Jesus Is Neither Democratic nor Republican
(He is above them and greater than each.)

6/11/19

36 Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence. John 18
(I’m certain that this article will most likely cause quite a stir among some, and yet it should become obvious that our Lord was not and is not aligned to a certain political party, for the government of God is higher and without the flaws of man’s ways. And yet of course there are certain principles and issues that should be more important to us when we consider life and how we value it. But perhaps we should look deeper than just what these institutions outline and seemingly propose in their alignments and principles. Our adherence should go much deeper than how we consider each of these institutions that are actually man-made in their origin. And that is not to diminish the importance of how one would be devoted to each of these, but rather that there may well be principles in each of them that are good, some that are wrong, and yet all fall incredibly short of what God would intend for a nation or a group of people. My only purpose in sharing this article is for some folks to dig a little deeper and examine what is indeed higher and grander than either of these institutions. So having said that, don’t form any assumptions or opinions about me that probably aren’t the case, and at the very least, read this in its entirety. )

Our Lord is not earthly political, but rather He is heavenly minded because His kingdom is not of this earth. So then even when earthly conflicts occur, He is heavenly minded. The solutions to earthly problems are only to be found in the heavenly realms and kingdom. For Jesus, the solution to earthly politics is looking up to heavenly virtue, not balancing equal wrongs. If I am on the left, I am not with Jesus. If I am on the right, I am not with Jesus. And If I am in the center, I am not with Jesus because Jesus never answers earthly political problems with an earthly political see-saw, not even with a perfectly balanced one. Being in the center only ensures you will be equally wrong on both spectrums because neither ends of the teeter-totter were right to start with. For Jesus, the solution to Earthly politics is looking up to heavenly virtue, not balancing equal wrongs. If our faith calls us to love God with all your heart, soul, and mind, and to love our neighbor as ourselves, then people of both political persuasions fall incredibly short of Christ’s central doctrine of sacrificial love.

Actually no political party has the corner marketed on Christian beliefs despite the religious fervor and passionate faith-based endorsements. Neither one of them in spite of our soap-box pronouncements has all of God’s best interests at heart. Yes the killing of innocent life is and should be something of great importance to anyone who is a Christian. And yet it seems that we also so often neglect a baby that has been granted life, and now grows older, and now our governmental system ignores that child and is neglected because of unfair practices levied against low-income families. Now because of bureaucracy and red tape, that child that was once granted life, is now thrown on the trash heap of “sorry we can’t help you now.” And yet many use the argument that simply because a child is abandoned that the child should have never been born. And that is a despicable thing to even say. All life is and should be precious no matter what the disability or deformity. We can’t be a society that throws away life just for the sake of convenience or for any reason.

There are certainly great and glorious tasks at hand that both parties propose, and yet carrying out the gospel and preaching the good news of the kingdom is not one of them. But still many Christians continue to fall into the ever-promising allure of limiting the practice of their faith according to their political beliefs. Some are only willing to follow Jesus up to the point where it’s agreeable with their partisan ideologies.

Those who follow Christ must realize that the Kingdom of Heaven will never be fully realized through worldly governments or carnal politics, but rather through the love of Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit. Only through the scriptures will we ever be able to tell what the fruits of this type of Godly kingdom looks like. For the fruits of the spirit are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. No earthly governmental system, no matter how ethical it may pronounce itself to be, can ever begin to qualify or even exhibit these important Christian characters. Actually only the eternal kingdom of God’s government will ever fully be able to show us the way to exhibit these qualities and to have a setting in which either political party is perhaps seeking after.

When Christians adopt their faith through political agendas, Jesus’ example of freedom is exchanged for control, and the hope that He would instill unto others is exchanged for fear and hatred. Doing this then I believe, becomes a type of idolatry. Our belief system can then so easily be compromised by the many propagandas, agendas, and ideas that so often can dominate over our political systems.

Christianity then becomes compromised by ideas, propagandas, and agendas that have little to do with Jesus and more to do with gaining dominance over our political scenario. Then we so easily raise-up our spears and weapons of hatred against our neighbors. When these things happen one would begin to wonder what our real worship of Christ is about. For it is true that we are called to hate the sin but to love the sinner, and yet we have become so far removed from that now that politics can very easily replace the foundation of what our faith is about.

How did helping the poor become so politicized? How did accepting the foreigner and outcast become so debatable? How did providing aid to the poor become so objectionable? How did welcoming refugees become so argumentative? How did providing hope and assistance to immigrants become so divisive? How did things like justice, equality, and charity become so contentious? How did Christianity become so un-Christ-like?
When would such simple, foundational truths that are central tenets of the Christian faith like treating others as you would like to be treated, and loving your neighbor as yourself suddenly become so mixed-up and full of divisiveness? The answer of course would be because of politics.

Christians can become so insanely blinded by the many social culture wars, debates, and their own opinions about hot-button issues that they often forget what their lives should be foremost about. Instead of humbly seeking to follow the example of Christ, too many of us would rather remain faithful to our own political worldview.

We should know from the life of Christ that Jesus was neither a Democrat nor a Republican. He was detached and separate from the political institutions and movements of his day. As we know, He was arrested, put on trial, and ultimately tortured and died on a cross, because he refused to give-in to the governing authorities of the day. The governing system, which was the Roman Empire, legally brought to death Jesus, according to their established laws and bureaucratic policies. This all happened as we know in one of the most humiliating and painful examples in all of mankind.

The earliest generations of Christians were also killed and martyred for refusing to forsake the Gospel for any type of political cause or authority. They remained faithful to Jesus, despite having to sacrifice and give up everything. Yes, we can be involved in politics, and yes, political systems can bring about good and just outcomes (which Christians should support), but our political allegiances should never come at the expense of shortchanging the Gospel of Christ, and they should never be detrimental to those made in the image of God. If you hold this view, you must realize how restrictive and prohibitive politics actually are to carrying out God’s will.

This is why we should never allow our faith to become overshadowed by politicians, political systems, or the short-sighted motivations they represent. Those who are wise should be able to see how propaganda can easily carry many along with the supposed persuasions and policies that it promises. This then becomes ever so more obvious that the way of the cross is a narrow way and few seem to find it.

We are called upon to put God above everything else, including the political parties, our laws, and even our own self-interests. Everything else can so easily replace what should be first in our lives, and anything else can then so easily become our personal idols.

Stephen Hanson