I so admire and am inspired by Paul’s words from a prison in Rome, when he was frail and facing the end of his life: “Our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ” (Philippians 3:20). Our identity, our tribe, isn’t with a political party or even a single nation down here, but with the Body of Christ, the eternal congregation whose destiny in eternal life with God.
Yet then when God created the world, he told his people to have “dominion” (Gen. 1) over it, best understood as We are to take care of God’s world. And then Jesus taught us to pray “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” Heaven will not be like a lot of what’s popular politically! But it is what we as God’s people strive for down here.
Palmer Book
Cover image courtesy of James C. Howell
And it’s actual striving, as in doing something. When I was in junior high and high school, we took classes on “Citizenship,” and were even graded on “citizenship.” We learned about local and national government, but also with a sense that a “citizen” was who you should be – somebody involved, in working for the public good, in forums, in town hall gatherings, in volunteering. A citizen doesn’t carp from the sidelines. A citizen gets engaged – and God calls us to be citizens, not only of heaven, but on earth.
In our day, in an un-Christian way, citizenship gets replaced by consumerism. Or, citizenship gets perverted into complaining. As complainers who sit in our living rooms, do nothing, but gripe about what’s wrong out there, we become what Parker Palmer called “barbarians at democracy’s gate.” And more sadly, as Palmer explains, “we drive from the public square citizens who can’t bear this life of political combat.” Wow. Have you, or I, caused anybody to back away from getting engaged in community life because of our passionate but angry mood about a candidate or an issue?
Palmer defines citizenship as “a way of being in the world rooted in the knowledge that I am a member of a vast community that I depend on for essentials I could never provide for myself.” For Palmer, citizenship is not a burden, but something to be grateful for – and thus our life is about “trying to be responsive to its needs whether or not my immediate self-interests are met. Whatever is in the common good is, in the long run, good for me and mine.”
If you are looking for a prescription for citizenship in the Bible, look no further than Jeremiah 29: God says “Seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.” This is biblical, this is American, this is God’s desire for us – to be citizens, to get out of the living room and get involved, to make a difference, to pursue the welfare of the community where we find ourselves.
Next, we’ll ask then how to be Christian citizens in a country where separation of Church and state is a sacred trust – as it should be.
Editor's note: Number 10 in this series referred to the presidential debate that took place on Sept. 10. Since it's outdated now, we chose not to republish it, but you can read it here.
Rev. James C. Howell
Myers Park UMC Photo
The Rev. James C. Howell is senior pastor of Myers Park UMC in Charlotte, North Carolina. This post is republished with permission from his blog, Reflections.