Faith and Citizenship

“Our Citizenship is in heaven…”

Philippians 3:20

The partisan politics in our country have really gotten kind of ugly – on all sides.  On TV you see whole programs devoted to people arguing.  You hear politicians saying horrible things about one another.  On social media people express opinions in words that indicate no respect or tolerance for those who disagree.  I have heard of friends, life-long friendship that have fallen apart over political differences.  It’s not simply that people have different partisan political opinions.  There is nothing wrong with that. What concerns me is that those differences have become justification for hateful, hurtful words and deeds towards one another.   We are tearing our society apart.

That has had me struggling with our role as Christian citizens in the midst of all of that.  Jesus has called us “salt of earth” and the “light of the world.”  How are we to be salt and light in this world?  St. Paul tells us that “our citizenship is in heaven…”  Well as citizens of heaven, as followers of Jesus Christ, how are we to participate in the politics of this world?  What is our role as Christian citizens?  What can we do in our culture and society to bring God’s healing, reconciling love to bear?

God’s Word has guidance that has helped me and I would like to share with you.  In fact, the guidelines for our role as Christian citizens is quite simple.  They are the same two guidelines God gives us for how we live our lives – the two great commandments.  “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”  I believe that those two commandments tell us the most important things we need to know about our role in this culture… about how our faith in Jesus should affect our citizenship.

First, keep the main thing the main thing. God is to be God of your life and mine – not our political opinions, not our partisan politics, not even our love for country should come before Him.  There is nothing wrong with having opinions, with believing in our politics, or for loving our country.  But when those things become so important to us, that we get angry and hateful towards others who believe differently – that tells me that I am letting those things become too important.  I am giving them a place in my heart that should belong only to God.  He knows what a danger this is for us. This why He gave His heart for us – gave His own Son Jesus to live, die and rise again.  That’s how badly our God desires to claim first place in our hearts.  When He has that place – then all those other things fall into proper perspective.

Second, “love your neighbor as yourself.”  This is what should govern our political words, actions and decisions – what choice, what words will be the most loving and beneficial for my neighbor?  That means first of all, that no political opinion should ever lead me to act hatefully towards someone else. That person, them knowing about God’s love in Jesus is way more important than me being right about some opinion.  You and I are called to let others meet Christ in us… .  Jesus says, “By this all men will know you are my disciples, that you love one another.”  Second, love for your neighbor, not simply your own interests should guide you and me in our political choices.  After all, we need not worry about ourselves.  Our citizenship is in heaven.  We are God’s children through faith in Christ.  He is watching over us. We need not act out of selfishness.  Remember what John tells us about when Jesus got up to wash the feet of the disciples.  He wrote that Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God, rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist and began to wash the feet of the disciples.”  Like Jesus, knowing that we have come from God and going back to God… knowing that we are loved and watched over by Him, we need not worry about ourselves. We are free to act in love for others.

I believe our role as God’s salt and light in this world is to refuse to start acting out of the anger and hatred that prevails in our political world.  Our role is to act in a manner completely foreign to the world around us… to act and live as citizens of heaven… to respond to the vitriol and hatred we encounter with the love of God that can alone heal and bring reconciliation.