When is civil disobedience appropriate?
To be clear, the purpose of worldly war is to subdue your enemy in the field, occupy his territory, and bend his will to yours. Worldly warfare is really nasty business. Of course, in confronting Satan, we don’t fight the same way as the world fights. We confront evil in a different way with a different doctrine and strategy (see 2 Corinthians 10:3). We don’t fight with the weapons of the world (see 2 Corinthians 10:4). And in reality, we don’t have to face worldly warfare in this way if we don’t want to. But, I would think that’s what Satan wants us to do – nothing.
You see, Satan fights the way the world does. We are meant to feel the blast effects of his weapons. And while I would hope to convince people by reason and Truth of my argumentation as well as the compassion in my voice that they should stop oppressing God’s people, Satan knows that he and his agents do not have to “play fair” in this fight.
And while I do not have any desire to occupy my opponents’ homes and businesses, and while it would not be my desire to “bend” them to my will, it doesn’t really matter what you or I may think.
Satan wants to defeat God’s advocates in the field, and then he wants to occupy our homes and businesses and Churches and schools and courts and government institutions, and well, everything. Ultimately, he wants Christians like us to bend to his will. Do you feel like our opponents in the culture are trying to bend us to their will? So then, what do we do about this? Let’s look to the primary source.
A “civil disagreement” does not necessarily require a “civil disobedient” response. Our Lord Jesus Christ did not respond to everyone on the night He was betrayed. Yet, it has always interested me how Christ engaged the cultural ruler of the day, Pontius Pilate, in an intellectual discussion, and was silent when others, like Herod, were petty and sophomoric, and incoherent. Jesus engaged in a civil discourse with Pilate, even though Pilate was never even close to the intellectual challenge Jesus presented to him.
Esther disobeyed the king’s order and presented herself to him without being summoned. She did this for cause and the king offered her grace. Was risk involved? Yes. Peter and John were ordered by the Sanhedrin not to speak or teach in the name of Jesus anymore, and yet they told these religious leaders that they couldn’t help but speak about what they had seen or heard. Was risk involved? Yes. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego told King Nebuchadnezzar to his face that they would not worship his idols or serve his gods. Risk was involved, and the furnace was turned up seven times hotter. Daniel had his Darius, and who knows the extent of Daniel’s example and influence on Cyrus who followed? Civil disobedience runs throughout the scriptures.
But those examples do not imply a harsh tone, a dialogue filled with invective or a response that’s filled with a passionate (as opposed to Christlike) response. Risk is involved in each to be sure. Leadership qualities shine through brightly in each, but from the meekest of God’s servants, and not from those who sought the marquee lights of fame. Some of the bravest, most heroic actions that have come out of combat were from ordinary people who found themselves in extraordinary circumstances. When it comes to the challenges to religious freedoms today, we find ourselves in extraordinary circumstances. How will we, just ordinary people, respond? Will risk be involved? Yes.
Our Founding Fathers risked it all—lives, fortunes, and something called their “sacred honor.” My sense is that sacred honor was the most precious to them of all. How precious is your sacred honor to you? For me, it matters that when I pass through the glass darkly, that my sacred honor is intact, and recognized by my children and their children. My sacred honor is why I go after and defend my family, my faith, and my freedom. Perhaps it will encourage others to do the same.
I seek to engage others winsomely. They are not threatened by me. But, they will hear the Truth that I speak and will have to process that Truth. They may have heard the question differently but it sounds something like this: “What are you going to do with this Jesus who is called the Christ?” It’s the same question Pilate and the Chief Priests dealt with on a Thursday a couple of millennia ago. Today is a great day to consider this question for yourself, if you’re still kicking the tires of Christianity.
And if I run afoul of the law for asking that question in public, and though burdened by the state in that proclamation, and brought up on charges for talking about what I have seen and heard, then lock me up now so that my witness can be stronger. What would my captors say about me to themselves?
I didn’t create the Truth, I pursued it. Mine wasn’t a specialized approach, it was comprehensive. My voice did not reflect an excitable style, it was calm. I engaged risk for a cause. And as far as I can determine, this is civil disobedience for the cause of Jesus Christ.
When is it appropriate? Ask God to show you. If you’re just an ordinary person, that’s perfect. You don’t have to create a website and put courses on-line and blog posts that oppose ideas and arguments and pretensions that set themselves up as an affront to God. Just talk with your family and engage your circle of influence. If you ask God to show you when it’s appropriate, it’s not a matter of “if”, but of “when.”
And, do it in love, which just happens to be the subject of tomorrow’s concluding post.