Spruille Braden was U.S. ambassador to Argentina in 1945. With the U.S. government accusing Argentine presidential candidate Juan Perón of having close ties to Nazism, Braden went about the Argentine countryside, campaigning against Perón. Some accounts tell of him traveling with a brass band, making whistle stops here and there as if he himself were a candidate. The strategy backfired terribly. With the slogan “Braden or Perón,” Juan Domingo Perón easily won the election.
Can you imagine the reaction today if a foreign ambassador openly campaigned for one of our politicians? Such an action would definitely hurt that politician’s cause more than help it. What if they campaigned for a certain political position? Wouldn’t the reaction be the same?
“We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.” (2 Corinthians 5:20)
We are ambassadors of the kingdom of God here in this world. When we get involved in the comings and goings of the kingdoms of this world, especially as part of our official duties as ambassadors, our actions will surely backfire. I particularly apply this to politics, yet the applications are many. When Christians involve themselves as Christians, as the church, in political affairs, our actions are doomed to backfire. When an ambassador begins to do things that do not correspond to his role, those activities detract from his diplomatic mission. When a Christian gets embroiled in worldly affairs (2 Timothy 2:4), he dilutes his Christian witness.
Let’s remember who we are: Christ’s ambassadors.
The Kitchen of Half-Baked Thoughts
If we involve ourselves as Christians, we should behave as good ambassadors for Him. If we involve ourselves as citizens, with Christian leanings, we probably are not going to be good ambassadors for Christ, and that is when our actions can backfire – as in this last election.
Thanks Jeanne for the comment (I’m excited that you could get through!).
Have a great day.
Grace and peace,
Tim
Tim – I agree with the fact that we can overstep our role as an “alien in a strange land” and lose our credibility as an ambassador. That said, I wonder if we can take that too far. An ambassador cannot be aloof from the realities of the country twhere they are sent to “mediate” on behalf of their “king”. They will indeed attempt to influence the affairs of the country in which they serve to support the interests of their “king” . So ISTM Christians will be active in all facets of their lives doing what they can to serve the interests of their King– and that includes acting in the political arena but always to influence (not legislate) others to become aligned with the God of the universe.
A difficult role as an ambassador to persuade people that they should move their primary allegiance away from “their” country to become citizens of a country that they cannot see but “we can do all things through the God that gives us strength” God Bless
Charlie
Yes, but…
I think there are better ways to influence our culture. We’ve made the mistake of treating our culture as if it is a Christian society that needs brotherly correction. We’re attacking the symptom, not the problem. Our culture needs the Lordship of Jesus, and political activity often hinders our efforts to bring people to him. Have we gained anything if we make gay marriage illegal yet alienate an even greater portion of our population? What if we instead showed Christ’s love to gays, much as he did with tax collectors and prostitutes? What if we sought to protect traditional marriage by strengthening marriages, by modeling what marriage really is? What if we took all the effort that is wasted through Braden-like campaigns and instead used that effort to tell people about Jesus?
THAT would change our society.