I hate to admit this, but I am a Rush Baby. For those who
don’t know, that means I grew up listening to Rush Limbaugh. I was predisposed
to conservative ideals transmitted through conservative talk shows and news
outlets. If you listen closely, the message is, “liberals are trying to _____,
and mess up this country (and maybe even the world). We have to band together
and stop them. BAD THINGS WILL HAPPEN IF WE DON’T!!!”
About halfway through grad school, I began paying attention
to the other side. You know, the ones trying to screw up everything. It’s
fascinating; they say the same thing about conservatives. “We have to stop them
or things will be bad.”
I talk to a lot of people because I am a youth pastor. Most
parishioners tend to be conservative and the most vocal are political junkies
(some more than others). Even when I was working for a university, the staff
tended to be liberal. What both sides have in common is mutual fear of each
other. The right claims it’s because the left has abandoned the nation's
Christian values and the left claims that the right wants a theocracy and only
cares about the rich. They are both afraid.
The kingdoms of the world peddle fear. Fear of certain
people, fear of change, fear that things are going to get bad or worse, even
the fear of death. Every kingdom of this world that has ever existed has
actively tried to keep people fearful. Think about the aftermath of 9-11.
Americans are afraid of terrorists and/or Muslims so much so that there is
popular support for invasions of privacy that the right-wing kooks were so
terrified of in the 1990’s.
I’m not trying to endorse a political party or a candidate.
The reality is, both sides want to keep us in fear. If we are afraid, we can be
controlled. But we don’t have to be afraid. We don’t have to live in fear. It’s
no small wonder that Obama ran a fairly successful presidential campaign giving
people hope. Obama (or Romney) can only give so much hope. They both still
wield fear like a club. Be afraid; be very afraid of the other party.
Jesus offers real hope. Jesus offers real peace. Jesus was
the third party that people ridiculed for throwing their vote away. In fact,
Jesus was falsely accused of being an insurgent, and unjustly executed. He was
secretly flown the Libya “for questioning” and held indefinitely at Guantanamo
Bay. That is the King of the Universe, the ruler over this entire world. Not
only unlikely, but ludicrous to suggest.
I’m tired of being afraid. I’m tired of the world telling me
to be afraid of certain people, of what the future will hold (especially if I
don’t vote a certain way), of how things are bad or getting worse. I’m tired of
being manipulated with fear. This election cycle, I’m casting my vote for
Jesus, whose Kingdom I pray comes on Earth just like it is in Heaven. I’m
voting for the one who no one thinks will win, even though he already has.
In Christ alone my hope is found,
He is my light, my strength, my song;
this Cornerstone, this solid Ground,
firm through the fiercest drought and
storm.
What heights of love, what depths of
peace,
when fears are stilled, when strivings
cease!
My Comforter, my All in All,
here in the love of Christ I stand.
Perhaps the most powerful part:
No guilt in life, no fear in death,
This is the power of Christ in me;
From life's first cry to final breath.
Jesus commands my destiny.
No power of hell, no scheme of man,
Can ever pluck me from His hand;
Till He returns or calls me home,
Here in the power of Christ I'll stand.
(In Christ Alone by Keith Getty & Stuart Townend, 2001)
I have no other ruler or president
but Jesus. He is my only hope, my joy, and my peace. I am not afraid of death, or
“those” people, or the future. I am a citizen of the Kingdom of God.
