As I embarked on a political career, I often find myself thinking about the end goals. I cannot help but think about morality and how my Christian worldview impacts my voting habits. I wrote in my political philosophy paper (to borrow from the amazing book The Gospel in a Pluralist Setting) that my faith needs to be a pair of "spectacles" that help me view the world. Something that has been given impressed in my mind is the fact that there is a tension between two schools of thought, the "black and white" and they "gray."
As a Christian, I can see the difference between good and evil. I have the capability (which is reaffirmed by my strong Protestant belief in the depravity of man) to distinguish between ideals and immoral acts. I do not want to get into the great political issues of "what is the good?" and other Classical Greek philosophies- if you want to get into that, I advise you to read Kevin Walker's blog, a political philsopher at VUSC. What I really want to get into is the gray areas of life.
I wish that there were clear black and white answers within international and domestic politics. Why couldn't there be clear- cut solutions? For example, let me take the immigration issue. I have this tension within the depths of my political soul, this tension between compassion and the rule of law. My "humanity" does not want to tear away parents from their children and deport them to their old countries. However, my "politik" side believes that the rule of law should not be bent to the breaking point. I can make the concession that it is not fair for those poor immigrants who are abiding by the rule of law, those who wait for years on end for an immigrant visa. It is not fair for those poor people who abide by the laws to be overlooked, simply because they kept the law!
How can something like this ever be solved? How can we find true justice and true compassion in this world? Do we allow the imperfect, realizing that the ideal can never be obtained? I assume that these questions can never be fully answered. As a young historian and political scientist, I realize that there are issues that can never be fully resolved- that hindsight is not always 20/20. Within Christianity, I live with the knowledge of good and evil. This constant tension is sometimes too much to bear! God, I am ever in need of your aid.
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2 comments:
i have to voice my agreement here. some situations are so complex, so messy, that even my super-critical / constantly analytical mind doesn't want to tackle them.
three situations came to my mind as i read this, though. you ask the question, should we allow the imperfect?
1) God allowed sinful people into His presence when He asked them to cleanse themselves through the sacrificial system. He set up that system on purpose, for a sinful people! He knew they were going to continue sinning, and He set up the system with that in mind.
2) Abraham asked God to spare Sodom and Gomorrah if only a handful of righteous people remained... and God agreed [Gen 18:26,32]. had there been ten good people there, God would have spared everyone, including the evil people!
3) the thief on the cross never gave his lifelong allegiance to Christ; never was baptized; never asked for forgiveness of sins, or formed a personal relationship with Jesus. and yet he was admitted into paradise.
it seems to me that God is very aware and understanding of the complexity, the extreme messiness, of this world. He did not show full mercy in every situation, but it seems that mercy was always the over-arching theme. were it not, we would all be doomed!
i'll add my prayers to yours, that we can find ways to reflect God's character, and still strive effectively for those ideals. Christ give us more time; Christ come quickly.
It definitely seems like life is full of tension. Especially when the Kingdom of God is involved!
I never thought about those examples, and they sure do help. Thank you again for helping with the imperfect question.
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