Common Grace, Common Courtesy, and Righteous Restraint

Please forgive the rather ostentatious title for this blog post. It's high sounding, probably a bit arrogant in its intention, and certainly was decided upon in haste. That's because I'm writing while upset, which is usually not good. But, I need to get something off my chest.

It really bothers me when Christians get together and an Obama bashing breaks out. I've even heard folks us Bible verses to support their dishonoring and downright discourteous diatribes. And, to make matters worse, they often draw a direct line between being a Christ-follower and being a Republican, and even more, suggest that as a good Christian, we should be intent on winning back the White House.

Now please understand. I consider myself a politico, an observant citizen with strong opinions, and not one to let error masquerade as truth. I believe it is fit and proper for Americans - including Christ-followers! - to discuss political topics, current events, and to be persuasive in the marketplace of political ideas and actions. But, I think it is unacceptable to layer political labels over Christianity in an attempt to enlist God as a member of the party. I believe the behavior of that group of believers that took such joy in ripping President Obama is wrong for the following reasons:

1) God is not a Republican. In truth, He isn't a Democrat either, or a member of any other political party, organization, or think tank. He is not a proponent of any earthly ideology. He is the King of All, and never stands for election to that position. Further, God's kingdom work has never been slowed down by the political actions of man. Communism in China drove the church underground, and the house church movement was responsible for a stronger, more vibrant and holy church. And while we much more desire freedom, the truth is that persecution has always grown the church both deeply and broadly.

Given that God is a king, and not a political figure, the main job of the church must be kingdom living, not politics. We are all about the transformation of individual lives through the Gospel. I am not saying politics and kingdom living are mutually exclusive, but clearly the second has far greater priority. Let me be more clear about their relationship.

There is a great need, certainly, for some Christ-followers to be "salt and light" in the political realm. We should pray for talented, knowledgeable, and able Christian men and women to enter the political fray (and pray equally that dim-witted believers will stay out!). They provide a "dam building" service to society in that they are putting up dams to stop the steady onslaught of sin, perversion, and pride that is manufactured daily in the hearts of lost mankind. Any thoughts they may have of turning the tide, of creating a Christian utopia or anything even close are certainly misguided; yet, their importance in holding back the tide of wickedness should not be missed.

On the other hand, the job of all Christ-followers is that of a rescue swimmer. You might remember that movie where Kevin Costner is an aging Coast Guard rescue swimmer charged with training a new young recruit. In that movie, I think he depicts what Christ-followers are to be in real life: we jump into the raging storm, into the sea of unbelief where we once were drowning without hope, and we swim as fast as we can, for as long as we can, and rescue as many as we can. This is Gospel work. It is not merely an attempt to stop wickedness, but actually is an enterprise intent on rescuing souls out of the stormy sea of sin, and placing them safely in the kingdom of Jesus Christ.

So, there are dam builders, and rescue swimmers. My greatest anger is reserved for those who get so caught up in political critique that they begin to act as though building dams, and getting the right guys to do the building, is how a true Christ-follower will be known. "Let's get out the vote, and let's use our resources to elect the right dam builder!" Now, again, let me be clear. There is some value in the building of dams. But the kingdom of God has never been about dams; it is about lives being rescued from the flood of sin and judgment.

I so remember the years when Christians lived in the White House. If you count President Jimmy Carter - a professed Southern Baptist evangelical - and include the President Ronald Reagan and President George Bush Sr. presidencies, you have around 16 years where the occupants of the highest office in the land were professing Christ-followers. And many good things happened! But if we are honest, we have to say that those "good things" were primarily economic. No moral tide was turned; the wickedness was only abated, and then only for a short time. Within the first 30 days of President Clinton's presidency, he took back almost all of the moral victories won, through executive order. I remember thinking that millions and millions of dollars, countless man-hours, and enormous amounts of dialogue among Christ-followers had been spent on political initiatives, and in a few short weeks, it had pretty much all been swept away. We had stopped the flow for a time, but not for long.

