Last Monday was an epic moment; the real-time of the solar eclipse was about five minutes – depending on where you were standing in relationship to the positions of the sun and the moon – but millions of people organized their day around catching a glimpse of the phenomenon that will not recur in the next two decades. Here’s a whimsical thought: what if we could compress this year’s political cycle into a similar time slot? Wouldn’t you love to get the Beltway Election Eclipse behind us?

Buckle your sanity seatbelts: things are sure to get increasingly crazy as our nation is pulled into the voting vortex that will culminate on November 5^th, just 204 days from now. The superlative descriptor will be used with increasing frequency between now and then: “this is the most consequential election in history” will be the claim heard ‘round the world’.

There’s a strategy that has become increasingly common during the last few years; expect it to be operative for the next six months as candidates and parties vie for votes among the undecideds. This country that declares itself to be “one nation, under God, indivisible…” will be sliced-and-diced into factious units with the objective of influencing the outcomes of the electoral process.

“With liberty and justice for all” is the rest of that sentence from our historic pledge of allegiance, but what it takes for liberty and justice to be realized often positions sub-groups into contentious oppositional positions. Good for me can be bad for you; ballot outcomes are certain to create as many losers as winners when/if the dust ever settles following the November election. 

The exercise of identity politics will be the game plan in play for the rest of this year. The solar eclipse came and went, but this year’s election will be source of cultural shadows and societal darkness for days on end. What – exactly – are we dealing with?

The Gallup organization makes it real: Identity politics refers to people evaluating issues through the lens of their association with a specific group. This in turn means that approaches to issues, politicians and political parties revolve around how those things affect the relevant group or groups. This can include the conviction that one’s group is being oppressed or discriminated against either by larger groups or by society as a whole. Identity politics can also create backlashes among those who disagree with what it means for the rest of society.

It’s impossible to opt-out of this fractured approach to our American neighborhoods. The reality of identity is embedded in our community existence; the only option available to us is to determine what aspect of our personhood will most define our approach to relationships with other people, and to our society at large. At the end of the day, what part of who you are will be most crucial in determining how you relate to the world of people who surround you in life?

Here’s a powerful and timeless perspective from one of my most significant influencers. It’s Paul – originally a Jewish power player from Tarsus who became a historic direction-setter for people who are committed to following Jesus – who clarified the issue for me:

“For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again. So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation…” (2 Corinthians 5:14-18)

Bottom line, according to the Scriptures: the identity that matters most is your status regarding the Savior. Two special interest groups exist, based on God’s truth: people who are still lost, and people who are now saved. All other differences are secondary; saved people are now entrusted with “the ministry of reconciliation,” extending the invitation to the lost around us to join our ranks, forever.

Expect to be assaulted by the political forces for the next 30 weeks, seeking to slot you into a subgroup whose interests will either be advanced or attacked by the electoral outcomes that hang in balance. How will you – personally – identify, going into the 2024 polling booth?

My approach: I identify as a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ. His interests will be the dominant influence as I cast my ballot and make my choices. “What would Jesus do?” is not a motto; it’s a credo. It’s mine; is it yours?

Bob Shank