The "Conservative" Lament

Speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by every ligament with which it is equipped, as each part is working properly, promotes the body’s growth in building itself up in love.
Ephesians 4:15

I do not like the terms “conservative” and “liberal.”

They are at times a necessary shorthand, but they are labels. And even the best labels tend to tell less than the whole story.

That is true when we talk about someone else’s politics and particularly true when those who claim to follow Jesus use those labels to describe the politics of other Christians.

The Bible is an intensely political book. Hebrew Scripture is focused on the life of the people of Israel. The prophets proclaim God’s expectations of the nation and they are not shy in describing the consequences of injustice and oppression. Jesus’ message was about the good news of the Kingdom of God; an alternative to the violent injustice of the Empire.

But when we try to translate biblical ethics into current social and political context, we need to be clear that the Kingdom of God is a concept that transcends our current political parties.

With that disclaimer, I will venture into these troubled waters with the hope of making a useful observation.

A colleague, who describes himself as a conservative, recently posted a commentary on Facebook that has much in common with many others I have seen, and it illustrates a trend in both politics and religion.

He writes:

“It makes me sad (kind of) to realize I was a happy well adjusted person who accepted people just because.... but now
If I use a gender specific pronoun I offend people
If I talk about working in law enforcement I offend people
If I talk about my deep faith or even mention Jesus I offend people
If I dare have a conservative political opinion I offend people
I even offend by things I have no control over. I am male, I am straight, I am white, or I am older
If I laugh because I think it is crazy kids need a label not to eat Tide Pods or that changing the color will change that.
Being patriotic offends
Owning guns offends
Eating meat offends
Having pets offends
If this post offends you I need to speak truth in love to you. The problem is not me or the millions like me. The problem is that you might have been lied to that in the real world nobody will ever offend you. You have not been given the tools to survive and when the SHTF you will be in trouble. In fact you may be in trouble right now. This is not a joke post. This doesn’t dismiss that we all need to respect diversity and various opinions. In fact it is just the opposite. I am not putting you down I am lifting you up. There is no disclaimer at the end of this post. Suck it up and let’s get to work on the real issues that matter.”

In truth, if you think of yourself as a liberal (or if others label you that way), you could post your own list of things that others say offends them. But this seems to be almost entirely a conservative phenomenon.

So let’s just stick with the conservative lament.

Conservatives currently control:
The White House.
The House of Representatives.
The Senate.
And the Supreme Court.

They control both chambers in thirty-two states.
And they have thirty-four Governorships.

That last one could be argued. Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker is a Republican although he is not in the mold of current conservatives. But thirty-three is still a huge majority.

So the question is, how is it possible that the people who control pretty much everything in this country still see themselves as victims. In the words of my conservative colleague, “suck it up.” If you are that easily offended maybe the problem is you.