The Cost of a Christian Witness

It's been obvious to me for a while now that being a Christian witness in the world is not the same thing as upholding American patriotism. The two are different; they are not equivalent. Seeing the difference between these two things means that I can never again go along with the agenda of the American Religious Right. But that has brought me to a question: what does it mean then for Christians to uphold God's interests in this present world? What would God have us do?

It's a question I am trying to figure out, although I have a very rough idea. Does God want us to advance His Kingdom on earth? Or does He want us to invite people on earth to come out of the present social arrangements of this world and to become subjects of His Kingdom? Is advancing God's Kingdom on earth the same thing as inviting the citizens of this world to join a kingdom that is coming? If our goal is to try to make all the nations of earth conform to the laws of God's Kingdom, I don't know if such a goal can be accomplished by fallible mortals as long as this present age lasts. That's something that only God can do, although His earthly subjects can exert some influence over the things that happen on earth. But if our goal is to invite the citizens of this world to join God's Kingdom, that is more achievable. Our invitation to others to join that Kingdom consists of us acting as witnesses of that Kingdom.

But the witness must first and foremost be the witness of our lives. Talk is cheap, and too many people have already said too many words. And the deeds of some of these people have contradicted their words. On the other hand, deeds are costly. Living out the Sermon on the Mount can be very costly, especially at this time in history when our present global economic and political systems are failing, when moral and ethical expectations that were common a few decades ago are trampled, and when life as a whole is becoming more chaotic. I read a lot of blogs and articles relating to Peak Oil and financial collapse. And I read (and sometimes witness firsthand) the stories of the breakdown of American society, stories about ordinary Americans doing increasingly bizarre and incredibly selfish things, like trampling store employees to death just to be the first in line to score a deal on discounted consumer electronics.

Hearing about these things leads to anxiety. Certain things could ease that anxiety, I suppose. I could hoard my resources instead of sharing them. Or I could buy a gun. My neighbors have several guns. One neighbor and his wife are active in their church, but they are also armed to the teeth. I could also get back into martial arts, which I haven't studied since I got out of high school. If that's too much for conscience to bear, I could cheat just a little bit – maybe put up a punching bag in the garage, do a bit of shadow-boxing, rig up a few homemade devices to practice with to improve my speed and coordination. But there's Matthew 5:38-42, and the Lord's words to Peter in Gethsemane: “All those who take the sword will die by the sword.” And taking up the sword would disqualify me as a witness, I think. So there's a conflict.

That conflict was especially pronounced this week when I drove to a restaurant (one of the few times I drove this week; I suppose I should have walked or ridden my bike instead) and found upon leaving that someone had smashed the passenger window of my vehicle. Whoever did it was too stupid to take anything valuable, like the radio or my vehicle registration; instead they just lifted a pair of gloves that had been on the seat. My vehicle is over ten years old and wasn't expensive even new, so I wondered a lot about why someone had chosen to target me. Later came the anger and fantasies about what I would have done if I had caught the vandal in the act.

I think I'll have many more occasions to face this conflict between the requirements of Christian witness and the natural desire to preserve myself. Every time the conflict comes, I'll be faced with a “Gethsemane moment.” I'm facing one now.