A shock over lunch

Why is my friend reluctant to say he’s a Christian at work?

Over lunch, I’m sitting with a respected friend and mentor of mine and he says, “I don’t tell people I encounter at work that I’m a Christian.”

At first I’m shocked, and I wonder why he takes this unusual position. Is it because he has faltering convictions? Is it because he’s embarrassed talking about his faith in his workplace? Is it because it’s simply easier for him to hide his faith under a bushel?

So I ask him to explain. And he says that he avoids the label “Christian” because it defines him in a way he’d rather not be defined.

The situation, he feels, is such that calling yourself a Christian implies to many people you hold certain political beliefs, including things like support for militaristic national policies, a callous disregard for the environment, cutthroat economic policies, and intolerance of those who do not share your beliefs or lifestyles. For him being a Christian means questioning militarism, caring about God’s creation, supporting social institutions that demonstrate care for the poor and dispossessed, and treating with respect those with whom one disagrees most.

“I’m not asking for everyone to share my political beliefs,” he says, “but I would like to see Christians display to the world a greater range of political views and opinions.”

“Interestingly, I find myself in a similar situation to the 16th century Anabaptists,” he goes on to reflect. “They too distanced themselves from the label Christian. How the culture defined Christian certainly didn’t fit with their understanding.”

The early Anabaptists lived in a world where being Christian meant being a citizen of a so-called Christian nation and being obedient to the “God-ordained” king. But this definition rubbed against the early Anabaptist view. To the Anabaptists, knowing and following Christ were the cornerstones of being a Christian. This meant total allegiance to following Christ and His way. So the Anabaptists wanted to separate religious conviction and political ties. They didn’t want believers to be forced to compromise their ability to follow Christ. They recognized that all political beliefs and systems will at times run counter to Christ’s way and when these values clash, we need the freedom to choose to follow Christ.

And so my friend finds himself in a tough place at work. He’s committed to modelling Christ’s way to those with whom he interacts at his workplace. But he’s reluctant to identify his motivating values as Christian for fear of being misunderstood.

Later, I picked up a Bible and reflected on our conversation. Allegiance matters to the writers of the Bible. The Ten Commandments begin with the charge, “You shall have no other gods before me” (Exodus 20:3). Jesus says, “No one can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other” (Matthew 6:24 NRS).

I wonder if evangelical Christians have identified too closely with a conservative political agenda. Maybe we have made it difficult for our brothers and sisters in Christ who share different political viewpoints to be open and honest with their faith. Maybe we have forgotten to whom our ultimate allegiance is due. Maybe if we hold our political beliefs a little less tightly, we will model to the watching world that our commitment is first and foremost to Jesus Christ, not to worldly powers.

David Eagle is pastor of Saanich Community Church in Victoria.