If Christ were to run for political office today, would He be elected? Hypothetically, we could reason and say, “Well He is honest in all His dealings, He is a hard worker, He is willing to help anyone, He sets the standard for moral uprightness, etc.” What is there not to like? By today’s standards, there is plenty.
Jesus Christ was not “politically correct” — not by today’s view. He, with His supernatural and spiritual understanding, said things that illuminated the truth, things that went to the heart of a matter — things that probably would be viewed as demonstrating a lack of concern for others in the current climate. In Luke 13:32, referring to Herod, He said “that fox.” Concerning that, Clarke’s commentary says, “A fox among the Jews appears to have been the emblem of a wicked ruler, who united cunning with cruelty, and was always plotting how he might aggrandize himself by spoiling the people.” Jesus wouldn’t have gained Herod’s vote or the vote of those under Herod’s sway. In various places in the Gospels, Christ referred to the Pharisees as hypocrites, blind guides, whited sepulchers, a generation of vipers, along with other equally vivid descriptors. These are true and accurate statements, but do they really reflect an absence of concern for others?
Christ is full of concern for others, which is exactly why He lacks political correctness. On the spiritual plane, if the truth isn’t spoken how can anyone hope to know how to direct their steps? Consider what Christ said to Peter in Matthew 16:23, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.”
These are strong words to be sure, but they were spoken out of the deepest concern for Peter. Neither Peter nor any one of us can cling to our own will in defiance of God’s no matter how right we may mistakenly think it is. A lack of political correctness and an abundance of loving concern helped Peter to redirect his thinking and get back on track. Thankfully the same holds true for each of us.
The “spiritual correctness” borne of love that Christ has mentored us in is sorely needed today. Isaiah wrote, “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who put darkness for light and light for darkness; Who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!” (Isaiah 5:20) Can we find a better description of our present cultural mindset? And this is the key point that we need to understand: Do we comprehend, as this verse illustrates for us, how incredibly dangerous political correctness is in its subtlety? If Satan can get followers of Christ to begin to just think in a politically correct manner, eventually evil will displace good in our mind and actions. Now is a good time to really take stock of whether we are politically correct or spiritually correct.
With Christ’s help, none of us will be electable… hypothetically!
Marshall Stiver