U NLESS CHRISTIANS LIVE IN A LONELY DESERT, a walled compound, or deep in the forest — off the grid — we live with the realities of the world around us. Employment, education of children, dress, food, entertainment, recreation and political responsibility all must be addressed. There is tension between Christianity and culture.
The Christians to whom Peter writes were in a different world, political climate and social situation than we, but Peter’s words offer truth.
“Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God.”
You are brothers and sisters, so act like it. You have the gift of love, so express it. Your integrity is vital to the proclamation of the gospel, so live it.
Within that admonition to acceptable and loving behavior is talk of the complex relationship of the Christian community and the government.
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THE EARLIEST CHRISTIANS turned the Roman world upside down. This was not because they found ways to better govern society. They turned the Roman world upside down because they showed what life in the new creation that Christ promised us looks like. Christians in Rome provided burial for pagans who were too poor to afford it. Church funds, in some cases, bought the emancipation of slaves. In cities filled with homeless people, strangers, and torn by violent ethnic strife, the growing Christian community offered sanctuary, help and hope.
When the plague struck Carthage in 252, Christian people went out to nurse the sick and bury the dead. A century later, the emperor Julian complained that the Christians looked after “not only their own beggars but ours as well.” Those folks understood Peter’s admonition to “Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God.”
It was customary in those days to kill unwanted babies. If a child was born into a family who could not be a productive member of society — that could be too many girls or a mentally or physically handicapped — they would be left to die. Christians responded to this by prohibiting its members from practicing it, by voicing to the pagan world the moral view of the value of all human life, and actually taking in and supporting babies which had been left to die by exposure by their pagan parents.
“Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God.”
The early Christians understood who they were and what their mission was. They did this without government support, and in many cases in opposition to government. Bringing in the kingdom of God through their faithful witness to Christ. Living as “aliens and exiles” in the land, living as slaves of God, even as they submit to the authority of the empire. There is tension between Christianity and culture. Submit to the government while living as a slave of God. How does that tension play out?
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MANY FOLKS FALSELY BELIEVE that the United States is roughly the same as the kingdom of God. And with that belief comes the dream of a political messiah — a title which politicians gladly accept. Nobody else can do what they will do. Only they can bring about our salvation from enemies — real and imagined — or health-care crisis, or economic distress or whatever the calamity of the day.
I watched with great fear as former President Obama made his 2008 world tour to tens of thousands of adoring fans hailing him as the author of hope.
I agonize when people equate President Trump’s election with the direct intervention of God.
When we elevate elected leaders to such lofty positions we lose perspective on right and wrong, submission and slavery. We, Christians, must not give politicians glory that belongs only to God.
Recent presidential campaigns made two things painfully clear:
● Christians do not agree on how to apply the gospel to political issues.
● When Christian leaders get involved in partisan politics, the consequences are hardly benign. It’s hard, if not impossible, to fully live as a servant of Christ and hold elected office. Compromise is inevitable, and political intrigue is always close at hand.
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IT WAS A SMALL THING. But this week Baptist minister and politician Mike Huckabee rejoiced, “Everybody knows Donald Trump; certainly those of us made it clear that if you hit him, he’ll hit you back ten times harder.” This referenced President Trump’s personal attack on the “Morning Joe” co-hosts after a negative commentary of the president. You might appreciate a president who hits back 10 times harder. You might say the president must respond that way. But the OT says and eye for an eye. Equal response. One for one. Jesus says, “turn the other cheek.” So, which is most Christian: 10 times, one for one, or turn the other cheek?
There is always tension between Christianity and government. The government and Christianity are not synonymous. No political party can be equated with Christianity. Never have been and never will be. Often the needs of the state are at odds with Christian values.
So, instead of compromising our faith to ease the tension between religion and government, we should use that tension for good of Christ. Maybe we can turn the world upside down not because we know better ways to govern society but because we show what life in the new creation that Christ promised looks like.
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WHEN STORM CLOUDS GATHER and politicians strut their stuff before adoring audiences, the most world-changing, revolutionary statement we can make is that Jesus reigns; that God, not nations, rules the world; and that even the best of Caesar’s solutions fall short of the kingdom of God.
“Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God.”
