Penitent Disciple

Some uncomfortable truth from Jared C. Wilson:

Truly, I think one reason we aren’t captivated by Christ’s glory is because we have a diminished capacity to be captivated by anything big. We are preoccupied with small things. And, in fact, we somehow have an inverted sense of measurement in that big things seem to us small or familiar while small things become big to us, at least in terms of our time and attention and energy. It is the fun-house mirror–effect of daily living in a consumeristic culture where we are inundated with all kinds of media and now even carry that media around in our pockets along with our gospel, and find ourselves pulling out that media more often because we sense there will be something newer, more vital, more exciting, more entertaining, more applicable to our situation somewhere among its endless clicks and pages, while that gospel seems so one-note and familiar. Our screens give us a constant stream of things to look at but very little to see.

There’s a thought that’s been in the back of my mind for a while now. It’s been prompted by what I’ve been seeing culturally over the past several years, but has especially ramped up in the past 2-3 years…

Something tells me there’s a judgment coming for the church. And by the church, I mean both the “progressive” branch of Christianity on the left, and much of the evangelical branch of Christianity on the right.

Interestingly, the fundamental issue is the same for both: The idolatry of government power. The only real difference is that progressive Christians on the left have, to a large extent, openly rejected the authority of scripture and embraced the government (at least insofar as that government reflects the progressive values of the popular culture) as provider, caretaker, the arbiter of morality in place of God – that is, in place of God as revealed through scripture. The evangelical right generally claims to believe in the authority of scripture, but many have built their golden calves anyway in an attempt to preserve Christendom through political power.

It’s all too easy to get caught up in the muck, mire, and drama of political parties, and politics in general. It’s even easier now that pretty much all ideas and issues are politicized, even when politicizing them is kind of ridiculous. I’ll confess that I can get drawn in pretty easily if I don’t remain on guard. And the media – especially social media – only fuels the outrage and the short-term, worldly tribalism. Perhaps the most tragic affect this has upon people who claim to follow Jesus is that it circumvents deep, biblical, and prayerful reflection, obfuscating the eternal and keeping the temporal front and center.

For the progressive Christian left, this plays itself out in the exaltation of personal feelings as the ultimate source of authority (rather than scripture), and the dogged demonization of anyone who refuses to do likewise. In doing so, they reject the biblical teaching on the inherent fallenness of human beings – including feelings. From that foundation, they then add a biblically-based concern for the oppressed, but also throw in a healthy dose of resentment-focused Marxist ideology, and imagine that utopia can be achieved if they just get the “correct” bureaucrats with the “correct” cultural sensibilities in place.

And on the right, many Evangelicals are bowing before the altar of partisan politics, and in doing so they’ve adopted the strategy of winning the current battle at the expense of losing the war, sacrificing eternal principles for short-term worldly political power. It’s fine to be in favor of some of Trump’s decisions and policies. However, it can be easy to forget that most of those policy wins will almost certainly not only be reversed, but taken even further in the opposite direction when the political pendulum inevitably swings even more wildly back to the left, rendering them ephemeral. Meanwhile, in the process of excusing, supporting, and defending unrighteousness – or just remaining silent about it – in the wild hope that something good might come of it, those evangelicals will have

a) normalized patently unbiblical character and behavior, setting the bar ever lower for future governmental leadership, and

b) associated Christianity and the church with an endorsement of the character of Trump in the minds of many, which could very well end up setting back the cause of Christ for at least a generation.

I would argue that Trump has mostly succeeded at being an agent of chaos, and getting people on both sides to abandon large areas of territory that we used to call “reason” and “wisdom”. We Christians of all stripes should step back from the daily partisan fray and work to maintain an eternal, biblical perspective. We are where we are, to a significant extent, because the church – on both the left and the right – has failed to do that for some time now.

Look, I’m not suggesting that Christians of good will cannot or should not be interested in, or engaged in, the political process. Morality in the shaping of law matters, and I believe that Christian morality is the morality best suited to address a wide range of issues, from caring for “the least of these” (at every stage of life) to family structures and ethical standards that enable human flourishing. But politics is downstream from culture and morality, and trying to enforce Christian morality via the government – and placing one’s hope in such governmental power – is a lost cause, and it runs counter to the example Jesus gave us.

The way we’ll ultimately change the culture is by living honorably and well: living and loving sacrificially, creating compelling art that captures the hearts and imaginations of people by reflecting the beauty and wisdom of God (rather than simply creating propaganda), and living in radical obedience to scripture. In poll after poll, the moral lives of Christians really don’t look all that different than the moral lives of non-believers. Perhaps we should focus the most on removing the planks in our own eyes. Perhaps, in the long run, that will accomplish far more than politics ever could.

I know I just recently quoted C.S. Lewis from the Narnia series, but our current obsession with partisan gamesmanship, and short-term political power at any and all costs, reminded me of the book ‘Prince Caspian’. At one point in the story, a neighboring people called the Telmarines are invading Narnia, Aslan has not made an appearance for many, many years, and a council is meeting about what to do in order to defend Narnia. They’re meeting deep inside a sort of cave, and among those present are Caspian (a young Telmarine who has joined the Narnians), a badger named Trufflehunter, and a not-very-nice dwarf named Nikabrik, who doesn’t believe that Aslan exists, and wants to take matters into his own hands. Nikabrik says:

“…We want power: and we want a power that will be on our side. As for power, do not the stories say that the Witch defeated Aslan, and bound him, and killed him on that very stone which is over there, just beyond the light?”
“But they also say that he came to life again,” said the Badger sharply.
“Yes, they say,” answered Nikabrik, “but you’ll notice that we hear precious little about anything he did afterward. He just fades out of the story. How do you explain that, if he really came to life? Isn’t it much more likely that he didn’t, and that the stories say nothing more about him because there was nothing more to say?”
“He established the Kings and Queens,” said Caspian.
“A King who has just won a great battle can usually establish himself without the help of a performing lion,” said Nikabrik. There was a fierce growl, probably from Trufflehunter.
“And anyway,” Nikabrik continued, “what came of the Kings and their reign? They faded too. But it’s very different with the Witch. They say she ruled for a hundred years: a hundred years of winter. There’s power, if you like. There’s something practical.”

The bible is replete with examples of what happens – how God responds – when the people of God become impatient, and arrogant, and place their hope in other gods. It would be profoundly arrogant to assume that we’re just too darn special for that to ever happen to us.

And so I believe there’s a judgment coming for the church. A great humbling. Probably an exile of some sort, though maybe not geographic in nature. When that happens, our instinct will be to play the victim. But while the New Testament does tell us to expect persecution when we truly follow Jesus, both the Old and New Testament speak of God’s punishment when it comes to lukewarm and wayward followers.

How long that punishment lasts will likely, to some extent, depend on us within the church. Will our misguided, idol-hungry, and rebellious generation have to die off, as had to happen in the case of the Israelites wandering with Moses in the desert? (The later Babylonian exile lasted over a generation as well). Or might the people of God humble themselves and repent sooner, and might that bring about the return of God’s favor and a revival of holiness and goodness?

Only time will tell.