7 Things Christians Need to Remember About Politics How to be in the world, not of the world, in a culture of political vitriol.
Political discourse is the Las Vegas of Christianity—the environment in which our sin is excused. Hate is winked at, fear is perpetuated and strife is applauded. Go wild, Christ-follower. Your words have no consequences here. Jesus doesn’t live in Vegas. Not only are believers excused for their political indiscretions, but they are often applauded for committing them. Slander is explained away as righteous anger; winning arguments are esteemed higher than truthful ones (whether or not the “facts” align); and those who stir up dissension are given the pulpit.
So I balk when pastors tell me the Church should engage in the political process.
Why would we do that? The political process is dirty and broken and far from Jesus. Paranoia and vitriol are hardly attractive accessories for the
bride of Christ. Rather than engage in the political process, Christians have a duty to elevate it. Like any other sin, we arecalled to stand above the partisan dissension and demonstrate a better way. Should we have an opinion? Yes. Should we care about our country? Yes. Should we vote? Yes. But it’s time we
talk politics in a way that models the teachings of Jesus rather than mocks
them.
Here are seven things to remember about politics:
1. Both political parties go to church There’s a Christian Left and, perhaps even less well-known, there’s a secular Right. Larry T. Decker is a lobbyist and head of the Secular Coalition for America. He's an "unaffiliated Christian," but his entire job is devoted to keeping religion out of the U.S. government. Party lines are drawn in chalk, and they're not hard to cross. The Church must be engaged in politics, but it must not be defined by the arbitrary
lines in politics.
2. Political talk radio and cable “news” only want ratings When media personalities tell you they are on a moral crusade, they are lying
to you. These personalities get rich by instilling fear and paranoia in their listeners. If we give our favorite political ideologues more time than we give Jesus, we are following the wrong master. There are unbiased, logical and accurate news sources out there. But it’sup to you to be a good steward of information—to fact-check for yourself, take ideology with a grain of salt and make decisions based on facts rather than gossip.
3. Those who argue over politics don’t love their country more than others
They just love to argue more than others. Strife and quarreling are
symptoms of weak faith (Proverbs 10:12; 2 Timothy 2:23-25; James 4:1) and are among the things the Lord “detests.” We need to rise above the
vitriol and learn to love our neighbors the way God commanded us. We need
to love our atheist neighbor who wants to keep creationism out of schools; our
Democrat neighbor who wants to keep gay marriage and abortion legal; our
Republican neighbor who celebrates death penalty statistics and gun ownership; and yes, even the presidential candidate from the other side.
4. Thinking your party’s platform is unflawed is a
mistake The social policies of your party were
constructed by imperfect politicians fueled by ambition. It’s nearsighted to
canonize them—and it will make you obsolete in a few years. Every four
years, the parties adopt a current, updated platform at their respective
conventions. And while they stay on general tracks, every four years the
platform evolves to meet the needs of a growing, modernized and changing party. The Republican party of today
doesn’t look like it did 10 years ago. We need to know when to change our views
to meet a changing culture—and when to stand by them.
5. Scripture tells us to pray for our governing leaders (2
Timothy 2:1-4) and to respect those in authority (Romans 13:1-7)
Translation: if you’re mocking your governing leaders on Facebook, the
Holy Spirit is grieved. We should spend more time honoring our leaders and
less time vilifying them. This doesn’t mean praying the President will be
impeached; it doesn’t mean praying your candidate will win. God commands
us to pray for our leaders—for their wisdom, for their hearts and for them to
be led by Him.
Political discourse is the Las Vegas of Christianity—the environment in which our sin is excused. Hate is winked at, fear is perpetuated and strife is applauded. Go wild, Christ-follower. Your words have no consequences here. Jesus doesn’t live in Vegas. Not only are believers excused for their political indiscretions, but they are often applauded for committing them. