God Is Not Fighting a War in America

Neither should we.

“Put your sword back in its place,” Jesus said to him, “for all who draw the sword will die by the sword. Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels?”

Matthew 26:52-54

Though some think the phrase “cycle of violence” originated from modern social psychology, its moral and practical grounding actually came from the mouth of Jesus: All who draw the sword will die by the sword. Jesus insisted that Peter put his sword back in its place. Jesus also described the deeper foundational truth from which his teaching came: He knew he could call on his Father if he ever felt unsafe.

Jesus understood the political and religious spirit of his age. He knew the ethnic and religious history from which it came. He had the wisdom to recognize that hate too frequently leads to violence. Jesus knew he was surrounded by rival kingdoms, while, as N.T. Wright explains, “explicitly opposing armed resistance.” In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus taught that the nature of God’s kingdom, coming to pass in him, meant that God’s people are to not resist evil or wickedness with violence (Matthew 5:39).

The Greek word Jesus used for “resist” is antistenai. The word has military undertones. His audience would have heard him say, “Don’t give into the common way of violent resistance in seeking to bring in the kingdom of God.” As Jesus’ life unfolded, his disciples saw him model a life of creative non-violence that was the best, most powerful response to the resistance he experienced in almost every town he entered.

So, Martin Luther King, Jr. was simply following the wisdom of Jesus when he wrote:

Violence is a descending spiral, begetting the very thing it seeks to destroy. Instead of diminishing evil, it multiplies it…violence merely increases hate.

Or when he wrote,

[So], let no man pull you so low that you hate him. Always avoid violence. If you sow seeds of violence in your struggle, unborn generations will reap the whirlwind of social disintegration.

In a world depending on force, coercive tyranny, and bloody violence, we are challenged to follow the way of love.

Many Christians fear losing dominance in our culture. This assumption about the future is what provides the rationale for violence. But that is an enormous mistake, for as Tim Alberta writes, “the first step in preserving Christian values [can never be to] do away with Christian values.”

In a recent post, I tried to help us think about how violent rhetoric could possibly lead to violent action. The two recent assassination attempts of a presidential nominee are classic examples. In addition, politicians on the federal, state, and local levels are getting more death threats than ever. Many are quitting or hiring extra security. Public servants feel the personal pressure of the downward spiral of escalating violence.

I’ve been trying over the last few months to help my readers think about the need to resist religiously-fueled rationales for violence. Here is the big idea:

God is not fighting a war in America.

He does not need fighters to protect him. He is not worried about staying supreme. God is not nervously trying to ensure his future.

Thus, if anyone tries to recruit you to a culture war in God’s name, simply stick with Jesus. Humbly walk away from them and follow Jesus’ law of love. Michael Cassidy writes in The Politics of Love, 

Love says – “Don’t fight in order to ensure that you remain or become dominant. Don’t flee, thereby allowing forces of domination or evil or violence to triumph. Don’t freeze into hopeless paralysis where bad and violent people triumph simply because good and peace-making people do nothing.” Rather, place your confidence in this: Love speaks positively and says, “be a part with your adversary of fixing the problematic situation to your mutual benefit.”

Your faith in Jesus and his stunning great and wise teaching is your defiance against the idols of this world. Your love is your rebellion against the power of this evil age.