Rightly Ordered Affections

On Wednesday, alternative political media personality and noted 1488 poster (14 = the fourteen words of white nationalism, 88 = HH = Heil Hitler) Jack Posobiec shared a video of Vice President JD Vance discussing the Christian theological concept of ordo amoris (order of affections), in which he said, “But there’s this very old-school—and I think it’s a very Christian concept, by the way—that you love your family and then you love your neighbor, and then you love your community, and then you love your fellow citizens in your own country, and then, after that, you can focus and prioritize the rest of the world.”

The post went viral, and Christian social media went into yet another round of ordo amoris debate, albeit this time with far more fervor, as a member of the Trump administration was involved, and Christian social media personalities will never miss an opportunity to divert all of their attention to their real first love, politics. Ultimately, that perpetual obsession with worldly things (Colossians 3:2) is what really exasperates me about the ordo amoris discussion, whenever it rears its ridiculous head. There’s not much I could write about its particulars that I didn’t communicate the last time it came up, just last week.

Go and Do Likewise

I’m tired of Christian media personalities being unable to separate the faith from politics. I’m tired of belligerent, laser-eyed anon and snobbish academic alike demanding that I place their errant interpretations of general revelation above the inerrant commandment to deny myself, pick up my cross daily and follow the Master (Luke 9:23). If not wanting to relitigate who my neighbor is every other week, and accepting that he’s whomever God puts in my path, makes me a hippy and a biblicist, so be it. If not wanting to forever repurpose the gospel for worldly political ends makes me either a leftist or a fascist, depending on what kind of political idolater you are, so be it.

You can have your ordo amoris unchallenged by the words of God incarnate—you can do what the tax collectors do. You can have your Social Gospel that turns every personal commandment into a socialist call to immanentize the eschaton (bring heaven to earth). I will do what Jesus Christ says to do, put my ultimate focus on the kingdom to come and attempt to treat every person whom He puts in front of me with the love and care I give my own children (Matthew 5:43-48, Matthew 12:48-50, Luke 10:25-37).