As Jesus commissioned a first group of disciples to carry the gospel message of peace and reconciliation into the public square, he instructed them, saying, “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves” (Matt. 10:16 NIV). In a moment of fierce factional strife, Jesus’s advice again casts a vision for bewildered, weary Christians unsure of their responsibility to fractured communities.
In Federalist No. 10, James Madison reflects on the inevitability of factions in a pluralistic society while simultaneously lamenting the hostility and dissension they breed. He admits, “Liberty is to faction what air is to fire, an ailment without which it instantly expires.” But to abolish liberty because it nourishes faction would be as foolish as to eliminate air because it fuels fire. Early on, Americans decided to allow factions in society. Now, the factious system has established itself as a defining feature of American politics. The manifestations of these factions are unmistakable. From ideologically opposed news outlets and diatribe Twitter threads to hateful campaign rhetoric and divisions among family members, factions often amplify the basest impulses of human nature.
Involvement in factious public life is further complicated for Christians, to whom the warning is given, “The acts of the flesh are obvious … hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions … I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God” (Gal. 5:19-21). Can Christians engage in a political system that calls forth and rewards factiousness? Is retreat from the hostile public square the best witness to the peaceful, counter-cultural way of Jesus? Or, should Christians adopt the tactics necessary to achieve the policy initiatives their faith inspires, even when the path to power requires moral compromise?
For Christians, productive engagement in public life models itself on a crucified Christ rather than the classic rags-to-riches American success story. Here, Jesus’s imagery of sheep among wolves takes on new saliency. The vision is not of the sheep somehow achieving a victory over the wolves despite their powerless status. The exhortation to faithfulness rather than conquest remains despite the political disutility of such a commitment. This instruction liberates Christians from the traditional metrics of success. It enables followers of Jesus to engage in public life with prudent realism and patient virtue and to transform a troubled age with the love of God. The way of Jesus ushers in a paradigm shift from political triumph to love as the ultimate end.
With this framework, Christians can participate in the formation of flourishing communities, despite the presence of factions. Christians should work earnestly as peace-builders in their political systems, demonstrating fierce goodwill toward their critics, selfless solidarity with their neighbors, and relentless belief in the dignity and worth of everyone they encounter.
Instead of fleeing a sphere where factiousness reaps rewards, Christians should demonstrate the merit of their commitment to faith, hope, and love. Through careful discernment, expert analysis, and thoughtfulness, let Christians improve public discourse with the shrewdness of snakes. Rather than achieving our ends at all costs, Christians can behave faithfully and act honorably, with the innocence of doves, assured that their standing as restored children of God releases them from all concerns for legacy or the accumulation of power. In a political environment of fearmongering and anxious ambition, Christians have an invaluable opportunity to manifest the better way of Jesus.
The call is difficult, and the work is unglamorous. Nonetheless, too many members of our communities are harmed by the current political environment for the followers of Jesus to remain removed from the fray. The task is to follow Jesus to the place where the unheard, frustrated, and angry are. There, Christians must resist joining the factiousness that monetizes imprudence and ultimately stalls real progress or reform. Like sheep among wolves, let us faithfully implant ourselves amidst the trouble and serve to leaven the public square with the resolute joy and hope of the Lord.
[An early version of this article appeared on the blog Faith and Public Life , part of AEI’s Initiative on Faith and Public Life. We are grateful for permission to republish here.]
