Gain or lose

If you’re not gaining, you’re losing. As Christians, we should remember that if we are not strengthening our families, churches, and ministries, then it does not matter much who wins elections. And if we are faithfully laboring for Christ, we may prevail even if our enemies triumph on Election Day.

Politics matter, but our hope is in the gospel, not the government. Our reliance is not on the powers of this world but on the divine power, the Creator, who made the world. Politics cannot save us, either individually or nationally. We cannot vote our way into righteousness and out of judgment. Seeking justice in law and governance is part of righteousness, but we know that this requires more than politicians and policies. It will not matter that our preferred politicians win if church attendance and family formation continue to collapse.

And the options that were before us this year were not good. Vice President Kamala Harris is a mediocrity who holds our Constitution in contempt and delights in the shedding of innocent blood through abortion. President-elect Donald Trump is an aged libertine with poor self-control who has been sidelining social conservatives. The threat of Harris spurred most Christians to support Trump as the lesser evil—and they did so overwhelmingly.

Furthermore, though the evils of a depraved people and decadent culture can be partially contained by good government, they can only be cured by the gospel. Without redemption and sanctification, there will only be two different flavors of evil to choose from, and even the lesser will be foul indeed. Something better than this requires a revival of virtue and faith, not just political calculation.

There can be no Christian culture or politics without Christianity, and so our tactics will not always be those of the world. The devil fears our prayers more than our votes, let alone our tweets.

The enemies of the gospel seek to mislead and seduce. They advance their goals by filling education with inane and alienating ideologies, filling social life with social media shallowness, and filling entertainment with promises that selfish indulgence brings happiness. They rely on glamor but offer little substance or even real beauty. This spiritual emptiness results in a way of life and a culture that are destructive of both self and society.

But sustaining that substance requires persistent effort. Families, churches, and ministries need renewal and rebuilding in the face of attrition and entropy. People leave or are swamped by other obligations or die. And, of course, there is the work of raising the next generation in the faith, as well as reaching those who are outside the Church. And so, like Lewis Carroll’s Red Queen, churches and ministries often have to run hard just to stay in the same place.

This work—teaching Sunday school, fixing a leaky faucet for a widow in the church, hosting a Bible study—is rarely glamorous, but it is often fulfilling. In this, we see a demonstration of Jesus’ saying that those who seek to gain their life will lose it, but those who lose it will gain it. The truth of Christianity is not just about how to get to heaven but also about how to live here and now. A life of love and relationship in accord with God’s law is self-sacrificial but better than a life of selfish indulgence. This is because we are meant for love and relationships and will find deeper joys and satisfactions through them than by seeking only our own pleasure.

We should cheerfully join the work of building up our families, churches, and other Christian ministries and communities. And as we do so, we will often find increased confidence in Christ, His gospel, and Christian witness. Politicians pander, but we should preach. And this is a time to do so boldly, for the self-destruction of our selfish, decadent culture is apparent and gives Christians a great opportunity to proclaim Christ to the world. We may serve Him and advance His kingdom even when our political allies are faithless or when those who oppose us are in power.