AUGUST 2024

With less than three months until Election Day, we’re being flooded with messages about the worrisome state of our democracy and culture. In Madison, Wisconsin, where I live, I feel the anxiety surrounding this election even more acutely. Many fear that unless the election pans out in a certain way, the weak and vulnerable will lose their power and rights. They want a leader who will listen to the voices on the margins.

As Chris Watkin recently observed for The Keller Center, one of the ways we frame our political discourse today is through the lens of speaking truth to power. That is, the voices on the margins speak truth and thus deserve power. This is why political candidates often present themselves as “outsiders,” not part of the establishment, thus making them the most qualified to enact justice.

But this notion of speaking truth to power is a Christian idea that only holds weight within the biblical story. Watkin points out that at the heart of the gospel message is a Savior from the margins (can anything good come from Nazareth?) who died and was raised and exalted, given a name above every name (Phil. 2:5-11). This transcendent-yet-personal God gives speaking truth to power its resonance. It only makes sense, however, in the context of the biblical storyline, where God exalts the humble for his name’s sake.

Elections tempt us to think that the ultimate solutions to our problems can be found in one candidate or political party. But the gospel gives us a picture of reality—one that is more pessimistic and more optimistic at the same time. Because of our understanding of sin, we know that no political vision will ultimately satisfy or deliver. But because of the resurrection, we know that one day, all will be made new. This understanding can lower the temperature of our political discourse—it turns our vote into just a vote. And it can enable us to engage with our neighbor as a person to love and not an enemy to destroy. We can learn from our neighbors on our margins, though only God can be trusted with ultimate power and authority.