The Heart of Christ in the Heat of an Election Year

By Dr. Barrett Mosbacker

July 21, 2024

We need a national divorce. We need to separate by red states and blue states.¹

We live in an intense period of division and conflict in American society. Americans are increasingly segregated into blue and red camps, each loathing the other and convinced that the “other side” is evil and out to destroy the country. Some have suggested secession from the Union, and others have suggested that civil war may be our only recourse. Many people do not put political stickers on their cars or political signs in their yards for fear of reprisal. Most would not wear a MAGA hat in a New York subway or a “Vote for Biden” t-shirt in the heart of Texas.

Over the next few months, our attention will turn to the upcoming presidential election. The rhetoric and slander will heat up. Pundits will pour contempt on the “other side,” social media will be polluted with conspiracy theories and fabricated stories, and the media will focus on the political horse race instead of reasoned discussion around the critical issues facing our nation. One commentator observed, “We have grown less religious, but that is because politics has become our religion [emphasis added].”²

As the election approaches, we must step back from the alarmist agitation of 24-hour cable news, the anxiety of social media, and the hysterical hyperbole that dominates an election season. Let us pause and consider how, as Christians, we can conduct ourselves responsibly and respectfully in the political process.

We must think deeply and carefully about how we reflect the heart of Christ during a presidential election. Teaching students to think biblically about everything is the foundational principle upon which our schools are built. This begins with us. As Jesus said, the student will be like his teacher:

Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit? A student is not above his teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like his teacher (Luke 6:39–40).

As we navigate this election year, I want to share a few biblical principles to guide our conduct as Christians. By following these principles, we can engage faithfully in the political process in a way that honors Christ and upholds the witness of the Gospel.

Engagement in the Political Process Is Important and Good

We are citizens of two kingdoms — what Saint Augustine called the City of God and the City of Man. We have responsibilities to both; as Jesus said,

Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s (Luke 20:25).

In the City of Man, public policy affects the quality of our lives, our culture’s character, and our country’s future. Policy promotes virtue or vice, advances justice or injustice, impacts our economic welfare, enhances liberty or restricts it, and more.

Followers of Christ must care about such things and seek to promote through public policy that which is biblical and, therefore, good, true, and beautiful. Christians are to engage vigorously and thoughtfully in the political process, for as Edmund Burke is attributed to have said, “All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.”

Political engagement is a noble enterprise. At its best, “politics is about the right ordering of our lives together. It cannot be unimportant because justice is never unimportant.”³ God expects us to engage in causes — including political ones — that promote righteousness and justice. But our political engagement is to be regulated by God’s word and honoring to the dignity of others, regardless of their political party or persuasion.

We Are Different but United in Christ

We come from different backgrounds and life experiences that shape our perspectives and politics. Our differences can be a blessing, enabling us to prepare young men and women to serve Christ in a diverse and complex world. Yet promoting and maintaining unity in a community composed of over 900 students, nearly 200 employees, and 700 households can be challenging. Christ calls us to reflect our unity in him (John 17:21). While we are different, Scripture instructs us to celebrate and promote our unity in Christ:

There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus (Galatians 3:28–29).

While we may have political leanings and allegiances, our ultimate allegiance is to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, not to a party or politician. We must be careful that our political engagement does not fracture our unity in Christ. Our highest identity is not a political party; it is our union in Christ. We are brothers and sisters in the family of God.

Honorable People Have Honest Disagreements

I learn the most when engaged in group discussions and debates. The dynamics of group interaction stimulate one’s thinking as ideas ping-pong around a room — but this is true only if we listen and seek to learn from others, just as we hope they listen and learn from us.

There is a crucial difference between debating ideas and debasing people. While we may have strong opinions about any policy or candidate, we should be respectful in our advocacy. A generous, humble, and courageous Christian demeanor is one in which we fight for justice and righteousness while remaining open to differing perspectives on what that looks like on a given issue and how to achieve those noble ends.

The Scriptures are inerrant; we are not. It behooves us, therefore, to adopt a listening and humble posture, heeding James’s instruction:

Let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God (James 1:19–20).

The Bible does not give specific guidance on a wide range of policy questions. Honorable, Christ-loving people will disagree. Vigorous debate is healthy and good, for as we are told in Proverbs,

Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another (Proverbs 27:17).

We can and should sharpen each other — but let us be careful not to stab each other in the process.

