Evangelical Politics is an Ishmael, Part 1

“An Ishmael” has become my metaphor for what happens when someone decides to do God’s work for him. In the Bible, Abraham, the most famous example of faith, was promised a son. The problem was that it would be another 10 years before that promise would be fulfilled. After waiting so long for the promise to be fulfilled, Abraham made the mistake of starting to second guess God. He essentially started to “interpret,” saying, “Maybe what God meant was…”

He finally talked himself into believing that God meant that he should have a child with Sarah’s handmaiden, Hagar, since (I presume) Sarah’s servant is essentially an extension of Sarah. The end result was difficult for everyone, especially Hagar and Ishmael, who ended up being sent away. It has also has been argued that a lot of the strife in the Middle East stems from hard feelings at the way that was handled.

The lesson of the story is that when we start “interpreting,” when we start saying, “Maybe what God meant was..,” we are headed for trouble. When we decide to take matters into our own hands there are always unintended consequences, and it is most likely that this activity will interfere with God’s actual intentions.

As Solomon once said, “Unless the LORD builds the house, the builders labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the guards stand watch in vain” (Psalm 127:1). It doesn’t matter how hard YOU work, or what YOU decide to do; the results will be worse than nothing.

At its heart, “an Ishmael” comes from a lack of trust in God and His ability to accomplish His own ends.

“Ishmaels” may or may not be in line with God’s actual goals, but they are characterized by a lack of trust in the sovereignty of God and can be judged by their fruit; that is, do those behind the movement act in accordance with biblical love and are their actions consistent with the gospel of grace?

What you should ask yourself before you act is, “Did God tell you to do this?” Even if it sounds like a good thing, if you can’t honestly say it was God’s idea, perhaps you should wait.

Second, to judge whether something happening is of God, I would humbly suggest you judge it by its fruit. Are you acting out of “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control? (Galatians 5:22-23)” Does the action result in “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control?”

If not, you may have won the battle, but you will lose the war.

Next week: Part 2