Should There Have Been An American Revolution?

I’m sorry, the title should have read, “Should there BE an American Revolution?”  I was doing some reading this week on the 13 Colonies’ fight for freedom, and though there was some talk about religious freedom, it seems that most of the rhetoric centered around economics and the right of the Colonies to govern themselves as they saw fit.  The tyranny they felt under King George was too egregious, and their attempts of reconciliation were met with the heavy hand of the monarchy and its taxes.

Is our experience any different today?  The IRS does not represent the people but the heavy hand of the government.  It collects taxes without regard to the burden it places on its subjects, and when reconciliation is attempted they garnish wages and attach leans against property.  All of this under the guise of needing the money to help the greater social needs of the day.  Yet, instead of helping it imposes.  Instead of creating an atmosphere of freedom it restricts.  What are we to do?

I read one article that said that calling our representatives still works, but does it?  When it comes down to it the politicians have their own agendas, or at least represent an ideology that runs contrary to my own. 

If it was all right for our founding fathers to form their own government and withdraw their allegiance to the King of England, is that the only recourse we have today?  I believe that God has blessed us with the freest country in the world, so I don’t think armed rebellion is the answer.  And the conditions we face today pale in comparison to those of, say, Egypt and other repressed nations. 

What is difficult is that there is no consensus as to what a free America should look like.  To the conservative the liberal agenda looks like socialism, confiscation, and redistribution.  To liberals conservatives look like selfish, moralists, bent on leaving the poor behind.  To my chagrin these attitudes have crept into the church.  Liberal Christians see conservative Christians as legalistic moralists who are not sympathetic to the plight of the human condition.  Conservative Christians see Liberal Christians as immoral do-gooders who do not care about the holiness of God.

WOW!  How we have grieved the Spirit of God.  As Christians we should stand for God’s holiness and care for poor and stand against injustice.  The world shouldn’t see the division that tears the Church apart.  Yet, the fact that there is a division speaks to our need of a Savior.  We are flawed people trying to live obediently to the will and Word of God.  When we fail and repent we are forgiven and extended grace. 

Jesus said, “Seek first the Kingdom of God and all this (our daily needs) will be added to you.”  If there is to be a 2^nd American revolution it needs to start in the Church.  We need to acknowledge that our citizenship is heavenly; that our mission is spiritual; that our hope is eternal; and that our fight is against the dark forces of Satan.  We need to hold out the hope of salvation in Christ as bright stars in a dark world.  Our love for one another should cover the multitude of sins we commit daily against our brothers and sisters in Christ, and forgiveness should be our battle cry. 

I know that real world issues intersect with the spiritual, and that we can’t divorce them from one another.  It is at the point of intersection that we apply the gospel to social injustice and poverty that leads people to a saving knowledge of Christ.  But if we fail to see the true nature of the battle and our mission in Christ we will be derailed and found fruitless in our cause.  I’m just saying…