“Where is the hope? I meet millions who tell me that they feel demoralized by the decay around us. Where is the hope? The hope that each of us have is not in who governs us, or what laws are passed, or what great things that we do as a nation. Our hope is in the power of God working through the hearts of people, and that’s where our hope is in this country; that’s where our hope is in life.”—Chuck Colson
We live in very stressful times. We are more politically polarized than at any other time in modern history, with both sides screaming at each other and news outlets becoming political propaganda machines. Piled on top of our dysfunctional democracy are huge global problems: climate change, tyrannical dictators increasing their influence around the world, wars and rumors of war, and the constant threat of nuclear war. Where is the hope?
WE’VE BEEN HERE BEFORE
Our world is chaotic and dehumanizing. But the world has been here before. The ancient pagan Roman culture was in many ways like ours today. While the rich viciously pursued their own happiness, Roman cities were crime-infested, marked by infanticide, slavery, prejudice, inequality, and neglect of the poor. Roman culture was dehumanizing. Those who rose to the top of Roman political power were much like those in our generation: aggressive, manipulating, not afraid to bend the truth, and willing to win at all costs.
But amid the inhumanity of the Roman empire, there arose a message of hope, a message that rang true to our deepest needs as humans, a message that “fit us” as humans. This message healed our brokenness and taught humans how to treat each other again, how to become human again, even how to wisely govern the world with truth and justice. And the message originated with a human, one human unlike any other human. This human lived a life that was singularly unique in human history. Here is his “resume,” if you will:
- He was born very poor and grew up in a backwater village.
- Although he was an ethnic minority, he was known for regularly associating with people from all racial and ethnic backgrounds.
- In a patriarchal world, he deliberately worked to elevate the status of women (and succeeded).
- His teaching has been described as the pinnacle of ethical thinking. But instead of giving us techniques to satisfy our selfish needs and pursue happiness or power, he said that the way to find ourselves is to “die” to our selfishness and live for others. He asked a haunting question that our world today still can’t answer: “What good is it to gain the whole world but lose your soul?”
- He initiated what he called a new “kingdom,” marked not by political power, money, violence, fame, or the pursuit of happiness, but marked by humility, sacrifice, forgiveness, reconciliation, friendship, and love.
- He even started a new society where these character traits of love and forgiveness prevail, a safe place where humans can learn to love across all boundaries, a place where humans can flourish. This society is now the largest single society in the world as well as the greatest social revolution in human history.
- He was not afraid to fight against the power structures that oppressed humans, ultimately sacrificing his own life on behalf of others.
- Unlike politicians, he meant what he said about sacrificial love. Instead of fighting to save his neck, he willingly submitted to a public lynching, the worst type of execution possible. He let his hands and feet be nailed to a tree, hanging humiliated and naked for hours until he slowly died from asphyxiation and loss of blood. He said he was doing this for every human, exhausting and overcoming the powers that oppress us. He claimed that this sacrifice was from God himself, intended to reconcile us to God and to each other.
- Like every person that was crucified, he died. He was dead for 2 days. But on the third day, his mutilated body was transformed into a new human, with an indestructible body. But he wasn’t some ephemeral spirit; he was still a human with a human body, but one that will never die again.
- Before ascending to heaven with this human body, he said “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” He promised to be with his followers always, and that where two or more of them came together he would be with them. He promised that if we remain “in him” and allow him to “remain in us,” we can actually become human again, for the first (and lasting) time.
HOPE IN A PAGAN CULTURE
I’m sure you have guessed who I am talking about: Jesus of Nazareth. It cannot be overestimated how much Jesus has changed history and humanity. The values that we now take for granted –values such as telling the truth, caring for the weak and poor, treating our enemies with respect, and standing up for justice– all originated in the good news of Jesus. When Jesus said, “all authority on earth has been given to me,” he wasn’t joking. But Jesus revealed his Lordship not through the ways of this world and not by aligning himself with a political party. In fact, the very instrument of Roman power—a cross—became the symbol of the new kind of power Jesus unleashed.
For almost 300 years after the resurrection of Jesus, the Roman pagan culture tried everything it could to wipe out the message of Christianity. Christians were lampooned, harassed, discriminated against, and murdered. And yet, all the “power” structures in Rome were no match to the power and truth of Jesus, and Rome bowed its knee to Jesus and admitted that “Jesus really is Lord.”
