Seek the Peace of Babylon

Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon:Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce. Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the LORD on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.

For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Do not let your prophets and your diviners who are among you deceive you, and do not listen to the dreams that they dream, for it is a lie that they are prophesying to you in my name; I did not send them, declares the LORD.

For thus says the LORD: When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you, and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place.

(Jer. 29:4-10)

This passage describes how the Jewish people are to live during their sojourn in Mesopotamia, and also how we also as the chosen Church of God ought to live in the midst of the world.

I humbly submit that the tendency of Christians to withdraw from the life of the city in various ways–whether by eschewing positions in government, or by practicing geographical, or cultural separation, or by isolating themselves from the world in Christian subcultures such as “christian” popular music and literature–cannot be righteous because it does not aim at the peace of the city?

But some may object, that surely if a culture or society is evil, Christians should withdraw from it in order to maintain purity of heart and life.

There is much that is evil in today’s culture. American culture promotes sin in all its forms. Most prominent is its unrestricted pursuit of individualism, which explodes into all other vices. Greed, heartlessness, every kind of perverse lust (but no passion for what is good), and the desire to eliminate all obstacles to the realization of its wicked aims.

Many of today’s Christians aim too low when they try to “take back” the culture. They content themselves with cuss-free movies promoting a vague sort of “family values” and substitute Jesus for the ubiquitous “you” of popular music. They vote Republican, but just like the rest of the nation they pay little attention to politics or the welfare of their neighbors, and they do not remember the poor because they live in nice suburban neighborhoods away from the ghettos, to protect their children from evil influences. (But they still allow their children to watch TV.) And they go to nice, comfortable, racially and economically homogeneous churches. In short, they partake of all but the worst of society’s vices, and pride themselves on their separation from those few. There are two reasons this approach leaves much to be desired in terms of the Scripture.

First, they do not recognize that every culture, no matter how wicked, belongs to God, and He has a right to be worshipped in it. So entering critically and redemptively into a culture, Christians should work to make it better, by setting an example of what good art, good science, good music, good families, good work, good sport, and good communities look like, and seek to lead society at large to value the good in these things. Christians may feel confident pursuing this type of cultural engagement because they have a right to do so. “If the earth be the Lord’s, then, wherever a child of God goes, he does not go off his Father’s ground” (Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentaries, on Jer. 29:5-6).

Second, if we are to seek the welfare of the city, and the city is sick, our aim must be to heal it. Just as a human body becomes sick if it does not take appropriate food and drink, or neglects to sleep and to exercise, or does not keep clean, so a human soul becomes sick when it pursues what is false, does not understand what is right and what is prudent, and fills itself with empty and harmful notions. A society is sick if it does not understand how to live well; if it believes that the individualistic pursuit of wealth or pleasure will bring happiness; if it does not understand the importance of a strong community. As Christians, we have objective standards and better answers to these questions of truth, justice, and beauty, and what kind of life is able to bring happiness. We are remiss to keep this God-given wisdom to ourselves. We ought to set an example of living in the best way, of loving the best things and enjoying life as God intended it to be enjoyed. “Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce. Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease.”

In this way, we may retard some of the effects of the Fall, until Christ returns. However, there is an even greater call upon us. From Paul’s epistle to Timothy:

First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people,  for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.
This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time.

(1 Tim. 2:1-6)

Again, we are to seek the peace of the city, for our own sake, praying that the magistrates may allow us to live “a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.” The  purpose for this  life, however, is now made clear; it is to make known to people everywhere the message of the hope of redemption through Jesus Christ.

Some Christians teach that a cultural overthrow is necessary to bring about a society in which God’s truth can be known. This is a dangerous form of millennialism, believing, in effect, that the City of God can be established on earth through human effort. But Christians do not seek to overthrow their culture or their government; rather they will set an example, work to subvert and convert it from inside. We love not only the city of Heaven, but also the city of Babylon in which God has put us for the time being. We find our own good when we seek its good.

I think Patrick Henry students can apply this principle. When seeking ways to become involved in the Loudoun area, we should seek the good of the people who live here. They resent our hubris when we support political candidates who would allow short-sighted developers to overtax their infrastructure without paying for it, and when we assume that Republicans = Good. Some students should give more thought to what is the best kind of life for Loudoun Co. residents, and how they can better support it.