Faith and Inaugurations

I think there were some decidedly Christian themes missing from most of the Inaugural activities. I find these missing in most of our faith-politics discussions. And in letting go of these, we are actually letting go of true faith, for merely a “Faith on the Outside.”

I Saw it Last Week

Last week I spent some time in Matthew 23 and it was a profound reminder of some essential elements of true faith. If you’re not familiar with the passage, some Bibles title it “7 Woes.” A woe is a word of judgment. And these woes are directed toward those who are the faith-leaders, which in Jesus’ day, they were people with a lot of political clout also.

During this discourse, Jesus addressed these leaders and repeatedly calls them hypocrites. The word for hypocrite refers to “actors”, or those who are “wearing masks.” Today we would call this performative faith. An example of this kind of faith might be the adulterer who give God the glory after a touchdown. It’s outward, but it hasn’t changed the person.

Jesus also addressed this kind of faith when he said in Matthew 7, to those who did all the right things, “depart from me, I never knew you.”

What Was the Problem?

The hypocritical leaders of Jesus’ day were living lives that actually made it harder for people to find God. They led people astray with their shallow and fake faith. They sliced and diced God’s commands, finding reasons why they didn’t have to obey. They did the little things that got noticed, but they didn’t care about the big things, justice, mercy, and faithfulness. They were all about the outside, but didn’t address the condition of their own hearts. And they followed the tradition of attacking those who tried to hold them and the religious system to account.

What’s missing?

Humility is missing. Humility is a necessary Christian virtue. Without humbling ourselves, we never get past the drive to rule our own lives our own way. Adam and Eve show us the first example of pride gone amuck. They were given more than they needed, but they wanted what belonged to God.

Let me just ask, Did you see any humility yesterday? Was there any heart-searching? Were there prayers to make an America full of justice, mercy, and faithfulness? Every “religious” element felt performative to me. From the prayers that were more like sermons, to the sale of special Bibles. It all feels hypocritical. It all feels like an act.

The second element that was missing? Repentance. Repentance flows from a humble heart and precedes faith! Until we all admit where we’ve gone wrong, we can’t move forward in obedience. I believe a lot of our problems in the church and in a country full of Christians, is our lack of repentance. Do we mourn over the choices we’ve made and continue to make? Do we see our lack of the Spirit’s fruit (Galatians 5)? Do we admit our need for forgiveness and new hearts? Or do we just keep marching forward, carrying the baggage of our sin?

Results:

Am I overly critical? I’ve been accused of that. More than that, I think I’m concerned when we play games with Jesus and faith. When we practice a hypocritical faith, we actually make it harder for people to find God. We produce hearts full of self-indulgence and greed. We forget the big stuff.

I love our land. But I am most concerned with the Body of Christ and the practice of true faith. No nation will endure without it. I pray for hearts of humility and repentance before God withdraws his hand and we experience the true pain of our sin.