Fight the Powers: What the Bible Says About the Relationship Between Spiritual Forces and Human Government.
In the Christian scriptures, the devil tempts human beings by promising them power only so he can exercise it over them (Mt. 4:8-10, 2 Timothy 2:26). He seeks to do violence and spread lies (John 8:44). He causes us to hate our neighbors and speak evil against them (Ephesians 4:27). He does all these things while pretending to be an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14).
Incidentally, so do most of our politicians and pundits.
How many friends and relatives do you have that have stopped speaking to you or another loved one due to a difference of opinion about a policy decision that likely has little to no impact on their daily lives made by men and women in power suits hundreds or thousands of miles away?
How many people in your life used to be even-tempered, kind people until they started imbibing heavy amounts of cable news or social media fear-mongering and now divide, à la Jesus’ goats and sheep, all of the people in their lives into two groups of people–perhaps “libtards” and conservatives or progressives and “Trumpers?”
While partisan politicians do sometimes make decisions that can truly impact our daily lives (and in most instances probably shouldn’t be allowed to), most of the rhetoric they spew and the tweets they write serve only one purpose–to create fear, suspicion, and hatred among potential voters for their own short-term personal and professional benefit.
They specialize in finding ways to make devils out of anyone who might oppose their gaining and keeping power, particularly by turning every difference in class, religion, race, gender and sexuality into a casus belli–a cause for war.
But Christ has called us to repent of our allegiance to tribal deities; to commit treason against the kingdoms of demons and cross over to the kingdom of God. Shockingly, Christ’s rebellion against the powers is not a rebellion of violence or even of taking over a majority of the Supreme Court. Instead, He “disarmed the rulers and authorities” through the mercy and forgiveness of the cross (Colossians 2:13-15), taking the form of a servant and regarding others as more important than Himself (Philippians 2:3-7).
If we are going to follow His example, we’ll have to lay down our weapons of war and fight a different battle–a spiritual battle against the evil forces that seek to divide us as spoils are divided. In a war like this, one of our chief tactics should be to ignore the partisans, nationalists, and identity politics salesmen who want to turn our friends and neighbors into our enemies; “for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:4-5, NASB).
RELATED: PODCAST: BRIDGING THE GAP W/ SPECIAL GUEST DAVID LAPP