“I think, somehow, the Lord’s plan is being put in place for America and these people are not only revolting against Trump, they’re revolting against what God’s plan is for America. These other people have been trying to destroy America.”

These words belong to a famous evangelical Christian named Pat Robertson. To be frank, reading them makes me sick to my stomach. It’s not because I hate Donald Trump, but because they represent the deepest sin a person can commit, idolatry. Christians like Robertson and many others are taking their political agenda and infusing it with biblical authority. They are trying to argue that God has the same political views that they do. In this particular case, to oppose the agenda of President Trump is to oppose the agenda of God. And make no mistake, this is idolatry.

I can understand why Christians do this. We are told that our faith should inform every sphere of life, including politics. We want to be just as sure we are following Jesus in our politics as we are in everything else. But if we are not careful, we will sell out the name of Jesus in exchange for worldly power.

James 4: 4 says it this way: “You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.”

The idea is simple. The mission of Jesus is fundamentally different than that of the world around us. Republicans, democrats, conservatism, and liberalism are all structures and philosophies that originate from worldly systems of thought. Let me make one thing clear. This does not mean that conservatism or liberalism is anti-God by definition. Rather, political ideology has a different purpose than the mission of Jesus. The mission of the Church (and by extension Jesus) is to aid in God’s work of redeeming the world from sin and death. This is accomplished through the preaching of the gospel. It is because of that gospel that we fight for justice and seek to reform earthly structures that are broken.

While there is some overlap between the mission of the Church and the work of politics, politics does not and cannot engage in the primary task of the Church: to share the gospel of Jesus with the world. When the Church’s mission is conflated with the mission of politics, it forgoes its responsibility to preach the gospel and values political power in its place. Politics should matter to the Church but it must remain a separate entity. Aaron Niequist put it best when he said: “If the Church is not political, it is irrelevant to the world God loves. If the Church is partisan, it becomes a tool for Empires.”

I firmly believe that the Church is the hope for this world. But when it simply becomes an arm for a political party or ideology, it loses that power and becomes just another tool to be used and manipulated. Think about it; if Donald Trump represents God’s plan on Earth, then to criticize Trump would be to criticize God. This would obligate the Church to defend the actions of a worldly leader no matter what. We’ve seen this happen time and time again throughout history. The Church wed its reputation and authority to the decadence of the Roman Empire. It coordinated the brutal imperialism of Charlemagne, ordered the crusades and frequently executed many it deemed to be heretical through the exercise of state power. The teachings of the Church were used to enslave millions simply because of the color of their skin. Even the Church in Nazi Germany allowed itself to be used and manipulated by the Third Reich. Not only did this rob the Church of its mission to spread the gospel of Jesus, but it became complicit in the murder of millions.

Don’t believe me? Remember when a video came out depicting Donald Trump bragging about grabbing women’s genitals? The very same Pat Robertson excused the behavior as not a big deal. Trump was just trying to be macho, Robertson claimed. When we commit idolatry we begin to justify even the deepest wickedness in order to protect our new god. And the teachings and mission of Jesus is lost.

Now, I am not saying the Donald Trump Presidency is anywhere near the level of sin and evil as the past examples I have cited. However, regardless of who the President might be, the Church must remain separate from the political arm of the state.

If you hear Christians say things like “This president represents God’s will on earth.” Or “This presidential candidate is God’s man.” or “The policies of this administration are God’s policies.” Be careful. The name of Jesus is being used to exploit and propagate a political agenda that is not his own. The agenda of Christ is not the agenda of Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump. It’s better than that.

One of the most peculiar prophets from the Old Testament is a man named Hosea. Hosea was commanded by God to marry a prostitute. While that seemed crazy to Hosea, he eventually learned this was to be an analogy for God’s people. Whenever they bowed their knee and worshiped other gods it wasn’t just idolatry…it was spiritual adultery. The people of God had promised to enter into a relationship with God and God alone, much as humans promise to marry and be faithful to only our spouses. However, when we begin to value something else over our creator, we worship an idol. We sell out our heart’s affections to the highest emotional bidder. We become spiritual prostitutes.

If you are Christian, you should absolutely care about politics. Be involved and hold to your political convictions with passion. But you must also hold them with humility. They are not infallible and they do not carry divine authority. As a member of God’s Church you are obligated to hold power responsible when it is misused even if it’s a candidate you support. You are obligated to value truth more than partisanship. You are obligated to fight for the poor and the marginalized. And most importantly, you are an ambassador of Jesus Christ first and foremost. To quote the words of our current Vice President: “I am a Christian first, a conservative second, and a Republican third.”

May we live out that truth.