Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel and all the heads of the tribes, the leaders of the fathers’ houses of the people of Israel, before King Solomon in Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the covenant of the LORD out of the city of David, which is Zion. 1 Kings 8:1
I may regret wading into the Charlie Kirk topic, but it’s been on my mind a lot lately, so here goes . . .
I recently read an article suggesting that Charlie Kirk was a modern-day martyr for his faith. Now I do understand that Charlie recently said that he wanted to be known more for his faith than anything else, but I don’t believe Charlie was killed for his faith. Rather, it seems that Charlie Kirk was killed for, and was thereby a martyr for, his political beliefs. This may be the controversial part of my post, but I would insist that it’s inappropriate to equate political beliefs with faith. They are not, and should not be considered, the same.
Here’s what I mean. If you asked Charlie Kirk to point to the object of his faith, he’d point to God or Jesus Christ. If, however, you go to Turning Point USA’s website, you’ll find that its mission is to promote, not Jesus, but The principles of fiscal responsibility, free markets, and limited government. Charlie Kirk held passionate – and controversial – political beliefs which have nothing to do with Jesus. I’m sure his faith influenced his political beliefs, but I also think he’d say that his faith was more important than his political beliefs. He was, however, more well known for his controversial political views, which appears to be the reason he was targeted. Charlie Kirk is a martyr, not for Christ, but for his politics and that is simply not the same thing.
It is tempting to equate the two. As a Christian, it’s even tempting to wish for an end to the separation of church and state upon which our republic was founded. Passages such as today’s point to a time when God was the head of the state, with King Solomon serving as his representative. Again, I think it’s tempting for modern-day Christians to desire a theocracy, yearning for a time when the government followed God as its final authority. In such a paradigm, it’s even tempting to imagine that Jesus would be a Republican, supporting the party’s platform of fiscal responsibility, free markets, and limited government.
Here’s the problem with that. As a Christian, my cause is Christ. My life purpose is to point others to him. My faith can and should influence my politics, but there are a lot of people out there who, after reading the words of Jesus, feel like the Democrat’s desire to feed the poor is more in line with their faith. In such a world, if I make my belief in free markets and Donald Trump out to be the most important thing about me – equating it with my faith – then I’m going to repel many people from Christ.
I’m not saying that Christians can’t be involved in politics. I’m simply saying that Jesus wasn’t Republican or Democrat and he didn’t seek to change the world through the power of man’s politics. Rather, he sought to change one heart at a time, leading individuals to God, which was his life’s purpose. It’s not wrong to stand for controversial beliefs, but if the world could know one thing about me, I want others to see me pointing them to Christ, not to free markets. And the two are simply not the same.