America is a house divided. According to multiple polls nearly half of Americans now view their political opponents not just as “wrong” or “misguided” but as downright evil.[1] A further divide is opening up between America and her closest neighbour. When Donald Trump announced a series of devastating tariffs on Canadian goods, Canadians responded by booing the American national anthem at sporting events. This led to a series of fights to begin the game between Canada and American in the Four Nations Face-Off. As I write this, Canada has responded to the 25% tariff on steel and aluminum with tariffs on $29.8 billion dollar’s worth of American goods[2]. A trade war of these proportions will have serious consequences for working class people on both sides of the border. It is hard to go on social media right now without encountering hostility and vitriol from all sides.
How should a Christian behave in circumstances like these?
How do we avoid getting sucked into the vortex of hatred, suspicion and tribalism?
How do we participate in the political process without losing our saltiness, or even losing our souls?
As a pastor, fellow citizen and neighbour, I offer the following 6 suggestions:
Read the Bible
It is hard to read the Bible when everything around you is on fire. I get it. I’ve found myself consuming more news content in the last several months than ever before. There have been days when I checked the news more than 20 times and each time I did it seemed as though something new and significant had happened. When the news feels electric and urgent it is difficult to focus on that which is eternal and ultimate.
But we need to make the effort.
Reading the Bible anchors us in that which is solid, stable, and unchanging. It gives us a context and a framework for addressing the chaos and confusion of our times. Contrary to how you may feel, the truth is that the crazier this world gets, the more time you need to spend in the Scriptures. The higher the waves of the storm, the more ballast you need in your boat. The darker the night, the more light you need in your lantern. As the psalmist says:
“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Psalm 119:105 ESV).
Begin each day by immersing yourself in that which is sure and stable before attempting to engage with that which is confusing and chaotic.
Follow Jesus
The old expression, “Cometh the hour, cometh the man”, suggests that when a challenging situation arises, the right sort of leader will emerge in order to deal with it. The good news for us as Christians, is that Jesus is exactly the kind of leader we need in times of political upheaval. He was betrayed by the Jewish Senate and crucified by the Roman Governor. He was no peace time prophet. From under the boot of Roman oppression Jesus said:
“Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also” (Matthew 5:39 ESV).
“And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles” (Matthew 5:41 ESV).
“Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Matthew 5:44 ESV).
Jesus knew that “fighting fire with fire” was the best way to burn down the world. Instead, he taught radical love and subversive mercy. That means never using force to protect our property and dignity. That means never taking our own revenge. That means never returning insult for insult. That means never hating our enemies and never failing to pray for the welfare and salvation of those who oppose us.
To be a Christian means to obey Jesus come hell or high water. As Jesus himself said:
“Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you?” (Luke 6:46 ESV)
Let’s make sure that we are following the right leader for the current times, and that leader of course, is Jesus!
Go to Church
Today’s political and media context is making us hate people we don’t even know. Going to church is the perfect therapy for that. The church is the most diverse community ever assembled on planet earth, and it has been for a very long time. As the Apostle Paul said:
“Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all” (Colossians 3:11 ESV).
The church is one of the few places you can go in our society where you can interact with people from different generations, different races and different socio-economic backgrounds. The culture and structure of the church requires the members to engage in deep and transformative social practices like sharing, forgiving, confronting and consoling. It requires us to use our talents and gifts to serve the group and to honour those who contributions may differ from our own. Going to church teaches us to identify with the group and to empathize with the needs and experiences of other people.
“But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, 25 that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another” (1 Corinthians 12:24-25 ESV).
In other words, it teaches us to be human.
Go to church. It is one of the best ways to stay sane and to stay a Christian during turbulent political times.
Stay on Mission
Jesus gave his followers a very specific mission to pursue; he said:
“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:18-20 ESV).
Our job is to go into all the world and make disciples.
That’s it!
We make disciples by helping people find, follow, worship, obey and imitate Jesus.
Our job is not to solve the current immigration crisis, comment on foreign policy, figure out what Russia is really up to or to advocate for a particular monetary policy; our job is to make disciples.
Can you participate in the political process as a citizen?
Of course! In fact, you should. You should use whatever political agency you have (voting, writing letters, attending rallies etc.) to encourage your government officials to maintain a culture and context in which people have the freedom and opportunity to find the Lord, as per Acts 17:26-27.
And then having done that, you should get back to work.
“Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes” (Matthew 24:46 ESV).
Honour the Emperor
Nero was the emperor for much of the Apostolic era, and according to church history, he harshly persecuted the Christians and was ultimately responsible for the deaths of the Apostles Peter and Paul. We might expect these men to have railed against the corruption and debauchery of Nero. We might expect them to have encouraged resistance or even to have inspired rebellion; instead, they wrote things like this:
“Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, 14 or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good” (1 Peter 2:13-14 ESV).
“Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God” (Romans 13:1 ESV).
If you think that extreme circumstances call for extreme measures when it comes to political engagement, then you are thinking differently than Paul and Peter. They taught that our responsibility as believers was to live quiet, peaceable and respectful lives toward the government, praying for our leaders and recognizing the responsibility of God to hold such people accountable. They didn’t tell us to “stick it to the man” or to “burn the house down”, rather they told us to:
“Honor the emperor” (1 Peter 2:17 ESV).
Resist the urge to put more stock in revolution than you do in revival.
Fear God
Fearing God means that sometimes you will have to disobey human authorities in an honourable and respectful way. When the Apostles were charged by the Jewish Senate not to continue preaching in the name of Jesus they said:
“We must obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29 ESV).
The emperor sometimes demands more loyalty than he is due, and in circumstances like that, we need to stand our ground. Even if we are threatened with death, as per Revelation 2:13; even if we are threatened with severe economic consequences, as per Revelation 13:17, we need to carry on with the work we were given to do, remembering that we will one day stand before an authority that is infinitely greater than Caesar:
“For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil” (2 Corinthians 5:10 ESV).
We are all marching towards a conversation with our Creator. Make sure that you are ready for that. Make sure that your Facebook feed is ready for that. In the words of the mighty angel in Revelation 14:
“Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come, and worship him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water” (Revelation 14:7 ESV).
O God help!
SDG,
Pastor Paul Carter
If you are interested in more Bible teaching from Pastor Paul you can access the entire library of Into The Word episodes through the Audio tab on the Into the Word website. You can also download the Into The Word app on iTunes or Google Play.
[1] https://hub.jhu.edu/2024/10/27/snf-agora-poll-september-2024/
[2] https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/canada-retaliatory-tariffs-1.7481258
