Here is my concern: we are being shaped more by our politics than we are by the gospel of Jesus Christ. Christians in America are being formed far more by donkeys and elephants than the lamb. I have heard and witnessed many examples in recent years of people leaving their local church because of their political views. But where are the stories of people leaving their political views because of their local church? It makes me ask the question: which is the religion? 

Many Christians are in church little more than an hour a week. But how many hours do they spend watching Fox News or CNN, listening to right-wing or left-wing podcasts, scrolling their Facebook news feed that confirm their biggest fears about the other side? When this becomes the case, then our preferred news pundits begin to disciple us more than our pastors and fellow sisters and brothers in Christ. When I begin to find more in common with the atheist of the same political party than the Christian of the opposite party, then my party has become my church, my religion, and my god. Statements such as, “You can’t be a Christian and vote Democrat/Republican” demonstrate that I find loyalty to a political party to be as essential as loyalty to Christ. This is not just bad logic, it is idolatry. It is sin.

We in the Church in America have underestimated how much our political activity disciples us. We have fooled ourselves into thinking we can engage in politics without those politics forming our character and the patterns of our mind. I cannot support a candidate or party platform without somehow being discipled by that candidate and platform.

Let me give a couple of examples, ones from the left and the other from the right. To be clear, these are just two examples among many.

 I know many Christians who lean left and primarily support Democratic candidates. Many on the right will say, “But what about abortion? How can you be a Christian and support killing babies?” Christian Democrats have a number of responses to these questions. Most dislike abortion as much as Christians on the right, but believe the best way to lower abortions is through social programs that support the mother and child on the one hand and prevent unwanted pregnancies on the other. Whether or not one agrees with this policy approach, the goal is the same as the traditionally pro-life Christian on the right: protect the life of the unborn by reducing the number of abortions. But here is the problem that I see: it is incredibly difficult to align oneself with the Democratic party and the pro-choice platform without being discipled by that party and platform. One may have the best of intentions, but consuming a regular diet of media and rhetoric that minimizes the life, value, and importance of the unborn begins to shape one’s attitude and posture towards the unborn. When I watch and read left-wing media, I hear many stories about women who are negatively affected by right-wing abortion policies. I have compassion for these women. But I do not get to hear the stories of the unborn who never get a chance to speak because they were aborted under some of the most liberal abortion laws in the world. Christians are called to give a voice to the voiceless. This includes the unborn. But the Christian who has been more shaped by the pro-choice platform than by God’s Word may find it difficult to continue seeing the unborn as worthy of a voice.

Now we turn to the right. The Republican party has increasingly taken a harder stand against illegal immigration. There are good – and even Christian – reasons to support policies for more secure borders. The right-wing Christian can make a good and sincere argument that the left has not handled this problem well and with the seriousness it deserves. The Christian can in good faith contend that the safety and wellbeing of our communities would be improved with stricter policies on illegal immigration. This is consistent with the commandment to love your neighbor as yourself. But, again, here is the problem: it is incredibly difficult to align oneself with the Republican party and its platform on immigration without being discipled by that platform. Even with the best intentions, consuming a diet of right-wing media will lead one to view the immigrant with suspicion. The rhetoric on the right in regards to this issue is frankly abhorrent and leads one to think that the majority of illegal immigrants are sub-human rapists and murderers from “shithole” countries. What I find ironic is that the Bible is far more explicit in its command to care for the immigrant than to care for the unborn. To be clear, I believe it is Christian and biblical to care for both (this is not an either/or). My point is simply that there is far more in the Bible about the immigrant than the unborn. Nevertheless, while many Christians on the right would never dream of voting for a pro-choice candidate, they do not hesitate to vote for a candidate who regularly dehumanizes the immigrants whom God calls us to love.

So what is the Christian to do? Unfortunately neither of our political parties, platforms, or candidates fully reflect the vision of God and God’s Kingdom. To make one party out to be the “good” party or even the “Christian” party while claiming the other is the “evil” party is disingenuous (and idolatrous). We must confess, however we vote, that our party and our candidate fall far short of the glory of God. We must regularly audit our news and media consumption and ask ourselves the hard questions: how is this media shaping my character and the patterns of my mind? Is this rhetoric helping or hindering my ability to love God and neighbor? It might be helpful to simply compare how much time we spend watching and reading the news versus the time we spend in worship, prayer, and reading of scripture. 

However we vote, we must remember that before we are Republicans, Democrats, or Independents, before we are Americans – we are Christians. And thus when our party and our country inevitably speak and act in un-Christian ways, we must be willing to say, “No. That may be the Republican way or the Democrat way or the American way but it is not the Jesus way.” It is easy to call out the “other” party for their sin. But we must be just as quick to call out “our” party of its sin.

Finally – and most importantly – we must remember to not love this country too much. Do not get me wrong, we are called to seek the well-being of this place in which we live. But this is not our home. America is temporary, not eternal. God’s plan for the salvation of the world does not hinge on the United States of America or its leaders. Our approach to American politics is not the center but the periphery of our lives. The center is the Kingdom of God. If we succeed in “Making America Great Again,” but fail in Making Christianity Christlike Again, then we have failed as the Church of Jesus Christ. The role of the Church is certainly to bless the city in which we live, but that blessing does not look like making the city great in the eyes of the city. That blessing looks like being the body of Christ, loving those that the city views as less-than and not worthy of a voice, touching the untouchable, loving the unlovable, healing the sick, raising the dead.

So to my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, my fellow citizens of Heaven exiled here in the United States of America: come next week, vote your conscience. But let us not forget who we are.

I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, on the basis of God’s mercy, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your reasonable act of worship. Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of the mind, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect.

Romans 12:1-2 (NRSVUE)