And, even worse in my opinion, was the fact that, during those years when so many joined the "moral majority" and became inflamed with our new evangelical political power, someone crept into the church and stole the Gospel. American evangelicalism emerged from that period with a "gospel" of self-help, "free-will theism", a compromised concept of sin and judgment, a deified view of man, and a whole new way of "doing church" that placed ultimate priority on making church big and sexy - "seeker driven" - rather than Gospel-driven, Scripture-based, God-honoring, and Christ-exalting. We got caught up with power, fame, position, and "relevance" (which is newspeak for wearing the trappings of common culture), and forgot that following Christ was all about His glory, and our humility, His grace and our great need, His power and our brokenness. Politics brought us power and position, while the Gospel called us to forsake our pride to find His strength in our weakness.

I would be willing to bet that most of those Christ-followers who pummel President Obama have never had their unbelieving neighbors over for dinner, never put an arm around them in a painful situation, and have never, ever, ever shared the Gospel with them. It has been my experience that those most enraged politically are usually the ones least engaged evangelistically.

2) Christ-followers answer to a higher ethic. This is the second reason why subjecting President Obama to public ridicule is so wrong for a Christ-follower. We just don't act that way because, as citizens of heaven, we live by a higher standard. We do not approach earthly problems in earthly ways. We are charged to carry out the ethic of heaven, and that ethic is clear in the Bible.

We can start in the Old Testament, with a great example from the life of David. (You can read all about it in 1 Samuel 24). David has been anointed as king of Israel, but the reigning king of Israel - Saul - is still on the throne. And Saul is intent on killing David.

Put this in modern political terms. Say Saul is the President. Everyone knows he is a wicked man. He has turned away from following God, and God has promised to take the kingdom away and give it to David. We know David; he's a "man after God's own heart." This is the classic confrontation between good and evil; between God's king, and man's king. Saul isn't too keen on giving up his position so he is chasing all over the wilderness looking for David. He wants to kill him, and end the threat to his administration. In 1 Samuel 24, David and his merry men are hiding in the far recesses of a big cave. Saul, unknowingly, decides to spend some time in the mouth of the cave. This is David's chance. God has delivered his enemy - the guy who is trying to kill him! - into David's hand. But David does not follow the urging of his men. Rather than take Saul's life, David sneaks up to Saul and cuts a souvenir swatch from his coat. Why? David explains that, even though this is a wicked man, and a man from whom God is taking the kingdom, he is still "the Lord's anointed." That is, he is the one God has on the throne. Do you get the point? David honored Saul, not because he agreed with Saul's actions or beliefs, but because he honored God who had put Saul in the honored position of king.

The same is true of President Obama, even though we are not Israel, and he is not a king. Romans 13 is clear that governments owe their very existence to God, and they play an important role in His government of the universe. Governments, like law enforcement, and a host of other institutions, are vehicles whereby God holds back the wickedness of mankind in order to allow for ordered society to exist. The doctrine of common grace teaches us that President Obama holds a high and honored position before God, and we are to treat him accordingly. Peter advances this idea as well in 1 Peter 2:17 when he calls upon the severely mistreated Christ-followers of his day to "honor the King." Paul does the same thing in instructing Pastor Timothy that the Ephesian believers should offer up "entreaties, prayers, petitions and thanksgivings" even for the kings and those in authority over them who were responsible for their ill treatment in society (1 Timothy 2:1ff).

Here's the deal: Christ-followers are not at liberty to launch at our elected leaders. We must ALWAYS treat them with honor and respect. We answer to a heavenly ethic.

Lastly, let me add that it is also fundamentally wrong politically to do what that group of Christ-followers did in publicly mocking and disparaging President Obama. From what I have heard, most conservative Obama bashers consider themselves the best kind of Americans. They spout that they are "true" Americans, intent on carrying out the true ideals of our country. Here's my problem: Why then do they not recognize that President Obama is the choice of the people of America? Our system of governance allows the people to vote, and they did, and President Obama won. If they want a different outcome next time, they should channel their energies into constructive ideas and strategies. The losing side lost because the voting public considered its ways and words to be inferior to those of President Obama and his advisers. Losers should get better, not bitter. It does no one any good just to spout off insults. We may not agree with all that he says and does. On the other hand, we ought to be at least educated and courteous enough to acknowledge where we do agree, and not offer only mockings, cynical critiques, and hurtful diatribes when our disagreements arise. To do so will only reinforce what the majority of American voters already think: that conservative Christians don't offer ideas that work because they are too busy critiquing and condemning everyone. That's what they think, and our best opportunity to change their minds comes when we love and live the Gospel.

Hope this helps,

David