The election is here. Unless, of course, Dave doesn’t post this for a couple of weeks. After trying to sort through all the nonsensical political rants this year trying to claim spiritual superiority for a specific candidate or view:
JESUS IS NOT…
Supportive of forced redistribution of wealth. Have you seen the picture of Jesus at the feeding of the 5000 being used as support for a welfare state? The caption goes something about how Jesus never said “Don’t feed them, that will create a culture of dependency.” Right. He did not.
Neither, though, did He send the Apostles into the crowd to force people to hand over their lunches. In fact, the same Jesus that fed the 5,000 also commanded that “If a man will not work, neither let him eat.” Remember that part? 2 Thessalonians 3?
JESUS IS NOT…
Supportive of selfish capitalist expansion. Remember that whole parable about the rich man who built bigger barns because his ROI was kicking? What was the response?
Something on the order of “You fool!” wasn’t it? Yet what the man had was good business sense, was it not? Consider what he could have done with the added wealth: job creation for barn builders; passed wealth on to the next generation. Jesus called him a fool.
JESUS IS NOT…
A warlord who picked fights. Take a look at all the opportunities in the New Testament where physical force would have been helpful. There’s the time the people of Nazareth plan to stone Jesus. There’s the arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane. There are all the times when Peter or Paul are arrested, when the church is persecuted. Goodness, there’s the whole situation of the rioting in Rome that we think was among the Jews and Christians over Christ, rioting that was threat enough that the Jews were expelled from Rome by Claudius.
There were opportunities to turn Christianity into a movement that would overthrow the Empire–that is part of the context of Romans 13. It’s not merely about chariot speed limits on the Appian Way, but about not wasting lives trying to take out bad Caesars. (That’s what I see. You may, like most people, disagree.)
Yet Jesus met these issues peacefully. His followers met them peacefully. One of the sayings of Jesus, lost or otherwise, is not that “Diplomacy is the art of saying ‘nice doggy’ while reaching for a rock.” Jesus is not quick to violence.
JESUS IS NOT…
Some wimpy pushover who always took a beating. Then there is the counterpoint: did Jesus always just let people push Him around? No. Neither did He expect this of His followers. Or have you never noticed Luke 22:36 where Jesus tells His disciples to sell their coats to buy swords? Jesus told His followers to take a little chill if they needed to, so that they could be armed. Go look it up. I’ll wait.
Then there is the sheer reality that He cleared the Temple and did not do so with a court order or polite words. Read the arrest account in John, whereat His words the posse falls to the ground. Jesus disarms the opponent of the church by blinding him–both Elymas and Saul. The sea rages at the command of God to prove a point to a few Romans about this Paul fellow. Ananias and Sapphira are struck dead for dishonesty.
Need we go on? None of this considers the Old Testament, where God also worked violently at times. You cannot pigeon-hole Jesus into the pacifist box. He doesn’t fit.
JESUS IS NOT…
In favor of higher taxes…or lower taxes. Check out both the “Render unto Caesar” part and the whole “Pay taxes? I have fish that pay taxes for me” situation. (Matthew 17:24-27) Again, the dichotomy is of our making, not of reality or proper understanding of Jesus. Consider the taxation systems of His day compared to ours, and you realize something: the economic base is so radically different that they are not comparable. So you cannot say if Jesus would have been in favor of a graduated income tax or not. Or if He would have preferred a consumption tax, national sales tax or carbon credits.
JESUS IS NOT…
A fan of strip-mining, nuclear waste, recycling, or environmentalism. First of all, the long-term plan for the planet is to be cleansed by fire (2 Peter 3,) so it’s hard to argue that eternity hinges on saving the porpoises. However, what is the most important task we want to leave our offspring? Is it survival? Or should we leave them with the freedom of time, effort, and life to put their all into reaching their generations for Christ?
Think about it: part of the “fullness of time” that Jesus came into involved a world that included a stability of food, government, and economy that allowed people the time to focus on matters of faith. There were not food riots in Ephesus–there were idol riots. Why would we consider leaving the next generation with a mess to deal with that will divide their energies from witnessing to the truth?
Simultaneously, only one species on this planet are those that needed redemption from their own sins: humanity. Only one species is how Immanuel actually happened: humanity. Any effort to exalt the slugs, snails, and porcupines even to the level of importance as humanity puts a diversion of what truly matters.
JESUS IS…
More than the Perfect Candidate: after all, He already holds the Kingdom, and it is His until death. Which is a good place for it, considering that He lives and never dies.
More than the Ideal Leader: certainly He is worth following, but not merely for where He is going. He is worth following because all other roads lead to death. He is worth following for the work He will have us do along the way!
More than the Great Debater: I, for one, would not even think I could win an argument with Him. But it is not just about winning. He is about the Truth. And He is the Truth–and all compassion, rolled together.
Jesus, the Lord Jesus Christ, is not another contender pouring out promises that are dubious and quoting statistics that are shaded and spun. He is rather the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
However you have voted, will vote, or are voting, ask yourself this:
Does my vote serve my King? Regardless of the outcome, will I willingly serve the King?
