Politics aren’t the Problem. Core Beliefs are.

Carey Nieuwhof wrote an article in about how our politics aren’t the problem, but rather they are a symptom. I think he’s onto something. I would phrase it a bit different though. 

I’d say that our politics aren’t the problem. Rather, our politics is the outward expression of our actual, core beliefs. Those are the things we often don’t even verbalize. They are the things that guide what we do. They are the values we will not violate. They are the drivers in our life. 

This isn’t unique to politics though. Our religion isn’t the problem either. It’s also an outward expression of our actual core beliefs. The same could be said about other things as well. 

One way of defining core beliefs is that these are the things that inform how people see themselves and the world – that’s the way Medical News Today defined the term. That’s a pretty good definition. Again, core beliefs are a lens that we look at everything through. Or maybe a filter in which we receive information about the world, informing us on how we should respond. 

A common core belief for many people is that money gets to make the decisions in life. That may not be something specifically stated. And I’m not talking about the extremes either – splurging until you run out. Core beliefs aren’t about the exceptions, the extra ordinary times. Rather, core beliefs are about the day-to-day of life. A common phrase about money is that you need it. To some degree that might be true. But it’s not absolute. Money certainly makes life easier. But how often do we make decisions about what we are going to do based on money? I’d say pretty often, maybe even most of the time. Is that good, bad, neither, both? I don’t know. It just is. 

There seems to be a significant segment of the population that have a core belief in violence as a solution. That takes many forms. Maybe violence isn’t the right word here. Maybe it’s a grouping of words – cruelty, violence, force, power, etc. The core idea being that all that matters is getting what one needs/wants regardless of the method to obtain it – commonly known as the ends justify the means. How big is this segment of the population? I don’t know. But I do know it exists. There’s plenty of stories about domestic violence, gun violence, other criminal activity, war, road rage, and more. Of course, this one paragraph is just a simplistic expression of what I observe. 

And what I have found interesting is that there is this common claim that the United States is a “Christian nation.” Yet, if our national core belief is based on the ends justify the means, how exactly does that match up with the claims of Christianity? It certainly doesn’t match up with what Jesus taught and called on his followers to live into. He rejected the ends justify the means.

In our politics, it seems as though we’re stuck. There’s a segment of the population that will support their candidate for office regardless of information that is unfavorable to their candidate. There is no swaying or even getting people to be open to considering another possibility. That’s not healthy. Did we get here because of decades of making our politics into a part of our identity? Or maybe because we’re really grounded in beliefs about power being the most important thing? Or maybe it’s a trauma response to the world-wide pandemic and economic uncertainty that we’ve been dealing with for a while? Or maybe all that, none of it, or some combination of that along with other things that could make the list? 

So much of our politics seems to be people and politicians projecting their own stuff onto their opponents. It’s almost like people are trying to cleanse themselves of the stuff they don’t like, and they think the only way to do that is by heaping it onto someone else. That doesn’t work. It just heaps the pain that one is experiencing onto someone else. Instead of offering healing, it just makes more people hurt. 

I have heard that church people want to move in the direction of avoiding conflict. They are exhausted. I get it. And I think that’s not realistic. As long as there are at least two human beings, there will be conflict. Jesus didn’t say blessed are those who avoid conflict, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Instead, he said blessed are the peacemakers. 

One definition of a peacemaker is someone who brings about peace, especially by reconciling adversaries. Being a peacemaker is about seeing the reality of the conflict, addressing it honestly, hearing what the adversaries are concerned about and fear, and finding a resolution to the conflict. We don’t need to avoid conflict. We need to learn how to deal with conflict in a healthy manner. It takes imagination, patience, listening, empathy, critical thinking, and a willingness to see the image of God in others. It is about focusing on the end goal of shalom – wholeness, completeness. By the way, the end goal is also the method for how you get there too. 

So what are the core beliefs that would be helpful for society? They aren’t new. But they are often untried. We have an addition to the core beliefs that are used very often but prove over and over again to never work out. 

Instead I want to offer core beliefs that do work but are very costly. Let me define “work” here because I think it is important to understand another point. “Work” doesn’t mean that everyone does it. That’s not going to happen. When something works, it yields an expected result. 

The core beliefs I’m talking about are peacemaking, shalom, Imago Dei, the means and ends are equally important. They don’t work in the sense the world thinks of success. They work in how they transform the user of these things. They work in how they offer an alternative to the stuckness that we experience in the world. They work in how they invite people to a different way, without using force. They work because even when some people reject them and implement core beliefs in opposition to these things, those other ways of the world fail. Cruelty, violence, force, power all require 100% compliance. Otherwise they collapse – maybe not right away, but eventually they collapse under the weight of their own horror. Shalom, peacemaking, and the rest are invitational. Even if only one person is practicing these things, then they are being seen as an alternative that is life giving, freeing, and more. They offer rest to the exhausted. It’s a matter of whether people will accept the invitation to a better way or not. 

Our politics aren’t the problem. Our core beliefs are. But we can choose differently. And when we do, we change our politics, our churches, our work, our world. Not because we have the power to do all sorts of amazing things. But rather, because we get out of the way, we stop imposing on others, and we value what is already abundant among us.