Philippians 3:17–4:1
One of the great challenges of the church in the modern world, and the church in the United States in particular, is the question of citizenship: where does our citizenship lie? Is it in the place where we were born? Is it in the place we reside? Is it in the place marked on any documents we may or may not have?
Paul was a citizen of Rome. He knew the privileges that that citizenship offered to him. In Philippians 3, though, he offers a radical critique of worldly views of citizenship. With powerful language he describes a group of people who are enemies of the cross. Their end is in destruction. Their god is in their belly. They’re never satisfied. They’re never content. They’re constantly desiring more and more.
In contrast, Paul proclaims that our citizenship is in heaven. This echoes the words of Jesus in the gospels where he says, ‘give to Caesar, what is Caesar and give to God what is God’s.’ It echoes the lines from the Sermon on the Mount where Jesus says, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:19-21, NRSV)
This citizenship question matters tremendously when we think about society in general and the kind of society Christians should strive for, because if Paul is right, if we are first citizens of heaven and we should first imitate the saints, then we need to strive for a world whose god is not in the belly. A world of radical transformation, where prison abolition is not seen simply as another political plank but as the bellowing call of our Lord and master Jesus Christ to love our neighbors.
It is an act of faith to claim our citizenship in heaven. It is faith like in the words of Hebrews, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1, NRSV). The point of abolition is not found just in its practical effects, even though there are strong arguments to be made there, and there are many secular arguments for abolition that are powerful and valid, but the impetus of the church rests on this claim is that the people in this world around us are our brothers and sisters, wherever they are from, whatever they have done. They are worthy of respect, dignity, opportunity, and transformation.
So may we be imitators of Christ, imitators of love, for the transformation of this world, so that this world can be a little more like the true place where our citizenship resides.
Wilson Pruitt is a Methodist pastor and translator in Spicewood, TX.