Jesus, a Democrat or a Republican?
Of course if Jesus lived today he would be a conservative Republican! I don’t think so. Neither do I think he’d be a liberal Democrat.
Jesus had the luxury of having a “kingdom not of this world.” Not only that, he had no interest in politics. He simply stated on one occassion, “give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and give to God what is God’s.”
I am convinced that Jesus saw the finitude and temporality of the political spectrum. I believe he saw its importance as well. Being God, He is sovereign over all and he appoints magistrates and causes all things to work together according to his counsel.
He could have been very political.
In fact, that’s the very thing a lot of his followers wanted, as they saw him as the reigning Messiah setting up his kingdom here on earth. Allow me to share with you what made Jesus different and why you should be intrigued…
First, he was a revolutionary.
Secondly, Jesus came to bring the gospel or good news of the kingdom of heaven, and he came to bring hope. He did not come to set up a physical kingdom or theocracy through coercion but a spiritual kingdom that would eventually merge with the physical; heaven interlocking with earth, the eternal with the temporal, the natural with the supernatural, science with magic, the unseen with the seen. Our hearts crave this sort of thing, for good reason, he has put eternity in our hearts..
Thirdly, politics is and always has been the fruit of the root. Jesus wasn’t about implementing rules that change behavior. He was about, and always has been about transforming the deepest recesses of the heart; or the root that produces the fruit.
So no, Jesus wouldn’t choose a team. He was a revolutionary. He shared things in common with both political parties.
Here’s a list that I came up with:
-Jesus would condemn the greed found amongst the wealthy and capitalistic, big-business republicans.
-He would praise the compassion and vision the democrats have toward eliminating poverty.
-Jesus would condemn the brutality of abortion.
-He would praise the zeal of conservatives to conserve judeo-christian values. But he might have condemned a misplaced moralism.
-He would praise the democrats stewardship of the environment.
-Yes, he’d have something to say about homosexuality and he’d condemn that as well. And yes you may disagree with him. But what if he knew something about the fabric of existence? What if he created it? What if we were called to bear his image and reflect his greatness in a way that had nothing to do with physical desires or passions? Jesus said there wouldn’t be marriage in heaven like we have here but we would be one with the Creator and in essence married to him. We as the bride and he as the bridegroom.
-Jesus would commend the compassion of Democrats toward immigrants.
-Jesus would condemn the Republican’s. cold animosity toward illegal immigrants and instead call for a compassionate plea to obey the law of the land and put in place systems for legalization that demonstrate Christ-exalting selfless love toward humanity and those less fortunate.
-Jesus would condemn the liberals attempt to be adamantly opposed to himself.(Primarily because people tend not to oppose JESUS, just a 20th century creation of him.)
-Jesus would condemn the pride and arrogance of all politicians.
-Jesus would say, do the labor-intensive work of transforming people’s hearts so that they become the kind of people that influence societies and governments. This isn’t done through manipulation but through a genuine and selfless concern for all people.
-Jesus would say, we win or lose the battle before it even gets to Washington. Whatever rulings or laws that may be enforced are just the fruit of what happened a long time ago in the hearts and minds of the people.
-Jesus would praise the pursuit of equality and creative expression, according to His blueprint for living.
-He would praise the pursuit of innovation and scientific discovery.
(If you were tallying up the final score, let me know what it was. I wasn’t keeping track!)
So Jesus came to bring good news and that good news shouldn’t be forced upon anyone. Jesus followers should be for diversity and the liberty that it flows from!
Jesus wouldn’t want people coerced into a system of believing, he’d want them to be drawn in by love, grace, and truth.
Jesus wouldn’t have a campaign with millions (or billions) of dollars at his disposal to manipulate people and saturate the media streams with attacks on opposing parties, one-sided perspectives, and broken promises.
Lastly, Jesus, as I’ve already said, would go for the root to change the fruit, since politicking is a servant to and the effect of what’s already happened in people’s hearts, not the cause of something new.
What’s interesting here, though, is that this change doesn’t start with a list of rules it starts by you giving up on rules altogether. That’s why Jesus says his yoke is easy and his burden is light. It starts with you being so outrageously blown away by his goodness and lovingkindness, and the reality of who he is, that you become a different kind of tree that produces a whole new kind of fruit…
I know I may have ruffled feathers on both sides. I ruffled mine as well. But isn’t that what Jesus did? Remember, he started a revolution and changed the world. Let’s get back to what Jesus would do.
