I was working out at my gym the other day and Fox News was droning on one of the TVs. I wasn’t really paying attention, but I happened to look up and I saw an image of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris at a rally. The campaign poster hanging on the podium read, “Battle for the Soul of the Nation.”

The moment I read the slogan, I thought, “It’s always about violence with these people.”

After all, a battle implies war and war is violence.

Ironically, the sign implored the reader to text “UNITED” to some number.

Of course, if you’re fighting a battle with some other group of people, “uniting” is out of the question. A battle is about vanquishing your foe. There might be some possibility of “unity” after the war ends, but only if the other side capitulates to your will.

And that right there is what politics is really all about. It’s forcing other people to capitulate to your will.

When you brush away all of the slogans, banner-waving and high-minded talk about “bringing the country together,” you find raw violence, force and coercion at the core of all things political.  And standing behind the smiling man in a tailored suit with elaborately coiffed hair you’ll find men with guns prepared to enforce his will.

That campaign slogan was actually a rare moment of honesty poking its ugly head out of the political din.

The violent response by some Trump supporters shouldn’t surprise anybody either. It was simply the next step in an upward spiral of violence.  After all, it’s a “battle,” right?

Vanquished at the polls, some on the right feel compelled to fight back in a more direct way, knowing that they no longer control the “legitimate” levers of power.

Violence begets violence. Most people recoil at the overt violence we witnessed in D.C. But in truth, the so-called “riot” at the Capitol was simply a less-sanitized expression of political will. It was politics with the mask torn off. We got up-front and personal with the violence instead of filtering it through “legitimate” institutions.

And the mask slipped down further in the aftermath of the protests. If you don’t believe violence lies at the core of every political system, simply look at the 25,000 armed troops milling about Washington D.C.

Not the Christian Way

People who claim to follow the “Prince of Peace” should take no part in such a system. Jesus never imposed his will on other people. He simply beckoned them to follow. In fact, he intentionally rejected the sword as a basis for his kingdom.

While he was still speaking a crowd came up, and the man who was called Judas, one of the Twelve, was leading them. He approached Jesus to kiss him, but Jesus asked him, “Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?” When Jesus’ followers saw what was going to happen, they said, “Lord, should we strike with our swords?” And one of them struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his right ear. But Jesus answered, “No more of this!” And he touched the man’s ear and healed him. Then Jesus said to the chief priests, the officers of the temple guard, and the elders, who had come for him, “Am I leading a rebellion that you have come with swords and clubs? Every day I was with you in the temple courts, and you did not lay a hand on me. But this is your hour—when darkness reigns.” (Luke 22:47-53)

This exchange had political overtones. The expectation was that the Messiah would lead a rebellion to overthrow Rome and reestablish the greatness of Israel by military means. This explains why Peter drew his sword and went on the attack when the mob came to arrest Jesus.

But Jesus’ reaction reveals he had a different plan.

“No more of this!” he said.

No more violence.

No more conquest.

No more swords.

Matthew records Jesus saying, “Put your sword back in its place; for all who draw the sword will die by the sword.”

The “soul of America” will never be won by the sword. It won’t be won by voting for the right president. It won’t be won with any kind of political program.

In fact, America doesn’t have “a soul.” It is simply another in a long line of empires out of the Babylonian mold.

Christians should stop putting their faith in Joe Biden. Or Donald Trump. Or any other politician. Put your faith in the Prince of Peace and do what he did.