In the upcoming election, the question that ought to be on the hearts of all Christian believers is, "How should I approach my voting decision?" About 25 years ago, Stanley Hauerwas and William Willimon wrote a book provocatively titled, "Resident Aliens." "Resident Aliens"had to do with the way that we Christians understand our fundamental identity and our calling in contemporary America. The idea behind this title, "Resident Aliens," came from a quote from the Apostle Paul: "But our citizenship is in heaven" (Philippians 3:20-21). In other words, our primary identity is not as Ohioans or Americans. As Christians we are first and foremost citizens of the kingdom of God.
Hauerwas and Willimon argue that we must regain our vision of being a distinct community with a calling to be faithful to our Lord Jesus Christ. Christians need to be different than people around us and have a distinctive way of engaging in issues that affect our society.
Christians need to choose civility. Every time we turn on the TV, people are screaming at each other. Politicians and newscasters have particularly contributed to the lack of civility in our country. Civility is simply public politeness. Civility means that we display tact, moderation and good manners toward people who are different than us, or with whom we disagree. Civility is not just public; it is internal. Civility is a heart commitment in which we want to see other people flourish. With civility, we're committed to basic respect for others, even those with whom we strongly disagree, because we believe that every person is made in the image of God. One basis for selecting or rejecting a particular candidate for office would be discerning whether she or he displays civility. Are they modest? Humble? Do they show basic respect for other people? Do they honor the image of God in folks with whom they strongly disagree? Or by way of contrast, do they demean others? Do they engage in personal attacks? Does their manner destroy the possibility for respectful dialogue? Are they vulgar? Are they boastful?
Christians need a framework for voting. There are any number of "voter guides" that claim to be Christian, most of them contain issues for which there is almost no biblical basis. They simply are the talking points of one of the political parties. We are in political season now and we need to decide on a Christian political framework before settling on a candidate or party. A friend of mine, who was the chief lobbyist for the US Conference of Catholic Bishops in Washington, has put together what I believe are some very helpful guidelines for Christians of any stripe - evangelical, non-evangelical, Roman Catholic, mainline Protestant, charismatic, Pentecostal - for individual political engagement. Here are the guidelines for Christian political engagement:
We should not tell people how to vote or for whom to vote, but we must not avoid advocating for certain "political" changes that are expressions of biblical justice.
As Christians, everything we do in life should be driven by the principles taught by Jesus. However, our principles must not lead us to a place where we cease to deal with the present realities. Just because we can't fix everything, it doesn't mean that we can't fix some things. We must do what we can, whenever we can, to help whomever we can. Therefore, compromise is not a dirty word for Christians.
As modeled by Dr. King, we should stand up against injustice everywhere, but we should do so with civility. Answering evil with evil is not an option for the followers of Jesus. The means by which we achieve the end is, in some ways, more important than the end itself. We always must honor the image of God even in people with whom we strongly disagree.
Engaging in the political arena always comes with its own set of challenges and temptations. As followers of Jesus, we should be fully engaged, but all the while, we must be wary of being used as a tool for political gain. We always must remember that politicians and their supporters approach the church and us as Christians with agendas other than the promotion of Christ and his kingdom!
Vineyard Columbus is an extraordinarily diverse church. We have members in our church of every political stripe - from the far right to the far left. We all have different life experiences and have been shaped by different cultural forces. As pastor of this diverse church, I believe there's nothing more important for each of us to put into practice during this political season than the words of the Apostle Paul in Philippians 2:1-4:
"Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others."