God’s purposes will not precisely match our partisan interests. It would take the boldest and most shameless of partisans to declare that his party’s platform exactly matches God’s desires for the United States of America. The result is that a truly honest Christian sometimes must oppose the ideas and policies of allied politicians and support the efforts of even sometimes-bitter opponents.
But partisanship makes this incredibly difficult. If you ever break ranks with your own team, it sparks deep anger. Any weakness, any crumbling in the partisan wall, is seen as giving aid and comfort to the enemy.
And this leads us to the third uncomfortable truth. Our partisan interests sometimes oppose God’s purpose. This is the most humbling of realities. In fact, given our profoundly limited knowledge and wisdom, even Christians acting in the utmost good faith can find themselves arguing fervently and sincerely for the wrong policy, the wrong idea, or the wrong person. I’ve done it. I can tell you chapter and verse of when I’ve done it.
But there’s a darker side to the partisan pull. Join a team, and there is immense pressure to effectively enter into what’s best described as a version of a lawyer/client relationship. Once you have your “client” (your candidate), then at best you’ll often remain silent when your client is wrong. A worse response not only ignores your side’s flaws, it constantly redirects attention to sins on the other side.
