RKMBs Forums .::Important::. Deep Topics The Politics of God

While Jesus preached a very important message of social justice and directly opposed the religious establishment of the day, His message was totally incompatible with the self-centeredness that typifies postmodern liberals and conservatives alike. If you must have examples, according to Jesus, it's not the government's job to care for the poor and oppressed - it's ours as individuals. Jesus actually concerns Himself very little with the role of government, and went to great lengths not to identify His revolution as an earthly, political one. "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's..." Ring a bell? Couple verses after "Whoever has no sin cast the first stone", we get "Go, and leave your life of sin." I think that if He were physically here walking among us, Jesus would be truly saddened by the state of affairs in this country, but not terribly surprised. The self-appointed guardians of morality give little thought if any to the condition of those less fortunate, while the self-appointed seekers of justice live such morally bankrupt lives that for either one to claim to walk in the footsteps of Jesus Christ is an out-and-out sacrilege.

Fact is, it's impossible to understand the true message of the Old or New Testaments until we grasp the balance of personal morality and social justice that together make up what Jesus called righteousness. The one who cites Scripture to condemn an example of personal immorality yet overlooks a blatant abuse of the downtrodden is just as wrong as the one who invokes Jesus whenever it becomes necessary to stick it to the man yet gives absolutely no thought to the clear ethical guidelines coming from the mouth of the very same Jesus. We've had politicians of all stripes claiming God is on our side for most of the history of this country, yet in one direction or another they've almost all missed the truth completely. Until we are prepared not only to take on the divine mandate to seek and create justice in this world but also to ourselves live in a way that pleases the Almighty and not just the almighty self, we have no business claiming His purpose somehow aligns with our own. If anything, it should be the other way around, instead of trying to fit God into our own little political boxes.