Should Christians Fight? (Hint: The Kingdom of God is Not Middle School)
File the following phrase under “Words Not Found in the Bible”:
“And Jesus fought with the Pharisees…”
Neither does it say, “Jesus brawled with the Herodians” or “Jesus attacked the Roman occupiers.” Jesus clearly had stark differences with each of those groups, but the Bible doesn’t record shouting matches or dust ups. Never, not even once, does it say that Jesus quarreled with the disciples (sometimes the disciples argued among themselves). Never does he tell one of his disciples, “Sorry, I guess we can’t be friends anymore.”
When discussing the Lord’s holy anger, people like to point out Jesus’ confrontation with the moneychangers at the temple. He flipped some tables, scattered their ill-gotten gains and even made a whip. The Bible doesn’t say he used the whip on somebody. Apparently, no one went to the emergency room. He was making point to those clearly outside the bounds of godliness. They were religious profiteers preying on those who could least afford it. Even as he is chasing the money changers out, there is no recorded argument. No physical confrontation.
A case could be made, if ever there was a time to fight this was at his arrest. Probably Peter would have agreed and was the reason why he brought his sword. Still Jesus said “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place.” (John 18:36). The Kingdom of God isn’t about fighting. It’s a new way forward without violence, but also without character assignations, without snide comments, without gossip, without “taking sides” and without “the silent treatment.” The Kingdom of God is not middle school (with apologies to all the great middle schoolers out there).
Paul sums up the needed posture for leaders in 2 Timothy: “the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but must be kind to everyone” (2 Timothy 2:24). In case, you are wondering 2 Timothy 2:25 does not say, “unless they disagree with you.” It simply says, “be kind to everyone.” Period. End of discussion.
Christians will not always agree on every theological nuance. We will not always agree on the best steps forward in building the kingdom. Two Christians can disagree on the plenty of non-essentials. Through it all, it would do us well to remember who our Enemy is. It’s not our fellow believers. It’s not the church down the road. It’s not the ones to the slightly right or left of us. Our Enemy is the Father of Lies. Our Example, on the other hand, is the Prince of Peace who calls us to be peacemakers, to be kind, to get along with everyone, and, in so doing, advance His Kingdom.
