A Republic, If We Can Keep It

By: Pastor Stephen Mitchell

            The other day I came across something on my Facebook newsfeed that caught my attention. It was a picture of two of my friends smiling, one holding a “Covfefe” mug and the other holding a mug that said, “Liberal Tears” on it. Cute cups, you may be thinking, but so what? It just so happens these two guys have been friends since college and one of them leans to the left politically and the other to the right. They have very different perspectives on some big issues, they disagree with each other passionately at times in debates, and yet, they’re still good friends.  Something like that has increasingly become, tragically, a rare phenomenon, and yet if ever our country and society needed friendships like theirs, its now. As one person who commented on the photo said, “You both are so opposite on some things but are still such close friends and can laugh about it in pics like this. The world needs more of that.” Indeed, it does.

            Unfortunately, a friendship like this stuck out on my Facebook newsfeed because it’s the opposite of what we’ve all become accustomed to in our increasingly polarizing world of shouting instead of dialoguing, unfriending, and blocking instead of bridge building, and tweets and posts with talk of a coming civil war instead of talk encouraging respectful civility. When I’d go to the gym, I’d always be fascinated by the news on the TVs in the treadmill room. One TV would have coverage from Fox News and the other from MSNBC. Talk about an ‘Interstellar’ experience seeing how the same moment or event can be interpreted and presented in such a vastly different way. The chasms and brokenness in our society seem to be beyond repair and yet for us as Americans, and particularly for those of us who profess to be followers of Christ there is an opportunity like none other in our lifetime.

            On a trip last summer to visit Independence Hall, our guide said something that really stuck out. She ended her presentation with the reported words of Benjamin Franklin who was asked, something to the effect of, “What do we have Doctor, a republic, or a monarchy?” Franklin retorted, “A republic, if we can keep it”. The guide then talked about how the stability of our democracy and of our republic is only sustained by the care and attention of each generation of citizens. As a lover of political science and social studies, I must report that I’ve never been more concerned about the survival of our system, institutions, and democracy than I am now. And as a Christian, I’ve never been more concerned about the church staying focused on its mission to share the Good News of the Gospel and speaking biblical truth in love to our neighbors than I am now.

            As Christians, we must not give in to the moment of polarizing political ideological division, rather we must rise to the moment. We cannot effectively love our neighbor if we view our neighbor as our enemy. We cannot win souls to Jesus if we are more focused on winning elections or on demonizing those whose views, and lifestyle are contrary to what we believe. To be sure, we should be passionate about issues we care about, be engaged in the political process, and speak biblical truth on even the tough matters we are confronted with in our culture. But we would do well to remember the story of Jonah, the biblical prophet who was called by God to warn of impending Judgement on Nineveh. Jonah refused because he hated his audience to such a degree, he didn’t want to see them receive mercy. God is looking for us to be prophets in this hour, not political partisans.

            Matthew McConaughey recently made headlines with his plea for Gun reforms in the wake of the Uvalde tragedy a few weeks ago, and while we all have different opinions on the issue of Gun control, McConaughey’s approach, whether you agree or disagree with what he said, was almost refreshing. In a follow-up interview with Fox News’ Bret Bair, in talking about how to come together and dialogue over our differences, he would start with talking about what we have in common. Noting that Bair is a father like him, he would begin with that common ground of fathering and what it’s like to be a parent and go from there.

            As Christians, we believe that we are all human beings, created in the image of God, that we all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and that we all need a Savior, Jesus Christ. Let us not forget those key things we all have in common. Let us endeavor to build bridges with those we disagree and share and shine the light and love of Jesus. Let us seize the moment of our time, by following the biblical advice to, “not be quarrelsome but be kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting opponents with gentleness.” (2 Timothy 2:24-25).

            Maybe if we do those things, maybe if we can love our neighbor as ourselves, maybe if we can respectfully dialogue and agree to disagree, and maybe if we remember that we are fellow Americans, fellow human beings and as Christians, remember we are fellow sinners in need of a Savior, maybe just maybe our republic can survive and maybe the credibility of the Christian church and its mission can as well.

“We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield, and patriot grave, to every living heart and hearthstone, all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely, they will be, by the better angels of our nature.”- President Abraham Lincoln

Pastor Stephen Mitchell is the Senior Pastor of Trinity Bible Church in Maryland. He also is the host of a regular podcast, Real Christian Talk with Pastor Steve, available on all podcast platforms.