Photo: Unsplash by Kurt Reinholdtsen
So used are we to high profile Christians receiving a battering in the public square from non-Christians that it was somewhat surprising and not a little dismaying recently, to witness the social media shredding of a national Christian politician. By other Christians.
The issue and the person does not matter. But in a time of complex debate over cultural matters, there was a clear sense among some quarters of the Christian community that “our man” had let the side down with his decision and, thus, was fair game.
It’s hard enough countering the world. So why would a civic-minded Christian even consider a public square role given the rising level of hostility from within?
Romans 13 and 1Timothy 2 both indicate that, even with secular leaders, we should honour and pray for them first and foremost. How much more so for Christians. We want more Christians to take a meaningful role in the public square but constant barrages of friendly fire will be off-putting.
Our desire for a Christianly-framed world is not a shared one. Public Christians learn the art of cultural negotiation, in which often the least worst idea is the only one possible.
To reject any form of compromise risks us becoming implacable idealists. For those trusting in King Jesus, politics is not a zero-sum game. We have already seen the bitter fruit of zero compromise on the extreme wings of our politics. We don’t want to emulate that.
Christians should be circumspect when responding to a fellow believer in the public square who may be privy to more information than they.
And when they do speak they ought to speak in such a manner that honours God and honours his image in others, Christian or not.
Their behaviour ought to encourage those considering public office that their fellow believers, while not always agreeing with them, consider them brothers or sisters in Christ first, not simply as a means to further their own cause, who can be discarded or abused should they fail to meet their expectations.