Here is a reality check that you must accept now, rather than later if you intend to cause a holy ruckus among the peoples of earth: we are all called to daily acts of civil disobedience. I don’t want to diminish the proper hierarchy of things on earth, but let’s be profoundly honest with ourselves–we are rebels at large. We were put in this world to rule over animals (Gen 1:26-28), which is another way of saying we dwell among animals, the kind of sociological creatures that roam around Hollywood and D.C.; we were not put here to be tame creatures of God but to rule over the darkness of this world in the jungles of pagan discourse.
To some, this may appear a bit reductionistic, but I have found it helpful in thinking through our calling as Christians in this world. After Genesis 3, our calling is to rebel rightly against principalities and powers, to offer an alternative interpretation of reality than the nice kids down the block. After all, there is a duality in thinking between serpent tamers and serpent killers. We fall in the latter category unless we want to be sweet and loving towards your neighbors, which in our day usually means forsaking all Christian values for some civic absurdity.
I was reminded in reading Liberation theologians of how “love thy neighbor” has never changed in the hands of liberalism. In a recent piece for the mainline Lutheran Church (ELCA)–you know, those guys that would ordain a chihuahua if they could–the title read: “Love Thy Neighbor: Queer, Black and Liberation Theology.” That’s how they like it! Narrow down the Christian faith to a cheap trick and use Matthew 22 as a front to justify everything, everyone, and to tame the Gospel to a nice, harrowing act of acceptance.
But when the Bible–that ancient instruction book on how to kill a dragon–tells us to love our neighbors, it is in the context of loving God, who does not give us carte blanche on love but tells us that part of loving is rebuking one another when there is sin and challenging the established order when others are not seeking the glory of the kingdom. If you think you are loving your neighbor by some nebulous act of acceptance, you are wrong; if you think you are loving your neighbor by treating the government officials making COVID laws as inerrantists, you are wrong. You love your neighbor by leading him to join the forces that believe killing serpents is not a hobby but a way of life. Serve, do good, but in the end, you are either making someone twice a son of Belial, or you are pushing them to kill Belial. Next to “Christian” in the 1625 Lexicon should have: Belial-killers from birth.
We are rebels in this world. And it’s not because we don’t belong here. The whole world is already ours (Rom. 4:13)! It’s because there are too many people acting and making laws as if they are in charge. They would be glad if your pastor tamed his message to fit whatever the fad may be in the evangelifishiness of the day. When your church leader begins to play music on his newly-battery-full Wokeyman, it’s time to ask the question of whether you are playing for the right team or that team is playing you.
So, ladies and gentlemen, unwoke thyself and ask, “Am I seeking to ‘love my neighbor’ like the latest # on twitter, or am I loving my neighbor towards the team that favors civil disobedience against the post-fall created order?” I have chosen long ago that killing serpents will be a way of life for me, which means I have a meeting with my strategy team tomorrow.
