453. A Sound Message – Not Just One That Sounds Good
We are now living in a world increasingly polarized by politics. And it is no longer an exaggeration to say that politics has invaded the territory of morality and sacredness, which is the domain of religion. That is why we shouldn’t be political in the church, but we should be aware of what is communicated in the political world and discern their agenda. We can no longer assume politics is just interested in creating civil and economic policies.
The devil always targets those with power. The way he exerts power in this world is by spreading messages that sound good but promote his agenda and distort the truth. Scripture tells us that the devil disguises himself as an angel of light. (2 Cor 11:14) This does not mean literal appearance, but through “messages”. Because he is a crafty liar, his messages may sound good, but they may be so evil beneath the surface.
For example, communism’s main message of “equality” based on the Marxist view sounds good on the surface. But in practice, it does not bring equality by bringing up the marginalized, but by crushing the group they label as “oppressor”, or “the haves”. The real problem is that proponents of this ideology don’t have a value of their own. Their value is “opposition”. The goal is to oppose, not to make things better. DEI is a good example. Their value can only find ground when there is a recognizable “oppressor”, which happens to be white males now. So, in this system, minority races become the new merit and a ground for reverse discrimination, creating a new “oppressor”.
On the other hand, in Christianity, our only merit is Christ. He is the only reason why God accepts us because we are all “equally” sinful. Christ and what he has done for us become the moral basis of why we must accept each other. And in this belief, “the haves” are challenged to be generous, and the “have-nots” are encouraged to find hope in eternity, without hating “the haves”. That is why genuine loving fellowship was possible in the early church, as they gathered in house churches, knowing that, in Christ, they were all equally in need of his grace.
Political agencies will not save the world. Only Jesus can. As long as we have “self-centredness” in us, the perfect world will not be realized until Jesus comes. So, we must discern and pray that traditional values and sound policies that make people’s lives less miserable will be upheld, rather than policies that promise a utopian dream.
