The kingdom way

If the kingdom of God is the goal of human action, then we have been given a number of criteria which have priority in ethics. The kingdom is the kingdom of God which saves the world. By that token every choice which is contemptuous of the earth is judged. In Jesus Christ God is a God of human beings. Therefore every choice which takes no account of human society is to be rejected. In Jesus Christ God is Lord over all; his salvation is intended for all. Therefore, every choice which advances the well-being of one group, nation, or social class, while leaving others behind on the road to salvation and wholeness, is wrong. Every choice which does not start with those who are farthest behind on the road to this wholeness is a wrong choice. Now human existence has many aspects: economic, social, psychological, political, etc. It may be that some are ahead in one dimension and others in another. One is rich in one thing, another in some other. Everyone will have to share his kind of riches with his neighbor, thus serving one another on the way to the righteousness of the kingdom. For that matter, wealth in only one dimension of life tends to break up and disorganize human existence. For not only the whole of humanity belongs to the kingdom, but also the whole man. A choice which only serves one's economic advantage at the expense of other aspects of human existence is as censurable as a choice which only serves the national interest and leaves other nations behind (as a rule, for that matter, these two choices go together). But the same is true for a choice which only serves the religious life.—A. van de Beek, Why? On Suffering, Guilt, and God, 336–37

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Roger Olson has been going through the book Why? On Suffering, Guilt, and God for a couple of months now. I've been reading along, usually behind him a week or so, but this last weekend I had a bit of time and caught up and actually read ahead, which he doesn't want us to do... Anyway, the above snippet is one of van de Beek's conclusions from the study.

I would be hard pressed to find a better description of how a Christian should participate in the public square. This ethic should be a guidepost; it is basically a summary of the social ethics of the Bible, both Old and New Testaments.

So, how do your current political views line up with the kingdom ethic? If there are gaps, I would call upon you to repent (which means change your mind and walk in a different way). That might mean changing the way you shop, the way you vote, or some other change that only God will reveal to you.
</idle musing>