whose hope is in the LORD their God,
who made heaven and earth,
the sea, and all that is in them;
who keeps faith forever;
who executes justice for the oppressed;
who gives food to the hungry.
The LORD sets the prisoners free;
the LORD opens the eyes of the blind.
The LORD lifts up those who are bowed down;
the LORD loves the righteous.
The LORD watches over the strangers;
he upholds the orphan and the widow,
but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin. (from Psalm 146)
Like most parents, I love my children. I want the best for them. If they were in a difficult situation, I would be "on their side." But being on their side is not the same thing as supporting whatever they do. Thankfully my experiences with this have been of the minor variety, but loving a child sometimes means saying "No." It sometimes means correcting or even punishing.
Most parents, and even lots of children, can appreciate what I'm saying. Yet very often we Christians seem quite unable to receive correction from God. Christians of all stripes tend to latch on to a portion of the biblical message and then claim God's blessing and sanction for their side. The stereotype, to which there is some truth, is of liberal Christians focusing on loving and helping others while ignoring issues of purity and morality, while conservative Christians do the reverse. And at times, both sides can be rather arrogant in their claim to be the ones right with God.
But at the risk of making that same mistake myself, I feel the need to comment on the political right's frequent claim to be in God's camp. I have no problem with them speaking openly about their faith and how it impacts their politics. If their faith had no bearing on their politics it would strike me as a pretty meaningless faith. But for politicians to publicly wrap themselves in Christian faith and then actively pursue policies that benefit the rich at the expense of the poor cannot be pleasing to the God of the Bible. One has to read the Bible in an incredibly selective manner to miss how much God is on the side of the poor and oppressed. I cannot recall any passages where God promises to help the rich get more, but I can recall quite a few that promise to topple the rich and powerful and have them exchange places with the poor and weak.
Besides all this, those who would speak for God should expect to be held to higher standard. Pastors aren't any "better" or less sinful than other folks, but because we so often proclaim God publicly, it becomes very important for our lives not to undermine our proclamation. The same sort of thing applies to politicians who wrap themselves in their faith. And those who invoke the Christian mantle as a key element of their political service imply that their policy positions are somehow sanctioned by God. But just as I would be very upset if a child of mine did something wrong and said, "My father said I could," I think God is probably pretty worked up about the behavior of some folks who say, "God supports what I'm doing."
No doubt all of us upset God on this account from time to time, but Jesus and the biblical prophets reserves their harshest criticism for those who wear their faith conspicuously while failing to care for those they deem "beneath them."
But finally, I wonder if God is not most upset with the Church. For it is the Church which has fostered a faith that easily claims the label Christian without opening a Bible or learning what Jesus commands us to do. Jesus' last words to the Church in Matthew's gospel are about making disciples of all people, "teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you." But the Church has substituted, "Believe in Jesus, come to worship now and then, and drop a little money in the plate." God can't be very happy with us.
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