On the eve of the election last November, I wrote a
thinly-veiled endorsement of Barack Obama and blasted it
out to my friends and family. Now after listening to
President Obama's speech trying to sell the American people
on his decision to escalate the war in Afghanistan, there's
a verse of Scripture that's taken on a profound new
significance, "Do not put your trust in princes, nor in a
son of man in whom there is no help" (Psalm 146:3).

By all accounts, it looks like President Obama is about to
commit a colossal mistake. For starters, 30,000 troops is
a drop in the bucket for what's truly needed for an
effective counter-insurgency. The Russians tried to do the
same thing we're doing and it turned out to be the death of
their empire. And to top it off, we're sending our men and
women to spill their blood in order to prop up a government
of war criminals that brutalize women, oppress their
people, and use the tax dollars of hard-working Americans
to fleece their people and fill their coffers. Is this
change we can believe in? No, it's not. At least for me
it's not.

Then again, I could be wrong. Let's do a hypothetical and
imagine that by a heavy dose of divine intervention
combined with an equal dose of strategy and good luck,
Obama's plan works. In 18 months, the threat of the
Taliban is neutralized, the Karzai government does a 180
and cleans up their act, and the war is responsibly brought
to an end. If I were to attach God to my political views
and make it the "Christian view" that the escalation is
wrong, then what will I have done to the credibility of the
Christian message if I turn out to be wrong? Even, worse.
What if I made that a part of the kingdom gospel that I
preach? Come to Jesus and end the war in Afghanistan!

Progressive evangelicals often chide their right-wing
counterparts for focusing on a narrow set of issues and
claiming that their political solutions are God's
solutions. It seems to me, however, that both sides of the
political aisle run the danger of pimping God to endorse
their political views. It's all too easy to take the big
three of the Manhattan Declaration (abortion, gay marriage,
and religious liberty) and replace them with the big three
of progressive evangelicals' agenda (war, poverty, and the
environment). If both sides claim that God sides with
their political views or that their issues are the most
important, then how are they really that different from
each other? If either side takes a position that turns out
to be wrong or endorses a candidate that turns out to be
disappointing—as I'm sure that right about now
there's a degree of buyers remorse for religious leaders
that endorsed Obama—then whose credibility is damaged?

Perhaps a better approach for Christians is to preach the
gospel, serve our fellow man with good works, focus on
living a Kingdom lifestyle within the life of the Church,
and recognize the ambiguity in all political solutions to
earthly problems. I may know that abortion is wrong and
never counsel a woman to have an abortion because of my
religious beliefs, but that doesn't mean that I'm privy to
special knowledge on how to translate that into a political
solution that will save the most unborn lives. I may
refuse to serve in combat because I believe that killing in
war is a violation of Jesus' command to "love your
enemies", but that doesn't mean that I have God's
perspective on what should be done about Iraq and
Afghanistan. If I claim that I do, then the credibility of
the gospel that I preach is damaged in the end. If Obama's
decision has taught me anything, it's that political
humility isn't just an option for Christians; it's a
necessity.

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Aaron D. Taylor is an author, speaker, and
missionary/evangelist. His book "Alone with a Jihadist: A
Biblical Response to Holy War" is available wherever books
are sold. To learn more about Aaron and his ministry, go
to http://www.aarondtaylor.com To follow Aaron on Twitter,
go to http://www.twitter.com/aarondtaylor Aaron can be
contacted at fromdeathtolife@gmail.com

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