By Pastor Stephen Hess –
The last several weeks have been a tense time in our country. In places like Minnesota, tensions have reached a boiling point over issues surrounding immigration, deportations, and law enforcement, resulting in widespread protests and unrest. In some cases, this unrest has even led to violence and deadly conflict. Many Americans have watched this unfold with uneasiness, as it is a painful reminder that the wounds of division in our country have not healed. We can remember the widespread protests and conflict five years ago surrounding issues of race and justice, and now we are seeing a similar conflict erupt once again.
How should Christians respond to such polarization? The immediate temptation is to pick a political side and begin waging war against our opponents using the same methods as the rest of the world. However, as followers of Jesus, our identity will not fit into political boxes. When we allow ourselves to become co-opted by political ideologies we not only compromise our identity, but we lose our ability to speak prophetically to the world. The Bible will critique and challenge every worldly ideology, and therefore disciples of Jesus must navigate cultural issues not with partisan politics but with Biblical principles. Below are four principles that are particularly important for us to remember.
Truth – Typically when a piece of controversial news hits the headlines, the right-wing pundits and the left-wing pundits immediately spin off their own narratives of reality. The problem here is that political pundits are more interested in advancing their own interests than they are in advancing the truth, and reality is usually more complex than the right-wing or the left-wing would lead you to believe. Christians should be people who don’t get sucked into political narratives. Instead, we should seek to discern truth from error before we jump to conclusions. This means we must be willing to listen to a variety of perspectives, especially ones that are different from our own, and we must interpret everything through the lens of Scripture.
Justice – We worship a God of justice (Ps. 146:7-9) who also calls his people to pursue justice (Mic. 6:8). Being a people of justice means that we pursue personal and social righteousness, promote equity and fairness, and live generously with our neighbors. In practical terms this means that we will seek to obey and respect the laws of our government (Rom. 13:1-7). However, it also means that we will seek to correct injustice wherever we find it and speak out when our government fails to treat people justly.
Compassion – In the early church, Christians were known for their counter-cultural compassion toward the vulnerable and the oppressed. It is sad that in many sectors of our society Christians are not known for this today. In the Old Testament, God repeatedly calls his people to show compassion to four groups of people: The poor, the sojourner, the widow, and the orphan (Deuteronomy 27:19; Isa. 58:6-7; Zech. 7:9-10). In the New Testament, Jesus consistently showed compassion to people on the margins of society. Rather than treating some people as worthy of help and others as unworthy, we are called to be like the Good Samaritan and show mercy to whomever God brings across our path (Lk. 10:25-37).
Love – There is a great deal of overlap between “compassion” and “love,” but I list love separately for a simple reason: Love is emphasized over and over again as the most important mark of a disciple. It is our love that will show the world we are Christ’s followers (Jn. 13:35). It is love that is the greatest of all virtues (1 Cor. 13:13). It is love for God and love for our neighbor that are the greatest commandments (Matt. 22:37-40). If we are lacking in love, then nothing else that we do will matter.
Cultural and political conflicts have been present since the days of the early church, and often there aren’t easy solutions to these conflicts. But if our identity is shaped by Scripture rather than worldly ideologies, then we have an opportunity to show the world a better way and to shine as lights in our generation (Phil. 2:15).