The kingdom of God is not America
How we use power matters.
It is not a question of whether we use power. As citizens of the United States, we all already have power, and the choices we make are a use of power.
Voting is a use of power. Not voting is a use of power. Organizing politically is a use of power. Indifference is a use of power, too. When those we elect to represent us misuse their power, we are often rightfully outraged. But they represent we the people; they reflect us. We are outraged by ourselves, and our own misuse of power.
The questions particularly relevant for people of faith are “how will we use power?” and “why will we use power that way?”.
When we seek America as an ultimate solution instead of the kingdom of God, we get dysfunction, defined for this series as a cycle of ideology, division, and burnout. When our faith is first a stronger America, we are then compelled to fight the so-called radicals who hold views that oppose our ideology. Stopping those who are inhibiting American greatness becomes an existential necessity. Ideology and division inevitably lead to burnout, and then we repeat the cycle of dysfunction the next election cycle when we start again with ideology as the path to meaning and American greatness.
Dysfunction becomes the air we breathe, the culture, the spoken and unspoken way we do things. It becomes the story. Its outcome is events like January 6, where police officers lost their lives defending the Capitol—and the people inside who work there, and our constitutional processes.
In political work as professionals, and as Americans who participate, there is both intentional dysfunction and its more passive form, intellectual dishonesty. To clarify, intentional dysfunction is when we twist the truth to make it sound worse than it is so that voters become afraid and therefore motivated to stay engaged. It’s when we make fun of our opponents particularly through nonsensical statements. (We do this because it works, and there isn’t necessarily an economically valid alternative to raise money, pay staffers, and win votes). Intellectual dishonesty is a passive form of dysfunction: it’s when we say things like, “we must stop the radical socialists from taking over the country” to make us look heroic—without advocating for capitalism and the steps necessary to create a truly free market.
In either type of dysfunction, “stopping the radicals” is a fake construct. Not because there aren’t bad ideas, but because all are invited into the kingdom of God.
When we start with the kingdom of God, we are free from the urgency of upholding American dominance, capitalism, freedom, security, or prosperity. I am talking specifically in the context of political organizing, and the motivating, controlling idea that drives activism.
People of faith—particularly followers of Christ—need an organizing motive to define how we will use the power we already have and why we will use it that way.
From a Christian perspective, our democratic-republic—while a life-giving construct for many—will fail. Democracy in the end will fail because democracy is not the kingdom of God.
We can therefore prolong and strengthen our democratic-republic when we do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with God. We can strengthen the United States when we love God and love our neighbors as we love ourselves.
But what does that mean—as a Republican? A Democrat? A conservative? A progressive? An independent—or any other political identity or category?
It means that socialism is not the kingdom of God. It means that capitalism is not the kingdom of God. It means that life matters—and that in the end, none of us will have found a way to perfectly uphold human life at all times in all circumstances for all people.
Collaboration is therefore an outright necessity. And it has roots in the American founding: from the “Join, or Die” cartoon published by Benjamin Franklin to Washington’s advice in his Farewell Address to restrain the spirit of party.
We can therefore, as people of faith, begin with collaboration as a use of power, and do so because we wish to demonstrate that our final hope is in the kingdom of God—in something bigger than the current political climate. And we can do so because we wish to address the lived reality of our fellow Americans, not political ideals that may or may not be effective once implemented.
The remaining journal entries in this series will explore the cycle of dysfunction in more detail, including the roots of ideology, division, and burnout, the path out of each to freedom, and will conclude with a look at quality craftsmanship in politics and ways to live a creative lifestyle.
WEEKLY ACTION POINT:
Take a look at the vision overview as we look to produce a biannual publication. Take time to pray in nature about your vocation or calling. Then, you can set up a monthly recurring donation as a Liberatus Advocate at the tab below. You can also write Volume Two with us by responding to a one-question interview. We will compile responses to the question about the future you imagine into a new vision asset to guide the stories that we tell, the research that we include, and the partner organizations that we fund.
Mission: Inspire American Unity
Liberatus offers inspiration for American unity in beautiful, well-researched illustrated journals, written by professionals across the political spectrum, to help us all choose unity, build endurance, and become the leaders who make our country more just and free for the next generation.
Journal Entry #142
ISSUE 021: THE BEGINNING, AGAIN — PART 1