A Message to the Left and the Right from an Amateur Observer
by, Charles W. Christian
I do not like the word “politics,” although like many Americans, I fancy myself to be an amateur political scientist (heavy emphasis upon “amateur”). As a pastor and a teacher of theology and ethics, I tend to shy away from publicly proclaiming my own political leanings. I have learned that my exact leanings are difficult to peg as far as being staunchly a part of either major party. This has caused dismay to some. That’s OK, though. As far as I can tell, Jesus found areas of disagreement with all the major parties of his day, too. In fact, as one writer noted, Jesus was killed by those on the left and the right of political spectrum. So, I like to half-jokingly say that when it comes to politics, I believe in being an equal opportunity offender!
But seriously, as I observe the political races in this important election year from a state that is considered a “hot bed” of the race (Ohio), I have three friendly words of advice or critique that can be taken or left by those involved in the process, either as candidates or as participants in other ways. Here they are.
1) Just beating the “other team” is not going to be enough.Over and over in local, state, and national races, the theme that keeps emerging from the left and the right is: The bottom line is that we need to beat ______(insert name of opposing candidate or incumbent). If this were a baseball game, that may be a good strategy. However, political offices are far more complicated than that. Just winning is not enough when it comes to governing in a healthy fashion. There must be a vision attached to the victory. Otherwise, we all lose.
2) Some things are hard to take back.
As noted in the latest Rush Limbaugh debacle, as well as slips of the tongue from candidates and incumbents alike, words have meaning and they have staying power. In this age of constant news and sound bites, words linger. And human nature tells us that negative words or unfortunate word choices tend to linger much longer than positive ones. In the heat of the moment, we have all said things we do not mean, and we have all said things in a way that we wish we could have said differently. A children’s song I learned in the first church I ever attended says it best: “Be careful, little mouth, what you say!”
3) No political leader is going to be the Ultimate Answer
There’s an old saying: “Until Jesus Christ is on the ballot, we are always voting for the lesser of two evils.” That means that no one candidate is going to be the perfect answer to the problems of the nation or the world, regardless of political or religious affiliation. Our young nation has proven that over and over again. Even in times when one party has control of the White House and the Congress, regardless of which party, tragedies occur and there are instances of injustice and even illegality! Of course, this does not mean that we as Christians should give up on the process altogether. But we should probably recognize that our role is to continue doing what we do without seeing the election of any person or party as our opportunity to cease from being diligent in our service to God and others. Also, as Georgetown scholar and social commentator Dr. Michael Eric Dyson reminds, "No matter who is Pharaoh, Moses still has a job!” In other words, the people of God should never act as if an elected official or party absolves of us our prophetic and redemptive role in society.
Praying for God’s Vision
Obviously, I am not running for any office nor do I plan to. And, despite the fact that I have never been afraid to criticize policies on both the left and the right when I feel that they are doing a disservice to people, I pray for the men and women who take the time to run for office in service of the nation. I pray that they recognize their need for help. I pray that they do not let power corrupt them but rather handle it responsibly and justly. And most of all, I pray that they recognize that one day ALL the kingdoms of this world will, in the words of Scripture, become the Kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ. This final reminder, I hope, will bring a sense of humility and even cordiality that is desperately needed in our current process. Personally, my favorite political moment is yet to come, and it will take Jesus Himself to bring this one about. It is described in Isaiah 2:4: “And He shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many peoples; And they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks. Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.”
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