- Matt Friedeman says too many church people listen to or read Sean Hannity and Taylor Swift and their ilk far more than they do the Bible or engage other means of grace.
So, during class this week, a seminary student asked me how to handle a congregation that wanted him to talk about politics and the coming election.
I have spent plenty of my adult life in the media (print, radio, TV) and have seen something rather dismaying on the American political scene—we have digressed more and more into a team-sport mentality. We choose our side and then collapse into defending it and demonizing the opposition. Bifurcation has become the order of the day, and when preachers are asked to stake a position on which team they prefer, it can quickly devolve into an ugly situation.
Along with being a professor I am also a pastor. And so the dilemma is constantly before me as to whether I jump into the murky waters of political controversy or seek safer waters. I usually opt for controversy, not by choosing a favorite of flawed candidates but by blaming who really needs to be blamed for our national mess. Christopher Dawson has noted that Christianity is the “soul of Western civilization. And when the soul is gone, the body putrefies.”
We, the Body of Christ, are that soul. And because of our lack of grace, we are gone in many helpful senses, and thus, America has rotted on our watch.
Jesus said, “You are the salt of the earth,” and “You are the light of the world.” He was talking to His disciples then, and, alas, He talks to us today through them. He wasn’t talking to the equivalent in His day of CNN, MSNBC, FoxNews, The Washington Post, the New York Times, National Review, or the longer list of secular change agents in our world. He was, and is, talking to His disciples and the Church. And it behooves no one to participate in what has become standard fare of a blame game concerning who we think is the cultural culprit today, whether our finger points to Republicans, Democrats, the President, Congress, the Supreme Court, state/local governments, or popular culture.
Who’s to blame for our communities’ darkness and our institutions’ rot? The Light, the Salt (more to the point, the lack thereof). That’s you and me.
Many listeners of talk radio and the 24/7 news cycle of your favorite network assume they know all they need to know to make an informed decision about the coming election. But mark it well – the media (conservative or liberal) are not biblically instituted “means of grace” and thus ought to be viewed as dubious guides to responsible vote-casting.
But if you have been seeking God through scripturally recognized “means” like daily prayer and Bible study, regular fasting, church and discipleship attendance, the Lord’s Supper, and regular works of mercy among the needy, then God has probably already revealed His will on matters of voting. Sean Hannity’s and Taylor Swift’s advice will not be necessary.
But here’s the sad point: Too many church people (the Salt and the Light, remember) listen to or read Hannity and Swift and their ilk far more than they do the Bible or engage other means of grace.
On the talk radio show I once hosted I would take a contrarian view to voting on Election Day. While everybody was cajoling their webs of influence to get out and vote, I would be saying, “If you are informed about the candidates and the issues, get out and vote. If you are not thus informed, do Mississippi and America a favor and stay home.”
Still, what if the same were said to the Church – if you have a real personal relationship with Jesus and daily seek Him in what the Church has referred to as prayer and Bible study, are involved in worship at Church and in a discipleship group, regularly take communion, fast to seek His mind and regularly minister to both the poor and the unchurched on a routine basis…then vote.
If you don’t regularly engage in those means of grace – why not?
And if you don’t, can the Lord really count on you to vote in a way that reflects His concerns?
Matt Friedeman
