To tribalize God is to preach, teach, and live as though He exists to promote the narrow interest of a particular group, culture, or country…
Cultures that tribalize God always fail to take Him seriously enough to deal with their own sin issues. This helps answer the question of how Reformed churches in particular could on the one hand affirm that God’s choice to save individuals has nothing to do with any positive traits or characteristics arising from those individuals while on the other hand denying Communion to confessing believers solely on the basis of skin color. They, like their evangelical brethren, gave in to a form of the social gospel by putting the sinful social desires of their culture above the godly eternal truths of Scripture. They failed by not confronting and challenging their communities to embrace Christ authentically and live out the implications of His gospel fully. They were willing to enjoy the privileges that God’s sovereignty brought them without ever reflecting on the reason behind those blessings. They muted God and relegated Him to the status of divine mascot.
As I stated previously, that is a perfectly understandable way for countries, cultures, and peoples to view God. Despite the radical secularism of the West most of the world is still deeply religious, with much of that religious effort aimed at securing the favor of a particular deity for the purpose of enjoying the advantages of wealth, opportunity, security, and wholeness in the here and now.
The problem when you encounter the God of Scripture, however, is that He has His own agenda and refuses to be tribalized.
He will not be used to prostituted to carry out the will of a particular country or people group.
He cannot be tamed, will not be bribed, would never allow Himself to be bought, and is so utterly complete and sufficient within Himself that He really does not need any of us for anything.
Any country or people group that dares view Him as their own private tribal warrior who exists mainly to do their bidding and deliver the goods runs the risk of watching their country or people group crumble in successive cycles of destructive depravity even as they rise to the top of the social food chain.
– from Keep Your Head Up
