.jpg)
Politicians and advertisers and media outlets always seem to talk as if all of life can be framed as two sides (us vs. them), and vastly complex issues can be reduced to 30-second sound bites. Those voices like to tell us who we’re allowed to care about, and who we must not.
But life is always more complex than that and, more importantly, behind every “issue” are real human beings. As Christians, we’re not only allowed, but commanded, to care for all (John 13, Romans 13, 1 Peter 1,1 John 3-4, etc.), including our “enemies” (Matthew 5, Luke 6). Christian love operates in the mode of “and,” not “or.”
Christians are called to care about unborn babies and their mothers and their fathers and all the personal and societal forces that make any babies unwanted in the first place.
Christians are called to care about people suffering gender dysmorphia and the biological reality of God’s creation.
Christians are called to care about Americans and immigrants, soldiers and peace, poverty and the dignity of work.
And... and... and. This doesn’t mean that all proposed solutions to cultural dilemmas like these are equally valid or in line with God’s will. We must stand for what’s good, true and right, and some perspectives or proposals are not good, true or right. We also must continue to care about all the facets involved in these and many other issues, and especially about the real human beings behind the debates. We cannot let any issue become so abstracted that we lose sight of the humanity of those affected.
That’s the countercultural nature of faithful Christianity. The surrounding culture is determined to view the world through a myopic lens of Republican vs.
Democrat. Of course Christians can never feel at ease in such a culture, when neither party can ever be fully consistent with the teachings and values of Jesus Christ.
When we let media voices, politicians and their parties, or anyone else tell us who or what we’re allowed to care about (especially if it requires not caring about someone or something else), we fall prey to a false gospel that excludes some of God’s beloved from our rightful love of neighbor.
Instead, Christians must let the Word of God be the lens through which we view the world and all its inhabitants and all its happenings.
Everything else is secondary.
Of course, this is real life: tough decisions have to be made, and often there are no perfect solutions. That’s precisely why we cannot settle for easy answers that over-simplify the complexities of life in this broken world.
It’s much easier to demonize the ones we believe are the problem. But followers of Jesus are not free to do that. We are called to recognize in every single person the image of the living Christ (Genesis 1, Matthew 25).
Our culture wants to divide and exclude, but our God embraces all within his love and truth. And God commands us to do the same.
