The Consequence of Silence: In The Midst of Political Noise

I have friends and family that range all over the political spectrum so I see a variety of political posts about all types of issues and supporting several different candidates, and yet they all seem to have one thing in common. The idea which permeates all political posts is, “my way is the only right way.” I can’t tell you how many posts I have seen that, once you break them down, do very little to support the person’s belief as much as they do attempt to demonize the beliefs of the opposition. It is as though proving other people wrong automatically proves you right; it doesn’t. It seems like everyone has a sort of doomsday mentality when it comes to the politics right now as if the next elected official (especially the president) is going to make or break the world we live in. The calls I often see among Christians typically resonate the idea: if we don’t show up to vote and win this election, our beliefs and our morals will be lost forever.

Unfortunately, these statements are often made alongside some horrible things being said about the people that don’t share their beliefs and morals. They spew hateful insults and derogatory names at the opposition and then have the nerve to blame everyone else for what is wrong in the world. They talk about the opposition as if they are the ones responsible for the downfall of Christianity in this country. They resort to abhorrent tactics while claiming they are striving to uphold the statutes of our loving savior Jesus Christ. If it weren’t so tragic it might actually be the kind of irony my cynical mind would laugh at.

The saddest thing about all of this is while these people are blaming everyone else for the breakdown of our society, they completely ignore the role the apathy of Christians has played in all of this. They seem to forget that a student can only learn if the teacher actually teaches the lesson. If the teacher just comes to class and sits silently at her desk all day the students can’t be held responsible. Their lack of learning is the result of the teacher’s inaction. I’m afraid Christians (as a whole) have been much like the teacher in this example. Jesus didn’t call us to sit quietly and let the world continue doing what they were doing. He didn’t tell us to just be passive observers and he certainly didn’t tell us to wait for election years and rely on politicians to keep Christianity alive in the world. Jesus was very specific on what he wanted us to do. He told us to go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you (Matthew 28:19-20). Now some may try and say that this is a near impossible task since many people don’t want to listen or simply try to dismiss what we have to say as nonsense. However, this is why we are told to always be prepared to give a defense to anyone who asks for a reason for what we believe (1 Peter 3:15). Jesus knew we would face opposition, so he warns us to be prepared for this and be ready to face them. But just as importantly, we need to remember what was said next. After telling us to be prepared to give a defense, we are told to do it with gentleness and respect. Name calling and insults are neither gentle nor respectful. They completely ignore what Jesus called us to be. He told us we would be known by our love. If we fail to be loving, why should we expect people to understand Christian values? Why should we expect anybody to recognize a belief system which seemingly results in the followers hating those that don’t believe what they believe?

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying we aren’t in the middle of a battle right now and I’m not saying that we aren’t currently losing the battle. In fact, I agree that we are losing, but the battlefield is not in the voting booths and our enemies are not unbelievers. The battleground where we should be fighting is in the world as a whole and cannot be isolated to a voting station or a church building. Nonbelievers should be viewed as POW’s in need of rescue because the enemy we are fighting has captured their minds with false beliefs. It is our mission to set them free. Ephesians 6:12 tells us who our enemy is: “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” It is important to understand this verse isn’t listing several different enemies but rather giving descriptions to one enemy. Reading the verse before this makes it truly clear, “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.” If our battle isn’t against flesh and blood, why do we spend so much time fighting against the people we are supposed to be saving?

Instead of relying on politicians and putting our hope in a president to somehow spread Christian values through the country, it is time we face the real problem and recognize how we have contributed to it. We haven’t followed through with what Jesus has told us to do. We haven’t been spreading the gospel, we haven’t been making disciples and we certainly haven’t become known for our love. The body of Christ, meaning all believers, have fallen into atrophy because of our lack of action. We have refused to be the salt of the earth and the light to the world. Instead, we talk amongst ourselves about how great God is and how horrible the world is but then resort to acting just like the world whenever we are in it. We fight using their tactics, we speak using the same hateful language and we constantly lament the problem instead of celebrating the solution.

The world isn’t in the state it is in because of politicians. A president didn’t cause the lack of morals in the world today. We didn’t get into this position in a day or even in a year. It has been a slow decline that has gotten far enough down the hill that it has picked up steam and is now rolling at an alarming rate. It is easy to point at leaders and therefore look to blame past, or even current, presidents but we need to remember that elected officials will always be the reflection of the world we are living in. Saul wasn’t a great choice as king, but he only became the king because the people had rejected the leadership of God and chose to have an imperfect leader. I remember during the last election feeling like the whole thing must have been a joke. I kept waiting for them to tell us it was all a prank and bring out the real candidates but of course that never happened. Looking at past presidents and the respect they demanded, it was hard to understand how we were stuck with the choices we had. But when you look at pop culture it becomes a little less confusing. We used to have songs like “I Wanna Hold Your Hand” and “Lean on Me;” we watched shows like “The Waltons” and “Leave it to Beaver.” Next, we had songs like “Talk Dirty to Me” and shows like “Married with Children.” Now, we entertain ourselves with songs called “P**y Fairy” and shows named “Lucifer.” The trend has been moving in this direction for decades but instead of trying to speak God’s truth, we were silent. We didn’t step up and make disciples instead, if we were honest, we enjoyed the entertainment along with the rest of the world. Instead of being the salt and preserving the world, we allowed ourselves to be spoiled along with it. Instead of being a light and guiding the world down a brighter path, we dimmed our own lights so we could enjoy the darkness with them. Now the rotten stench has become overwhelming and the darkness has grown so much we fear we are lost, but instead of looking back and realizing what we did wrong we are blaming the world for spoiling. We are forgetting we were the people charged with its preservation. We point fingers at everyone else for the darkness even though we are the only ones with a light bright enough to pierce it. The problems we face is the consequence of our silence. We can’t fix it in a voting booth. We can’t fix it by blaming everybody else. We can’t help the world by yelling and screaming at them. We have to wake up and remember the example Jesus gave us. We have to act on what we were called to do. We have to start giving a defense for what we believe. We have to make disciples of all nations and most importantly, we have to be known for the love the world so desperately needs. I’m not saying don’t vote; just don’t restrict your Christian voice to the confines of a voting booth.