THE ALLURE OF WORLDLY POWER
Without question, Jesus “defeated” all the powers of the dehumanizing Roman culture. But then something happened. Once Christianity became the “national” religion of Rome, it became easy for those still seeking political power to cozy up to the Christians and use Christianity for their own political agendas. And worldly power became alluring to Christians. History reveals the inestimable good of Christianity: Christians stopped infanticide, emancipated women, abolished slavery, created hospitals, established orphanages, and created the first colleges and universities.[1] But history also reveals the tragedies when the church aligned itself with “power.” As Philip Yancey wrote, “C.S. Lewis observed that almost all crimes of Christian history have come about when religion is confused with politics. Politics, which always runs by the rules of ungrace, allures us to trade away grace for power.”[2] The church has been at its best when it resisted the allure of political power, and when instead it spoke truth to power and was not afraid to be critical of ungodly behavior and policies. As Martin Luther King, Jr. said: “The church must be reminded it is the conscience of the state. It must be the guide and critic of the state, and never its tool.”[3]
WHERE IS THE HOPE?
We find ourselves again in a world gone crazy and getting crazier every day. But we have been here before, and the faithful God is still in control (as he always has been). Christians are hope-filled people because they have seen that life doesn’t have to be lived this way. And just as he has for the last 2,000 years, God changes things on this earth through his Spirit working through people like you and me who align ourselves with both the hope and the methods of the God of the cross.
That means every area of life on this earth can be impacted (and changed) by the Spirit and message of Jesus, even politics. Although the current political climate is cause for despair, we don’t need to shrink back in fear or retreat in despair. Neither should we adopt the demeaning, bullying, power-hungry methods of the current leaders of the political parties. Christians have a very hopeful and effective response to this deadlock and chaos. What can we do? Let me offer some hopeful suggestions:
- Pray. A posture of prayer focuses our attention away from ourselves and our agendas and onto God. The first thing we should always do is pray, and our churches should be known as houses of prayer for all nations.
- Have the Mind of Christ, Not that of a Republican, Democrat, or Libertarian. Our first allegiance must always be to Jesus Christ, not any political party. Our first inclination when considering any issue is not what is the “conservative” or “liberal” position, but always “what is the mindset of Jesus Christ on this issue?” We must also be careful that our political affiliations do not crowd out the primary task of conveying the good news of God’s love. Does the voice of our political affiliation shout so loudly that no one can hear the gospel of love? When we engage in political discussions or post our thoughts on Facebook, do we check Jesus at the door? Or does our Christian thinking involve and inform not only what we think but how we convey our thoughts?
- Be the Church for the World. One of the most important things we can do politically is to be actively involved in a local church. Politics is not the hope of the world; the church saved by and submitting to Jesus Christ is the hope of the world. Thus, as Jonathan Leeman writes, “the church’s most powerful political word is the gospel. And the church’s most powerful political testimony is being the church.“[4] Because that is the case, Leeman urges us to “switch our primary political loyalties to our local churches.”[5] If our primary political loyalty is to the church, that means that instead of thinking that all public problems should be addressed politically, and instead of “making pronouncements on political issues from afar,” I begin seeing real needs of real people in my church and my community, and I ask: what am I doing and what can I do?
- Practice Kindness. Practically speaking, one of the best ways we can be the church in the world is to show kindness and love to other people, to “practice kindness.” This emphasis was what Paul and Peter constantly repeated to the churches in the first-century world, a world very much as pagan as our own.
Our hope does not ultimately depend on any political party, and the salvation of this desperate world shall come only through Jesus Christ as we, the church, bear witness to him. As Jesus said, “You are the salt of the earth…you are the light of the world. Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven” (Matt. 5:13, 14, 16).
You can read more about hope in a dehumanizing world in my new book, How to be Human in an Inhuman World: Colossians for Daily Living, available on Amazon and through Sulis International (www.sulisinternational.com).
[1] See Alvin J. Schmidt, Under the Influence: How Christianity Transformed Civilization (Grand Rapids: Zondervan,2001), 8.
[2] Philip Yancey, What’s So Amazing About Grace? (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1997), 233.
[3] Martin Luther King, Jr., Strength to Love (Augsburg Fortress, 1981), 64.
[4] Jonathan Leeman, How the Nations Rage: Rethinking Faith and Politics in a Divided Age (Nashville, TN: Nelson Books, 2018), 146. For a further discussion of how Christians should view and be involved in politics, see the chapter “Baal-Politika” in my book, The Judge and the Left-Footed Leaders: Judges and Ruth for Postmodern Times.
[5] Ibid, 131.