During the recent Trump trial, we witnessed yet another attempt to bypass reason in the midst of societal upheaval. Like many others, this event underscores the need to maintain a sober-minded perspective (I Pet. 5:8). As Joe Rigney aptly puts it, our role is to be ‘secure in the midst of mayhem.’
A sign across the street from the Trump Tower urged a simple dichotomy: “Trump or death.” And, I suspect, these are only rumblings of things to come. There will be more common folks in common churches seeking whom they may devour. They will say, ‘to hell with sober-mindedness.’
As events erupted in the last few days, I was reminded of Jude’s precision and timeless soundness. In Jude, Jewish Zealots defending the “cause” of Abraham slithered into churches looking for revolutionaries to take arms against the Roman Empire. They ate at our church tables and made the case for violence against the current authority structures (Jude 1:12). They tried to seduce the Church to take their eyes off of Jesus to causes that were deemed more important than the Church’s cause and purity. They intentionally sowed discord to provoke corporate fury.
They endeavored to entice new believers and others that the superior cause is not the one that sows seeds and waits for generations to reap the harvest–the covenant view of ordinary faithfulness in parenting, worship, and Christian education–but the immediate cause of revolution where we see immediate results through any means; a form of over-realized eschatology.
The pursuit of such political revolutions is a juvenile evasion of responsibility. Rushdoony correctly asserts that “many people prefer to believe in invisible rulers who manipulate us all…” The opposite is when the clear-minded look at the political scene and take responsible actions that move the Church’s vision forward without being emotionally sabotaged by keyboard warriors.
In Jude, instead of blessing the peace-makers, the Zealots condemn those who continue to live quiet and peaceful lives, chastising them for not meeting at the local chapter of the Jewish Zealot society. Now, to be “quiet” and “peaceful” in no way entails a hands-off ethic. In fact, those words are synonymous with Pauline’s assertion of sober-mindedness. And the Apostle was civically and engaged in imprinting the Lordship of Jesus in Caesar’s palace.
But the zealots have more zeal for these political revolutionary causes than the Church itself; their eyes are more glued to news cycles about overturning the state than the kingdom of God overturning Herod’s kingdom. They think no one shares their zeal and that they are a chosen race of reality observers.
Beware of these Zealots who come wearing all sorts of hats–of the Left and the Right–in the church, espousing all kinds of conspiratorial causes. If the Church cannot condemn and rebuke her members rightly and speedily, they will follow the ways of Korah and draw others to their earthly causes rather than nearer to our blessed Lord. This dangerous path can lead us away from our true purpose.
We need sober-minded men to lead our churches. Remember the principle that the most anxious in the home control the home. No one desires to be anxious alone. They want your heart and affection. It’s a test of sanity and sobriety in an age of drunk men. Will we be sober in season and out of season? Will we be drawn to the obscene for the sake of the cause? These men will keep their families stable in times of instability. These are the men who will love their wives steadily and play with their kids before bed. These are the men who will make faithful officers in the church. Sober-mindedness is the art of lucidity when everyone craves the insane. It’s a plodding act that refuses to bow down to the anxious gods of our age.
