we are not representing Him well, if we are not exemplifying the values of His Kingdom, should we even be bearing His name?

Now, it would be dangerous to take this metaphor too far. To assume that being soldiers in God's Kingdom means establishing His Kingdom by force - making everyone, even those who do not believe, abide by the morals and values we do. God never - should I say that again? - never calls us to establish a physical Kingdom on Earth*. We are not called to conquer or to reign in fear and force. We are not called to establish an Earthly Kingdom or a Christian nation! Mixing Christianity with nationalism and politics has never gone well for us.

Rather, we are called to live like Christ, love like Christ, share Christ with others, and make this world a better place through our deeds. We are called to build up treasures in Heaven, not power on Earth.

Last week I was behind a car with a bumper sticker which read, "In a dead world, the only protest is beauty."

We live in a dead world. A world blind to truth and lost in sin. If we are just as blind, just as lost, well, you've heard the saying, "It's like the blind leading the blind," right?

You can’t fight death with more death. You can't fight hate with more hate. You have to fight death with beauty and hate with love. Those who are dead to sin, lost in the world, don’t need someone judging them or spitting hate on them. They need to see the love and the beauty that is God and a relationship with Jesus.

If we are not examples of that, of God, then what are we even doing? 

Time to unhitch our wagon from dangerous places and put it back where it belongs - firmly fixed upon Jesus.

* It could be argued that the Jewish people of the Old Testament were called to establish the Kingdom of Israel. They were God's chosen people, and the light unto the Gentiles. Since the new covenant was established after the coming of Jesus, there is no physical kingdom. That's thinking too small.