Gracious Politics

It's a tendency of mine to focus on the politics of this Earth. I get so easily wrapped up in protecting my rights, and the rights of other citizens of the US, that I forget that I am firstly a part of God's kingdom. Wilson-Hartgrove writes about living counter-culturally all throughout his book, but his final chapter was probably one of the most revolutionary, just as Jesus seemed when he spoke of how to relate to this world of power and money. Sometimes we will be requirered to do things that aren't especially popular, like Wilson-Hartgrove did when he went over to Iraq with the Christian Peacemakers Team, but it's because we are called to pledge alligence to God with our lives. We are to live a different kind of life in the world. More serious than national patriotism, we are called to be patriots for God. We are to maintain righteous indignation and fight injustice, but it is not just about protecting my rights. It is about what God desires. Sometimes that will not concide with the world's systems of money and power. It will requirer creativity and repentence, but it's a chance to realign our alliegence.