Since so many Christians want the US to be a Christian nation, it only stands to reason that Jesus would make a good President. But, in actuality, if he were to abdicate his throne, abandon rulership of his kingdom and assume the presidency of a worldly empire, (something the devil offered to him) he would quite likely be impeached in very short order. His policies and governance which include things like loving one’s enemies, caring for the poor, doing justice in our dealings with others, practicing non-violence, disarming citizens like he did Peter, respecting all life thus eliminating the death penalty, euthanasia and abortion, war, and genocide, expressing equal concern for the entire world including each and every person on earth, putting ourselves last thus becoming servants to everyone, living in generosity rather than greed, extending dignity to all people, welcoming immigrants and refugees, caring for the earth, loving sinners, overcoming evil with good etc, etc. would ensure his quick removal from office. He would be frustratingly unpatriotic and unnationalistic because he would love and provide for all peoples everywhere without favoritism. That alone would warrant impeachment. But more, Jesus would do all that Beatitudes, when I was a stranger, good samaritan, the least of these, turn the other cheek, feed the hungry stuff, too. Noble ideals, but you can’t rule an empire with them.
Jesus’ message and manner of life are just not practical in the real world. In the real world you have to fight for your freedoms and rights, and you have to be first and you have to be great. Right? Unpresidentially, for example, he said that the last would be first, and the least would be the greatest. How incongruous is that statement for a superpower? Jesus, as a president, would simply be too gentle, too humble, too forgiving, too just, and too loving toward everyone to run a powerful, wealthy country successfully. He would appear weak. Like he did at Golgotha. (I know! That apparent weakness worked out pretty well for us, but just because he did it that way doesn’t mean that we have to follow his example.) He’d be impeached for sure.
So that leads me to think that maybe those who say they want the US to be a Christian nation don’t really want that after all. At least not the way Jesus would govern it. And, since we can’t transform a worldly kingdom into the Kingdom of God, anyway, maybe we ought not try to do so. Since Jesus utterly rejected worldly power, maybe we should reject it too. Maybe we could fully and faithfully live our kingdom’s principles and let the kingdom do what it does ala the mustard seed, the leaven in the dough, the farmer’s seed. The kingdom of God spreads and grows, by Divine design, when it is lived.
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