Our Political Divisions
The election just past in no way represented coalescing of American political thought. The candidates and issues were more extreme and more divisive than ever. On Friday I pointed at a Prop 50 ad from California that simply spewed political hatred and division without any context or idea about the issue at hand. Long term, this is not a recipe for a healthy democracy like ours.
Yesterday I was involved in a discussion about church music. It was noted in the discussion that so much of contemporary praise music is about how “I,” the person in the pew or on the chair, feels about God, while traditional hymns are, for the most part, about biblical stories or theological concepts. In a traditional worship service, the hymns are chosen by the pastor to supplement the sermon. In contemporary worship the music is chosen by the musical director to create a mood, feeling, or simply to quiet and focus the crowd. One focuses on self, the other focuses outside of self. This is a notable distinction.
Have you ever met an alcoholic that has quit drinking but whose life remains an absolute mess? I can think of several right off the top of my head. AA counselors will tell you that such people are “stuck” at either step 4 or step 8 of the 12 steps. Step 4, “Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.” Many people get stuck here because the results of such an inventory can be devastating to one’s view of self – a discovery of just how wretched we actually are. Step 8 – “Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.” Many people get stuck here because it requires a public admission of that wretchedness.
Sometimes I think churches that are exclusively about contemporary worship are stuck mid-process, just like those non-drinking alcoholics. Christian faith is intended to take us deeper with God and out of ourselves. (Phil 2:3-5; Gal 2:20; Matt 6:33; I Chron 16:11) The church that allows its congregants to stay focused on self are failing to bring to those congregants the fullness of God’s gospel. But they are also failing this nation and widening our political divides.
We are all, it would seem, interested in ourselves, and propping ourselves up, even if it means getting stuck in the mire of an alcoholic life without the alcohol or discovering the full glory of God. Doesn’t that sound a lot like our politics wherein it is about our party or preferred candidate instead of about the issue and what is the best policy?
No, America is not a “Christian nation” in the same way that Iran is a Muslim one. But we are a Christian nation in that to function well we require of our people a selflessness that is promoted and expected of the fullness of faith. For this nation to work as intended a specific Christian character is demanded of its people. If the church cannot build that character in its people, then the nation cannot thrive as intended.
So what are you doing at church this morning?
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