Every Christian is or should be aware of the fact that Christ is Lord over our lives that means that we follow and obey God in all that we do. This includes who we marry, when we have kids, what jobs we have, how we vote, and where we live. Evaluating whether partaking in the strategic balkanization of red states in order to create bastions of freedom against government tyranny is a necessary process, one that The Gospel Coalition attempts.
In an article titled “Should Christians Relocate to Conservative Areas?” Will Anderson of the The Gospel Coalition attempts to dissuade Christians from joining what he views as a trend. Anderson lives in California which is not entirely dissimilar to Maryland.
But it’s hard to take our God-given misfit status seriously when countless Christians are hitting eject on their lives in challenging areas. Many Instagram posts that gush about lower taxes and just-like-me neighbors implicitly say to those left behind: “Don’t stick it out; get out!” Even for allegedly moral reasons, escapism ignores God’s call to scatter to the ends of the earth in order to love the lost and lose our lives (Matt. 16:25; 28:18–20). How tragic that, in order to stay faithfully planted in difficult areas, weary saints have to tune out not just the world’s appeals, but also the songs of God’s people.
Christians (and nonChristians) living in blue states have suffered a long train of abuses. Therefore to conclude that these Christians are taking the easy way out without regard for the Great Commission. However this assumption is not back by data. Many of the states that are ideal “relocation mistresses” are less densely populated and largely unchurched. Christians moving can be missionaries and reinforcements to churches in these areas and not just conservative voters balkanizing a territory.
Moreover, the principle of “kicking the dust off your sandals” applies to certain mission fields. The Great Commission is too important to waste time on villages that have summarily rejected Christ. Life is similarly too short to spend in pagan hell holes. Also consider Lot and how you could take Lot out of Sodom, but in the end you could not take Sodom out of Lot. Do not be like Lot. The perfect object lesson about this is Tim Keller and how New York influences his theology.
Now its worth noting that if you have not tried to impact your community for Christ than the principle of kicking the dust off of your sandals does not apply to you. Getting involved in local politics is more important than ever, and you need to decide whether to create a fortress in a hostile environment or be reinforcements to Christians in a winnable culture campaign. These are issues we Christians in blue states face. And in either case we must advance and not retreat.
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6 Responses
Right thinking
The Apostles moved on when unwelcome
Amen and Amen
I have met several people in Des Moines, IA that have moved out of Chicago into Iowa.
I live in Kansas. Mostly good state.
Fled liberal Minnesota for Kansas. All good.