I see a lot of people saying, “No matter who wins the election, Jesus is on the throne.” While this is true, and I hope that we understand the weight of this statement, it must not preclude the necessary work for loving our neighbor, mourning with those who are hurting, or bringing His Kingdom to earth. This electoral cycle is particularly charged and the idea that God is in control is a comfort, even a balm, to our anxious souls. However, the concept of God being in control of a leader that is actively oppressing certain groups or peoples around them may not be the message that Christians should spread in the face of our hurting neighbors. Our culture has a propensity to sweep things under the rug in favor of apathetic, lazy statements by taking away the importance of our actions and decisions. It is dangerous for this to become the case for the Church, as it has in the past, especially in our current cultural surroundings.

Plenty of leaders know of the Iceberg Principle, and you do not have to understand this theory to get the point. The majority of our emotions, values, meaning, or disagreement lies under the surface. It’s up to us to mine the depths of who we are to find how they impact us in our daily interactions. However, I am becoming increasingly aware that what is rewarded in our culture is very rarely the depths of our being, but rather, the tip of the iceberg.

I have been wrestling with the state of the Church in America lately, whether it be in the blind allegiance to leaders espousing beliefs in God, while their actions are far from Him or in the hate-filled rhetoric demanding acceptance with the fear of cancellation in the backdrop. We see worship-like songs exclaimed over the leadership of this nation:

Justice is on our doorstep and the fiery change of God will either harden our hearts or melt our pride in the face of His glory. The issue at hand is much deeper than any political, social, and societal system. It is an issue of the heart, a sin against our brothers and sisters. Racism is evil and it pervades the systems that we continually cling to, whether for the benefit of ourselves or the detriment of others.