Read this:
"If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you: 'A servant is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours." -John 15:18-20 (ESV)
Now hear this: the world is not your friend. The people of the world, who go after the things of the world, will always be in contention with the things of God. If you ever find that the things you pursue find an easy reception in the world at large, rest assured that those things are not of God.
I titled this post "Politics and the Believer," not because I have a sweeping answer to a slew of concerns, convictions, and questions that many of us hold when it comes to politics, but because I have one simple answer: the world is not your friend.
I can imagine the thoughts of Republicans reading this post. They are thinking, We Republicans are obviously on the right path, because look at how much resistance we're meeting in the world. God must be on our side. Surely this is politics that God can get behind.
And I can imagine the thoughts of Democrats reading this post. They are thinking, Come on, God can't be on the side of the Republicans! This only proves that Republicans aren't true believers. God wants the things we're after: peace, help for the poor and downtrodden. I don't think God isn't for us! Of course He's for us!
I can imagine the libertarians thinking, I'm not either one of those fools; I know God is a libertarian. Next.
Hear this: God is not a Republican. He is not a Democrat. He is not libertarian, or a hippie, or an originalist. He's not even American. He has no nationality, no political bent, and no motivation outside of love. He is perfect, and because He is perfect He is not political.
I have heard it said that man is a political animal, and I agree with that. God is not a political animal; man is. We are. Jesus wasn't a political animal, which is what cost him a lot of love at the end of his ministry. When he failed to rise up and save the Jewish state, many turned their back on him. What a loony, they said. King of the Jews - yeah right. Son of God? He can't even save himself from the cross!
Remember that at your next political rally: Jesus was murdered enthusiastically because he couldn't produce politically.
Of course, he died because that was the Father's plan, but still, people turned on him. People are fickle, and fickle political animals do not bear disappointment well. Some of us go to church together, and might at times be tempted to go for each others' throats when our politics don't jive. That is sad, and it's true. It's sad because we should be in harmony since we're all believers. And it's sad because, truth be told, politics isn't worth a warm cup of spit.
In these verses from John, Jesus is telling us this: you're not going to fit in. I didn't fit in; you think you're better than me? And he's telling us this not to let us down, but to encourage us. I chose you, he says. I chose you because I want you to be like me, and that's why you won't fit in. So don't go trying to fit in, because you're not like them. Don't pretend to be like them, it won't work. Be like me and learn to deal with being unpopular.
I do like what Jesus says there at the end of verse 20: "If they kept my word, they will also keep yours." I did not know what to make of this. It's a strange turn of phrase, and it didn't make much sense at first. My Bible tells me there is a connection or reference back to John 8:51, and so I read that. In John 8:51, Jesus is telling the religious Jews that their father is not Abraham, but Satan. I'll bet that went over well. And in the course of this argument Jesus says, "Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death." Okay, I can see where he's going with this, but I'm still confused about why, if anyone keeps his word (which keeps them from death), they will also keep mine. So I followed another reference back to Ezekiel 3:7.
"But the house of Israel will not be willing to listen to you, for they are not willing to listen to me: because all the house of Israel have a hard forehead and a stubborn heart."
So this is what Jesus is saying at the end of verse 20. He is saying that, if they will listen to me, they will listen to you. But if they won't listen to me, they're certainly not going to listen to you. Think about it: God, Yahweh, the God who moved as a pillar of cloud during the day and as a pillar of fire at night guiding the Israelites to the promised land, who delivered them from their enemies with incredible plagues, who worked among them in incredibly personal ways, who called them His own people; if they wouldn't listen to God, why would they listen to us? If people will reject the words and teachings of Jesus, reject the urging of his Holy Spirit, we are not going to convince them by voting. We will never legislate the Kingdom of God into existence. If Israel could not be a Godly nation, America doesn't stand a chance.
Which brings me roundly back to the title concept, Politics and the Believer. I don't have an answer for you if what you're asking is whether you should care about politics. I can almost sense the counter-arguments being birthed into words: But we have to do something; we have moral obligations; we're still in the world even if we're not of it, and we've got to be involved; if Christian's pull out of the system, it will all go to hell. If any one of these arguments comes into your mind, let me just remind you of this: you are no better than Jesus, and they didn't listen to him. By all means continue to care, but remember that the world is going to hate you, and this a good thing. It means you're chosen, and it means you have more important things to do.
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