Our Christian Witness Is Paramount

In the heat of the political moment, it is too easy to defend our political position or candidate and win an argument while ruining our witness. Destroying our witness to win a political debate is a serious and tragic matter. We are stewards of the Gospel. Our words and actions are either positive or negative witnesses to it; they build up or tear down others, advance the Kingdom or hinder it. Our words will either draw people to the Gospel or repel them. God calls us to engage in the political process by seeking the welfare of our fellow citizens (Jeremiah 29:7), but not in a manner that compromises our Christian witness and dishonors Christ. Our Christian witness is more important than any party or politician. Our Christian witness is more important than the outcome of an election. Our means must be as holy as our ends.

Neither Politics nor Politicians Are Our Hope

We do not place our ultimate hope — personally or nationally — in political parties or politicians. Our hope lies in the individual and cultural transforming power of the Gospel and in God’s wise and good providence:

The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord; he turns it wherever he will (Proverbs 21:1).

He changes times and seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings; he gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding (Daniel 2:21).

Honor the King

Throughout Scripture, we are told to honor those in authority (Romans 13:1–7; 1 Peter 2:13–17; Titus 3:1). No exception is given regarding their policies or party. When Peter tells us to honor those in authority, Nero is the emperor. Nero was a monster and sadist who burned down his capital city, slept with his mother, and murdered many of his close relatives. He falsely blamed Christians for burning Rome and had many of them put to death by burning alive, by wild animals, and by other cruel forms of torture and death.

If early Christians were instructed to honor an emperor like Nero, surely we can demonstrate honor to our worst politicians because of the office they hold, despite their character flaws or bad policies.

Honoring authority does not mean ignoring or minimizing evil. John the Baptist, for instance, courageously denounced Herod’s wrongdoing and paid for it with his life (Matthew 14:1–12). When Peter and Paul instruct us to respect those in authority, their directive is to honor the position of the one holding the office. We should speak and act respectfully toward those in authority, praising just policies and condemning and working to undo unjust ones.

Love Our Enemies

Matthew Henry comments on Jesus’s response to the Roman centurion who asked Jesus to heal his servant:

Though he was a Roman soldier, and his very dwelling among the Jews was a badge of their subjection to the Roman yoke, yet Christ, who was King of the Jews, favoured him; and therein has taught us to do good to our enemies, and not needlessly to interest ourselves in national enmities.⁴

Jesus instructs us to love our enemies (Matthew 5:43–48). Jesus gave no exceptions. We are to love others — this includes those we may consider our “political enemies,” just as God does good to his enemies. By love in this passage, Jesus is not talking about a feeling; he is talking about our behavior. He is not telling us we must have warm affection toward our enemies. Rather, we are to love them by doing good to them. Loving our enemies is not about how we feel toward them but how we treat them, including what we say about them. Jesus said, “Do good to those who hate you” (Luke 6:27) — not “feel good” about those who hate you. That is what it means to love your enemy: do good to those who hate you and bless those who curse you. We can and should condemn evil policies, but we must seek, by God’s grace, to demonstrate the love of Christ to all.

In short, engagement in the political process is essential. But we must remember that our ultimate personal and national hope is not in politics or politicians but in our union with Christ and, in him, with each other. We are accountable to Christ to protect our Christian witness, manage honest disagreements with honor, respect authorities, and love our enemies.

School Policies in a Political Season

The following school policies are rooted in the biblical principles outlined above. They are designed to encourage robust and respectful classroom discussion and debate while promoting Christ-honoring unity and a healthy school climate.

Pearly Gates Christian School is a 501(c)(3) organization and does not engage in political activities nor endorse or promote any particular party, candidate, or political organization.

To foster a non-political environment, the school does not allow activities, posters, stickers, clothing, signs, or other actions or materials at school, on school-owned property, or at school-sponsored events that are contrary to biblical principles, our Community Life Statement, or are political in the view of the administration.

Teachers will, in appropriate classes — such as Bible, history, and worldviews — engage students in respectful discussions in every area of life, including ethical and political ones, as they seek to help students

Take every thought captive to obey Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5).

We want our young people to care about politics and tackle challenging issues. In many respects, this is the heart and soul of Christian education — preparing young people to apply biblical principles with humility and respect to practical, day-to-day realities. By God’s grace, we want them to make a difference in our school, community, and nation by being different from the world around them (Romans 12:1–2).

We want them to experience the warmth and joy of a Christian community, not the heat and hurt of divisive politics. We want them to care more about their character and Christian witness than winning an argument. Likewise, we want them to embrace the truth that people and Christian character matter more to God than our politics.

Jesus said the student will be like his teacher (Luke 6:40).

What will we teach our students, children, and grandchildren by our words and actions during this election season?