It’s been eye-opening to watch America’s response to COVID19. In some ways, it’s been exciting to see the love and resiliency of our people as we come together to fight an invisible enemy. In other ways, I’ve found myself dismayed at the deepening cultural and political divide which seems to only widen in the presence of a crisis.
The divide runs deep
On one side, I see a progressive Left terrified of death. On the other side, I see a conservative Right terrified of tyranny. There has been such an instinctual, emotionally charged gravitation to one of these two poles. The Left holds almost religious devotion to the modern priesthood of scientists and experts, while the Right seethes with contempt for these elites, their ever-changing computer models, and their seeming lack of common sense.
I naturally feel the urge every day to run to one of these two extremes. Anyone who knows me can guess which extreme that is. For whatever reason, God wired me with a love for risk, skepticism, and messy liberty. There is one problem though: I’m also a Christian.
Christians live in a political “no man’s land”
Christians are aliens. We don’t comfortably fit in either of these extremes. Over the past few weeks, I have had to temper my political instincts with a love for my neighbor and obedience to God-ordained authority. It’s really hard. As much as my flesh instinctively wants to wave the flag of reckless, bloody civil liberty at any cost, I also serve a God who commands me to “deny myself, take up my cross, and follow Him.” I think I fail more often than I succeed. My acquaintances on social media can attest.
My left-leaning Christian friends are not off the hook though either. For those who feel more at home placing faith in people and institutions, or who feel paralyzed with fear at the thought of a silent killer coming for them or a loved one, God has greater peace, wisdom, and even shrewdness to offer them as well.
Christians have always had to straddle the middle between opposing cultural forces. We follow a Savior who was The Truth, yet full of grace. We are called to do justice, yet love mercy. We are commanded to be “wise as serpents, and innocent as doves.” It’s a hard path to follow because it’s the path of Jesus- and we all know how His path ended. No matter which political extreme your instincts and desires naturally lean toward, Jesus has work to do on you. There’s always an adjustment that needs to be made, always another branch to prune as we are conformed into the image of Christ.
And it’s always uncomfortable.
Our important role
That’s why I believe Christians have a special role to play in healing the deep divide in our nation. We stand right in the middle of that divide. If you are a Christian who leans Left, God has work to do on you. If you are a Christian who leans Right, God has work to do on you. No matter what side you’re on, you are specially equipped to address certain fears in our culture and to point to Jesus.
CS Lewis said, “He [Jesus] came to this world and became a man in order to spread to other men the kind of life He has — by what I call “good infection.” Every Christian is to become a little Christ. The whole purpose of becoming a Christian is simply nothing else.” In this crisis I’ve been blessed to see Christians slowly, sometimes painfully, move outside political comfort zones towards something that looks more like Jesus. I hope we can keep doing it. Our country needs a “virus” like that.
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