Jesus for President
Another coincidental book choice while on my trip to Thailand. Not only was it fitting to be reading a calling for a change in American Christians’ perspectives on politics while dropped in a world of foreign politics, but I happened to be reading it much of the day on the 4th of July while stretched in a hammock on a remote island in the south of the country.
Jesus for President is written by Chris Haw and Shane Claiborne (who I already respect much for his book The Irresistible Revolution. They both have learned, from personal experience, the value in living a communal life with other Christians that is radically different than the culture that surrounds them. They make their own clothes, grow their own food and ask that those they commune with use their God-given skills and finances to help each other in every way possible.
The book itself is not a calling-out of a particular Christian-political demographic, as many might expect. It doesn’t say, “Here are the issues you should vote for and against.” Instead, it is a strong reminder that Jesus, our King, is not a king of the earth, like many hoped for in His time. He is here to raise a kingdom not of this world: the Church. So why should we even be buying into the politics of man?
Certainly some particular issues are raised, especially a concern about Christian support of war. But they spend a good portion of the book encouraging a shift from over-consumption to simplicity, questioning our need for “stuff” and asking if we’re really following Christ’s example in helping those in need around us when we set aside a big enough portion of our own money to afford flat-screen TVs and high-speed Internet.
I wish I could find nice, little quotes to pull out to convince you to change your life, but this is a book that needs to be read from cover to cover. I am not good at defending my points just yet (I want to read this again), but I want to say that this book has done more to break me down and rebuild my lifestyle more than pretty much anything else I’ve read. I can no longer support being a soldier as a profession, I’m starting to buy local more and I intend to buy a bike in the near future. Small steps, but they lead to bigger things.
Jesus for President is not easy to read, but necessary for any American Christian in my opinion.
