Jesus for President?
I learned something new recently. I was visiting family down South when I discovered that Jesus is running for President. At least I think he's running for President. I know that he is at least running for some form of public office. But I figured, if Jesus is running for anything, it's probably for the top position in politics, right? The funny thing is that Jesus has started his political career in Alabama, of all places!
How do I know that Jesus is running for public office? I saw his campaign sign. I’m serious. As I was traveling down a major highway in Birmingham, I looked up and saw the huge words “Elect Jesus.” They were even red, white, and blue. This got me thinking. I wonder what party he is running with? I wonder where his campaign headquarters are? And then I thought, what are his policies on Social Security reform?
Okay—I know that the sign is just a joke. And whoever put it there probably meant well. And I know that Jesus isn’t really running for office. But it did get me thinking a lot about faith and politics. It is amazing how many people make Jesus more of a political leader than a spiritual one. And this is scary to me.
Mankind has the capacity to turn anything good into great evil. Even faith. And the temptation grows even stronger when you mix faith with gaining political power. I mean let’s think about it. There have been some incredibly horrible acts done by the church, all in the name of Jesus. Do the Crusades ring a bell? And how about slavery? In America, it was once backed heavily by the church. To paraphrase Brennan Manning, there's no greater harm done than in the name of religious conviction.
However, I really don't think Jesus cared much about politics. Of course he cared some, but look how little discourse he gave to political issues compared to his teachings on what it means to be a spiritually authentic people. In fact, one could make an argument that one of the things that upset people the most about him is that he didn’t get involved in the political scene. Remember the times they tried to make him president (your Bible might say king) by force? Each time he ran away so they couldn’t. What about when they asked Jesus where he stood on paying taxes to Rome? Jesus reply was something to the effect of, “Look, I don’t care who you pay your taxes to. Caesar's face is on the coin, so give it to him. I’m more concerned with deeper issues.”
I do think that we should be involved and even active politically, just not in the name of Jesus. In other words, let’s not be so bold as to say that we have Jesus’ stance on every political issue locked down. Let's remember that Jesus’ movement was not a political movement but rather a redemptive spiritual movement that leads his followers into the embrace of God.
Jesus for president? No, thanks. I’d rather not reduce him to that.
Jason Mitchell is a teaching pastor at LCBC, a community of people whose lives are being changed by Christ. He lives in Manheim, PA with his wife Jenny and daughter Sienna.
© 2005 Jason Mitchell. Used by permission of the author. All rights reserved.
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