When Should I worry about your soul?
Growing up in what is now called the “Purity culture” of the 90s-2000s, we (Christian kids) knew when we needed to worry about someone’s soul: when there was sex stuff involved. Temptation, masturbation, dating…they had a baby? That’s time to worry. Sure, the gospel was about Jesus dying and raising again and all that, but say the prayer and get that done with. How being a Christian worked out practically was how you handled the sex stuff. Thank goodness for marriage—then that hard test is done. Marriage was like “the end” screen at the movie theater in my young mind.
Looking back, we can now see how many unhealthy things were a part of this (gestures at “Purity Culture”) whole thing, even if it wasn’t the motives of those who taught it. There’s the problem of reducing the gospel and salvation to the sinner’s prayer. There is the problem of reducing discipleship to sex issues. Christianity isn’t a checklist of avoiding the sins you are most scared of.
Around 2016 was when it hit me, but it had been coming for awhile: a new checklist. It was like we gained a new standard of when to worry about someone’s soul: when they disagreed with us politically. It wasn’t just us Christians, either. I was invited to “unfriend” whoever I disagreed with politically on social media. Sex issues were still a thing—they just became a political thing. Race issues are still a thing—they just became a political thing. Sick policies became a political thing. If you aren’t in my political bubble: God save your soul.
Some people seem to worry for my soul by being kind (if not patronizing), trying to convince me of how I am wrong and they are right because they truly still care about me. They still hold out hope that I can change. To others, because I am not with them, it means I am the “other.” It means I am beyond convincing, beyond talking to. Now they can only save me through hell and brimstone: I am the enemy. It is their job to bully me to the truth, because that is what Jesus would do. That is what love looks like to them. To them, we cannot agree to disagree, because it would be unloving for them to let me believe anything but the truth. Their truth. Their political truth.
Let’s remember now: I am not preaching heresy. I hold to the Nicaean creed, the Apostles creed: I am trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ who died for my sins and was raised three days later. I am not doubting or standing against ANY of that. I hold and cherish it. My damning sin is disagreeing with them politically. Political heresy to their current opinion is the same as theological heresy as defined throughout history.
I am a weak, fallible human. I 100% know that I’ve got a lot of it wrong. I know my political “truth” is messed up, because I am messed up. I am still learning. I don’t know a whole lot of things. And you don’t know a whole lot of things. And our leaders don’t know a whole lot of things. I am cynical enough to say we probably have a probability rate of about 50% getting things right in practical polical life. And that is ok. Thank goodness I serve a God that has it all right, and is the truth.
When we are arguing something, of course I think I am right, or I wouldn’t think it. But I hold it loosely. I can agree to disagree. I can change my mind. I don’t worry for your soul because we disagree politically. I agree to disagree and keep loving you because that is my life calling: to love you in agreement and disagreement. We can battle it out politically, but it doesn’t change how I treat you. It means I continue to invite you into my life even when I fell pushed out of yours (ok, I am definitely still working on this. It is hard).
If disagreeing with what you believe is the truth politically is equal to disagreeing with God’s truth: then you may have crossed into the area of Christian nationalism. Every generation, every cultural moment has their “hot spots,” their triggers, their pet sins that are worse than other sins. Where they draw the lines and say, “This is the hill I am willing to die on.” Politics is life. Life is messy. There is no political bible to tell me how to vote. Good, strong, humble Christians have voted differently throughout history. That isn’t because one was right and one was wrong (althought that is sometimes true), but mostly because they came towards the same problem from a different angle.
Our experiences lead us to different political decisions. But when we then say “My decision politically is the truth, and if you deny/disagree with the truth, you are sinning against God.” You are saying your truth = God’s truth. As humans, we probably have about a 50/50 chance of being right. That is what sanctification is: learning to slowly (one step forward one step back) walk toward God’s truth. We aren’t there yet.
As Paul put so well, the more we know God and His Truth, the more we realize how much we’ve got it wrong and can do nothing without Him. If we think our political views = God’s unchanging truth, we lie and deceive ourselves. And so, we hold our political views loosely. We are open to changing our mind. We do not attack people we disagree with: we welcome them kindly, and have a choice to agree to disagree.
I believe that Christians are called to be a witness to the world that we can disagree with someone and still be great at loving them. We can disagree and still be family. There are plenty of people I would like to unfriend/unfamily at times. It would make my life much easier. But this is what I know of God: He sits and stays. He continues to invite me to join Him, to join His Truth. He doesn’t stop. He doesn’t rescind the invitation, no matter what I do or don’t do.
If and when we disagree, specifically on social media, specifically around politics: I am not against you. I am not attacking your character. I do not feel like you are in danger of hell fire because we disagree. I honor and value you enough that if you post something that I disagree with, I want to understand why: maybe I am getting it wrong? I want to learn. Maybe you are misunderstanding something because you are focused on a different aspect of things? I want to try to understand an old question: “How can we both, who love Jesus so dearly and claim Him as Lord, disagree with something that seems so clear to me?”
This is what I call iron sharpening iron. This is a big part of the Christian life. Because sanctification cannot happen in a vacuum, but in community. I understand that with new technology there are new struggles to figure out how to communicate well. Facebook manners are not universal, and one person posting things their way and with their personality may be taken in a way that person never meant it to be. It calls for extra humility, and extra work to be clear: to communicate in a way that the other person can understand. But I think we can keep trying. I think we must keep trying.
