Out of the Cellar

    Salt and light, Jesus called us to be salt and light. What does that mean in today’s world, in this country, in

this election season? How do I serve as salt and light? In this time of great acrimony, accusation, and extreme polarization how do I best serve God, the Body of Christ (locally and dispersed), and my community? What can I bring to the table? How can I best represent God while engaging in this election cycle?

     Some would council withdrawal, claiming the system is so corrupt as to make any attempt at a good decision impossible. Many in the ancient world took this view, generating the monastic movement, which remains with us today. Scripture does provide some support for such withdrawal, but a monastic life-style provides its own challenges and problems. Additionally, I do not see Jesus living a monastic life in the gospels. Of course there were time when He took the apostles aside for a season of recovery and instruction. But the Biblical record shows a Jesus who moved in His society. Given that, I find total withdrawal from the political scene unsupportable. Salt kept in the cellar does no one any good as it cannot serve any of its intended functions. Salt must come out.

     A great many Christians today fully engage in the system, supporting one party or another. Politicians of all stripes court the “Evangelical” vote. Success in certain sectors of the country depends upon a politician’s ability to speak to the critical issues of that region’s religious electorate. Sadly, Christians often succumb these blandishments, promises of support or true belief, endorsing the party or candidate with great fervor and commitment. This level or type of activity brings its own set of problems. When we unstintingly support one party or another, we must carry their baggage. As human institutions, parties remain flawed, displaying a variety of foibles and certain severe failings. No human endeavor escapes our pernicious fallen state. Sin pervades all political enterprises. Embracing a political party as “my” party, tars me with its inherent failings. Also such party affiliation tends to divide us from fellow Christians. We see harsh and divisive speech between fellow Christians in public media all too often. Someone posts support for one candidate or another and fellow Christians spew all manner of bile across the posting. Most of us know certain people we avoid, or certain topics we avoid around them.

     Often we adopt a one issue focus in response to problems generated by party affiliation. We ignore other problem areas, drawing a modicum of comfort from the party stance on our key issue. Sadly this frequently causes us to take the additional step of justifying policies or platforms contrary to Biblical standards. We wring scripture hoping to find justification for our support. Such proof-texting does damage to Holy Writ and I fear may grieve the Lord. So what are we to do? What type of participation involves action without wholesale support for one party or another?

     I believe we ought to participate without courting or accepting party affiliation. Party affiliation diminishes our prophetic voice. Standing outside the party allows one to speak critically of the party. A nonaffiliated person may speak to any key issue. Once I affiliate with a party then I must tread very carefully when talking about certain issues or planks in the platform. As a Christian this allows me to focus on a wider variety of issues. Unbound by party strictures, I am free to raise issues that I believe important. I can agitate as the Spirit might lead. In Philippians 3:19-21, Paul reminds us that our citizenship is in heaven. And while I would not censor a fellow believer for party affiliation, I believe that we would better serve God and our nation outside that system, speaking God’s love, His stringent love, boldly.

     A second tactic I would recommend is the secret ballot. In our nation we enjoy the privilege of a secret ballot. No one need know who I voted for. Obviously, those who are close to me, exchanging thoughts and ideas probably can make a good guess, but I need not say. Additionally, one might, and this is hard for me, focus on issues as opposed to individuals. In this particular cycle, we see a lot of, “I will vote against this or that person.” That is the individual’s right. But perhaps we, our nation, and, dare I say, the Lord, might be better served if we carefully thought through all the issues at hand. If we steadfastly speak to issues, eschewing personal attacks, we might find ourselves spilling out of the salt-cellar and working as Jesus intended. In John 6 Jesus, sensing the crowd’s political desires avoided political entanglements. We might consider adopting a similar attitude and retain our ability to speak truth. There is one final thing we might consider.

     As Christians we must always deal kindly with our brothers and sisters, remembering our own failure and need for God’s grace. Political dialogues need not become acrimonious, especially between fellow believers. Sometimes I think we assume that engaging in political speech somehow negates the need for graciousness and patience. We do not have to attack one another. We must strengthen our ability to present our ideas and thoughts without resorting to hurtful words and phrases that alienate. We must not allow our political passions to rule us. Instead, we must allow God’s Spirit to rule us, leavening our speech.  And as this campaign unfolds and we engage in the ongoing debate, perhaps through love we will serve our nation as both salt and light, as Jesus would have us.