More from Chuck DeGroat:
"Does character matter in election season?
When we think of character, we often think of personal piety and right morals. But character is about the shape of a life—not merely our individual lives, but our life together.
When I consider character (as I do in my new book Who You’re Becoming), it’s anchored in a particular vision—the Beatitudes, the fruits of the Spirit, the humble, cruciform way of Jesus.
This vision ignited a community of faith and generosity in the early centuries of the church until Christians got hold of political power. And what happened then holds true for us today—when we lose this centering force of character, whether in our politics, our church life, or across various institutions, we shouldn’t expect anything other than the consolidation of power, the foment of division, the elevation of personality over substance, the intensification of image-management, and the loss of the common good and care for those furthest from the center of power—all things lamented by the Apostle Paul across his letters (see Rom. 12, for example).
That was the cost then. That is the cost today.
It strikes me that even in the early centuries of the church and as Rome had fallen into significant ruin, one of the greatest leaders and witnesses the church has ever seen—Pope Gregory the Great—counseled a return to character, to humility, to the servanthood of Jesus. The destruction around him was palpable—his daily work required him to face a once-great nation humbled, now in ashes—and yet, his vision was not anchored in making the empire great once again, rebuilding armies, or refilling the empty coffers. Rather, he pointed to Jesus as the way. Because in Jesus, weakness is strength, brokenness is courage, and peacemaking brings shalom for all of us.
I’m not convinced either party is anchored in this vision. But I do grieve who and what we’ve elevated in this last decade, which to me is a counterfeit and hollow hope. We’re seeing the cost of abandoning the way of Jesus again.
The way of Jesus was never about one issue. It was never about one Supreme Court ruling. And it certainly doesn’t rise or fall with emperors or Presidents. And I’m really grateful for that. But the people of God have a history of chasing things they can manufacture, control, and elevate—whether golden calves or earthly kings.
I sat with someone recently who was lamenting the hope he’d put in a political movement—a movement he thought would save Christianity, as was promised. He’s finding his way back to Jesus, back to the old stories, his words and his works, and the more noble way of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
“I’ve been really humbled by it all,” he told me. And maybe that’s the point. That, in the end, is how we grow up. And maybe, too, that’s how the very presence of Jesus is revealed today."
- Chuck DeGroat
reason.com
www.wnd.com
