No, but I Am the Commander of the Lord’s Army

Joshua 5:13-15

“When Joshua was by Jericho, he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man was standing before him with his drawn sword in his hand. And Joshua went to him and said to him, “Are you for us, or for our adversaries?” And he said, “No; but I am the commander of the army of the Lord. Now I have come.” And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped and said to him, “What does my lord say to his servant?” And the commander of the Lord's army said to Joshua, “Take off your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so.”

When you hijack something, you’re taking ownership of it in a way that it was never meant to be used.

This happens often in the Christian faith.

“Jesus would be conservative!”

“Jesus would be liberal!”

Nope.

Jesus is the King of Kings, who is from another place outside of time and space.

He is far above mere human politics.

Let’s do a quick thought experiment.

Read this passage from Leviticus in the Torah.

Leviticus 23:22 “‘When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not wholly reap the corners of your field when you reap, nor shall you gather any gleaning from your harvest. You shall leave them for the poor and for the stranger; I am the LORD your God.”

Interestingly, many conservatives fail to see that this was a sanction by the Almighty, using the state powers of the Levitical Priesthood to enforce a social program in ancient, agrarian terms.

How’s that for Jesus being on the right?

He’s the one who gave the Torah to Moses.

“See?” the liberal says. “He’s ours!”

Wait just a moment.

The command says you shall leave them for the poor and the stranger.

It doesn’t say they just get it for free.

They still have to go out and pick it up for themselves. It isn’t a case of “be lazy and just take handouts.”

The fact of the matter is that they’re both wrong.

God is more complex than simple left-versus-right ideologies.

He is holy, just, and good.

He cares for the poor and for how we treat the poor.

And being sovereign, He can allow governments to enact programs for the good of the people if they’re down on their luck and can’t get ahead.

I personally would rather have the poor receive from other individuals, specifically those of us in the Body of Christ, but I can’t say the government is evil for using its power to feed the hungry.

Jesus will also treat the poor with love and respect in His office as king of the world after He returns. He is the state, in a sense. I’m more libertarian in my approach to things, but I can’t gloss over this.

Isaiah 11:4 “But with righteousness He shall judge the poor and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; He shall strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips He shall slay the wicked.”

The catch is that I’m not defending leftist ideologies here.

Only Jesus knows the hearts of all men and has the divine right to rule in such ways.

I’m not against helping the helpless and weak. Far from it.

If the government is going to tax me no matter what, by all means use the money to do such a thing.

I will never support corruption and greedy gain, so if my dollar goes to such a cause, it is a heartbreaking thing to ponder.

But again, Jesus said to render to Caesar what is Caesar’s. What they do after the initial taxation is irrelevant to me, seeing as I won’t be seeing the money again.

Being a libertarian in political philosophy means I want as little government as possible.

But I do see the reason that the government exists. It’s supposed to be by the people and for the people.

Not for free handouts and getting to slack off, but for military protection, fair legal process, and smart resource management. If that includes giving a single mom who works multiple jobs and still can’t quite make it a little help, I’m not against that.

But on the other side of the coin, we can’t call progressivism righteous either.

Being a leftist and a progressive are two wholly different things.

If you want gun control, more power to you. I think that’s dangerous, but it’s your right in a free country to feel that way. It seems to work for Japan, at least in some ways.

I have to look at things objectively, not with “my side thinks this, so I do” logic.

If you want me to pretend that a fact is subjective and to change my reality based upon your notion that a fact is subjective, I can’t do that.

If I said my television set was talking to me and sending me messages about the space princess from Eta Carinae, you’d rightly think I was a bit off my rocker. Or a lot. Whichever.

Men are men, and women are women. We’re different, and that’s a beautiful thing. I love being a man. I love women who love that they’re women. I love that they’re different from men and don’t want to tarnish God’s work in the womb.

That being said, I won’t treat people with disrespect. Jesus wants us to love others, even those we consider our enemies. I’m not going to go out of my way to call someone a name if I don’t agree with them.

I’m not hijacking Jesus for my hateful tirades.

Jesus loves that person as much as He loved you before you came to Him. From a philosophical Christian standpoint, how much worse are they than every time you utter a lie or insult someone without cause? Is the greater sin theirs or your condemnation before offering a chance at loving them and showing them what a life in Christ can be like?

Loving your enemies means just that. Do good to them. Don’t treat them badly while hiding behind the name of Christ.

Progressives, conservatives, liberals, and the manosphere have hijacked Christianity.

There’s no such thing as an alpha, beta, sigma, zeta, or whatever male.

Whatever happened to just being a man?

I’m all for being a male.

Great. Do it. That’s a fact you can’t change.

But being a man is a choice.

Leading is some man's gift, another's to serve.

Not everyone in the armed forces gets to be a leader. But the unit works together to achieve superiority over the enemy. No one is better than another. A pilot is not better than an infantryman. They’re on the same team.

I’m more of a neutral libertarian, but I’m open to seeing both sides.

That doesn't mean I have to agree with either of them.

I’m a man who believes that you can have a mixture of ideologies and still be a Christian.

Freedom is good, and politics can help or harm, depending on the person in office.

But using Jesus as a shield from controversy isn’t viable in the Kingdom of God.

If you want to be a Christian, take up your cross and follow Christ. His kingdom is not here. He is the ultimate example of a man after God’s own heart.

He’s the powerful warrior-king to whom we all must give an account.

The Son of God, who, when crucified, uttered the words, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”