His Kingdom Come?

There’s something that really, really, bothers me about politics.

Don’t misunderstand me here - I’m not opposed to politics. In fact, I rather enjoy it - I am the nerd that reads Fox News, watches house proceedings on C-SPAN, and starts dinner table conversations on modern political philosophy. But even so, there’s one question about political involvement that gets me every time: How can we reconcile faith in politics?

This question was addressed briefly in Tuesday’s class when we were discussing the various scenarios in which we determined how we would define liberty. As we discussed our opinions on matters like, “should this religious cult be allowed to have polygamous marriages?”, “should this man be allowed to wear a swastika on his sleeve?”, and “should this woman be allowed to harm herself through daily use of harmful substances?”, I quickly recognized that our political opinions and religious opinions often contradict. Though many of us believe that polygamous marriage is morally wrong, we still established parameters for which this man should politically be allowed to exercise his liberty through polygamous marriage. And that really, really bothers me.

Religion and morality go hand-in-hand. Though this is fiercely debated in the philosophical realm, I personally believe that there can be no moral law without a moral law-giver. Though our nation has clearly established a standard of right and wrong, (morality), at times, our sense of morality is distorted because we have tried to separate morality from its Maker. Thus, people start creating their own “truths” and demanding more liberty to practice what may or may not be distorted morality.

So, as Christians in politics, can we impose our inherently religious morality upon that of somebody else?

According to Mill, Paine, and even Scripture, the answer is no. Christ never tried to establish a theocracy (in fact, he called the theocrats a brood of vipers ... but that was because they were hypocrites). Our king actually made the theocrats really mad. But that aside, I believe we can still “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God’s what is God’s” (Matthew 22:21), without being hypocrites. As representatives, we can still defend the Christian morality in which we were called to live, though we may not be able to impose it on others through politics. In fact, giving them the liberty to choose it will be more effective than imposing it. By preserving our freedom to live moral lives and defend that of those who cannot defend themselves, we can effectively “become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life—in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor for nothing” (Philippians 2:15-16).

So, go ahead. Take the courage to live above reproach, without fault, holding out the word of life, even when you’re the only one.There is a perfect King coming who will establish a Kingdom where all this philosophical jargon will be obsolete. Until then, let this Kingdom be established in your heart, your mind, your life, your everything - and you will not labor in vain.