The Plank in Our Own Eye

For several decades now, many within the Christian community have been obsessed with politics and the end times. Looking back over that same period, many of us are tempted to ask: HOW HAS THAT WORKED OUT FOR YOU? Indeed, earlier today, two commentators from opposite ends of the political spectrum addressed these dual obsessions of Christians in two very fine opinion pieces that are very worthy of our attention. Conservative commentator David French posted a column titled "Getting ‘More Christians Into Politics’ Is the Wrong Christian Goal." Likewise, Baptist Pastor Nathaniel Manderson posted a column for Salon titled "Some evangelicals claim Ukraine war means the end times — as usual, they're wrong."

After noting some recent examples of Christians who have dabbled in the political realm (Mark Meadows, Josh Hawley, and Jenna Ellis), David French reminded his brothers and sisters in Christ about an important spiritual truth that was taught by the founder of our faith. He wrote: "we forget a fundamental truth—our own maladies often make us unable to see the world clearly. Or, as Jesus said, 'You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.' In so many ways, we’ve become the People of the Plank, blind to the pain we’ve inflicted on the public even as we try desperately to protect ourselves from them." In other words, we see the problems and evil of the other side so clearly that it spurs some of us to jump in with both feet. Unfortunately, however, like so many before us, we are all too often oblivious to our own faults and weaknesses.

French went on to admit that he had personally struggled with the hyper-partisanship that has characterized so much of the Christian Right's involvement in American politics. He continued: "But as I’ve struggled to pull the plank away, it’s opened my eyes to many truths that were new to me. Among them, the church should be focused much more on its own virtue than the virtue of the rest of the world. In addition, if there were no grounds for Christians to live with a 'spirit of fear' at the height of the Roman Empire, there are no grounds for us to live with a spirit of fear in our nation today. Yet fear seems to dominate Christian political activism—including fear of the left, of CRT, and sometimes even fear for the very existence of a free church in the United States of America."

Indeed, throughout the history of the United States, the Christian Church has been actively involved in many of the great issues of the day. In times past, Christians advocated on behalf of slavery and abolition. In more recent times, Christians have participated in the Civil Rights Movement and Pro-Life Movement. Sadly, as French points out, they have also contributed to "two of the most destructive political and cultural movements of this new century—vaccine refusal that has cost hundreds of thousands of lives, and an effort to overturn an election that could have ruptured our republic." Truly, Christian participation in the political realm has been a double-edged sword! Of course, this obsession with politics has meshed rather nicely with that other great obsession of many Evangelical and ACOG Christians, the end times.

In the article referenced above, Pastor Nathaniel Manderson noted: "Right now, many evangelicals are ramping up their teachings about the end of the world. They can barely contain their excitement: Soon the people who have mocked their faith, changed the definition of marriage, given women the right to choose and supported feminism will finally be punished by God. The current war in Ukraine, for some of these supposedly devout Christians, yet another Biblical prophecy realized." Manderson went on to point out that the end time beliefs of many within the U.S. Evangelical community "have become a tool of the far right."

He continued: "This apocalyptic pull has allowed the evangelical leadership to dominate the religious political landscape, far out of proportion to the actual number of evangelical believers. This has driven too many of their followers down a path that relinquishes any sense of responsibility to the current generation. Healing the sick, welcoming the foreigner and serving the poor are set aside, in favor of a so-called religious war for the soul of God's creation." The pastor went on to note that "The Biblical perspective on all this has also been misunderstood. The people who followed Jesus Christ in his own time believed he would destroy the temple, become some kind of political leader and start a revolution against Roman rule. That was why he was charged with sedition and crucified. Jesus was none of those things, however, as his teachings clearly reflect."

Finally, as if he had coordinated his piece with the conservative French, Manderson offered a very appropriate prophecy of his own. He concluded: "My bold prediction is that this moment, although certainly a dangerous time in human history, is not the end of the world either. Every single minister who has predicted the return of Jesus has been wrong for 2,000 years, and this generation is no different. I believe we should all stop looking to supernatural forces for answers and start looking within. If I had any significant influence among Christians, I would argue that this is a time to put aside concerns about the end of the world and visions of the hereafter, and get back to loving your neighbor." In response, I can only say, "AMEN, and let's all get back to focusing on that plank in our own eye!"