Idols: Power and Glory

By Solomon White

In the pantheon of the public sector come demigods of political parties, little elephants and donkeys prancing around vying for our vote and our worship. The trap of patriotic idolatry is an easy one to fall into as, with the other idols we discussed, it can make a good thing into an ultimate thing, which is a bad thing. Civic duty becomes a sacred dogma, votes become vows, and pledges become prayers. 

The problem is compounded by the fact that in the legislation of government and politics there are real biblical truths to be discovered. Do not murder, do not steal, love your neighbor, feed the poor, and a true definition of marriage. Truth can be known and sought in our civilization but we must resist the temptation to apprehend the truth without submitting to the truth-bringer. An orchard provides many flavorful, nutritious fruits but we need the source of that fruit if we are to be sustained. We can fill a basket with apples but the basket is not what makes the apples. Governmental powers are not the entities that grant rights to people, they’re the basket used to preserve and uphold the fruit, but God is the orchard, he is the undeniable source deserving of all glory. 

How We Look to Power

There has been a marked shift in recent years in the priorities and values in American political culture. The topic used to be freedom: Who has it? Who doesn’t? Freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom to work, freedom to live how we want, and to be left alone about it. But more recently the topic has become about power: Who has it? Who doesn’t? Power imbalances between different identity groups are what drives political activism these days. Arguments over marginalized or disenfranchised people groups have led to a sort of “oppression Olympics” with each group striving for first place on who is the greater victim, and people are divided up and placed into different tribes based on race, gender, or socioeconomic status. 

But the truth is that there is actually only one tribe and it’s labeled “Fallen short of the glory of God” (Rom 3:23). We are all made in the image of God and have a dignity that comes from that. We also all have sinned and have a problem that needs to be solved that cannot be done on our own.

To those alive in body but dead in spirit, the powers and pleasures of the flesh are always going to appear more tangible and desirable. But inside everyone there is an immaterial desire for regeneration. All humans are born knowing that God exists. The truth of him is all around us in the created universe we’re born into (Rom 1:19-20). But we exchange the truth of God for a lie and instead of worshiping and honoring God, we worship the created thing. We look to this created thing, whether ourselves or systems like political ideologies, for regeneration and to be empowered to overcome our human nature. 

The Real Issue with Power

We can become so immersed in political ideologies that they become our religion. Politics and politicians on both sides of the aisle claim to have the answers to all of society's problems. Sometimes they can agree on the problem, but almost always disagree on the solution. But all humanity ultimately depends on the truth of God and his word. Only Christ brings regeneration and can change humanity’s fallen nature (Eph. 2:5). 

The real issue with how we seek power, especially through politics and ideologies, is that it speaks to our desire to be independent of God. We want to confirm that we have control over our own lives and that we make and control our own futures.

Tim Keller says that “Many people with a great drive for power are very anxious and fearful … Fear and anxiety are the reason that many seek political power. However, even if fear is not a reason for seeking power, it almost always comes with having it.”

Only God is all-powerful and all-sovereign over all creation and only true freedom is found in Christ. It is true freedom because it removes us from trying to correct power imbalances and seize control ourselves separate from God, which we can’t do. We cannot solve our own sin; we are powerless to pay back that massive debt. Only the death of Jesus as our substitute can pay for that penalty, and in so doing he brings us into the glorious arms of our Father in heaven for eternity. All our fears are comforted, not by the work of our own hands through activism, but through utter dependence on God. This is the very thing we seek to avoid when we look to power as the answer. 

What to Do With Our Power-Hungriness

A brief glance at the political landscape of today will reveal that people are starving for regeneration. Under those Antifa masks and MAGA hats are souls lost in darkness, desperate for hope and truth. It is sought in the only way the flesh knows how, upon the backs of elephants and donkeys. Looking for hope in political power is a fruitless endeavor because our first parents ate the forbidden fruit and got the whole family kicked out of the orchard. But Christ is the light. We as Christ-followers are ministers of the only true truth, the only source of life and nutritious sustenance for starving people. 

After Christ’s resurrection from the grave, we’ve been tasked with conquering the world with the gospel. The ultimate war has been won and we are running back to tell the people that King Jesus is reigning now. God is the only one who has power and Christ is the only true freedom. We do not need to fear, and we do not need to continue seeking independence from God. With the light or Christ inside us we ought to be conservative in how we stand for the unchanging truth of God-breathed scripture and we must be liberal with the grace and peace of Christ to all people.