Plague Journal (65): how shall we live together in this world?

I was a political partisan for many years. In my youth I was a devout Leftist, then later I gravitated to the Right. In both cases I was earnest, a true believer. And when it came to voting, I never missed.

But that has all changed. I'm still a bit of a political junkie, but I am like Yeats' horseman toward the political scene: I cast a cold (but I hope observant) eye as I pass by. There are always more important things.

In chapter 12 of Romans the Apostle Paul is giving instructions to the Christians in Rome, and he cites some of these "more important things." Beginning at verse 9 we have a section-header in the ESV which says, "Marks of the True Christian." Read the whole section, but here are a few highlights:

Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. (v.9)

Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. (v.12)

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. (v.14) 

If possbile, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. (v.18)

Now, I am in no way suggesting that I myself am a model of this sort of behavior. But there you have it: what the ESV editors describe as "marks of the true Christian." I want to connect these "marks" with what I have been talking about in the last three posts (here, here, & here). That is, the relationship of the Christian to politics, or how the Christian ought to think about politics.

If we only think about politics as the stuff that politicians do, partisan battles in Congress and in the media, talking-points and talking-heads, political rhetoric intended to sway voters (with truth the first casualty), then my advice is to cast a very cold eye indeed. But it is also important to remember that politics is about people. Not simply about joining a faction, but about answering the question, how shall we live together in this world?

And with that question in mind, we come back to Paul's answer for believers. Christian, Paul seems to say, here are some ways you might seek to live in relation to others in your particular community. For me this is all aspirational. There is no element of Paul's advice above that I grade out well on. I am no model for any of this. But we are nothing if we do no aspire heavenward. As Paul says elsewhere in this same section of Romans, "Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord."

These are your instructions, Christian. They apply to relations inside and outside the church. They are "political" instructions as much as they are spiritual. Let genuine love be the hallmark of your political interactions. This is our political calling in the Lord. If you want to be salt and light, this is the way to do it. Walk in love.