Political Angst

I have a couple of pet peeves that have been aggravated this week. Pet peeve number 1 is email forwards that are factually incorrect. Someone has an agenda, usually political, and they forward something inflammatory without any regard for the truth. I only ever receive these from Christians. Maybe unbelievers do it too. But it bothers me deeply when Christians sin against such a clear Scriptural command (after all, not bearing false witness is one of the 10 Commandments) in their own moral outrage over something that often Scripture doesn’t address at all.

I guess this first pet peeve is just a sub point of my next one, which is dogmatism over something that the Scripture is not dogmatic. Dogma is doctrine laid down by an authority. Dogma is a very good thing when the authority laying it down is the Scripture. To be dogmatic means to assert strong opinions on dogma in an arrogant manner. Dogma is one thing. Dogmatism is another. And dogmatism is especially dishonoring to God when the dogma we are arrogantly defending is not laid down in Scripture at all. We do this ALL THE TIME in conservative Christianity.

I’m currently contemplating political dogmatism dressed in Christian terminology. The moral outrage Christians generate over political issues, at least in my culture, is loud and angry. Every third rainy Tuesday or so, the angst is tied to something Scripture actually dogmatically teaches. But the vast majority of the time, at least in my experience, the angst is over something the individual perceives as righteous or unrighteous but that Scripture itself only addresses in either very general terms or doesn’t address at all.

My convictions about the relationship of my Christian beliefs to my political beliefs are fairly simple. My clear, God given obligation is to pray for my leaders (I Timothy 2:1-2) and obey the laws of my land (Romans 13:1). That is Scriptural dogma. Beyond that, I have a realistic understanding of the role that government plays in my life. I certainly have no expectation that government will save me. I also don’t believe that it will destroy me, if I define that Biblically. God’s kingdom functions equally well in religious freedom and religious oppression (arguably actually better in oppression). I am daily thankful for my religious freedom, but it won’t save me. The power people give the government to ruin their day is amazing to me. It has become a god – usually a mean god that ruins their day, but a god nonetheless.

Of course, it’s easy for me to talk today. Government is not knocking on my door requiring anything oppressive from me. I have had a few times (mostly driving tickets that I thought were unreasonable and 1 presidential election that stressed me out in particular) where government made me mad and I felt angst and anger out of proportion to the power they truly have over me in terms of God’s kingdom. These times raised my awareness of the power I gave it to ruin my day. I encourage all of us to examine our reactions to political issues – our angst, our anger, our worry – and hold those reactions up to eternal Biblical truth. Does your reaction reflect confidence in God’s eternal kingdom purposes? Do you trust God when He says He sets up your leaders (Romans 13:1)? Do you believe that God is sovereign over even oppressive governments? Do you allow yourself to violate clear Scriptural commands (such as against malice or lying) in defense of your political views? Do you love those who have different political views? Using the I Corinthians 13 definition of love, do you speak rudely to those with a different view or do you give them the benefit of the doubt? Are you kind and patient in your disagreements? Or do you write them off losing hope for anything good?

This blog is read among many countries. For many of you, this may be a non-issue. But if you are experiencing angst, anger, and worry over your government’s decisions, I hope you will take time to examine them against what Scripture clearly states in dogmatic terms. And make sure your dogmatism matches Scripture.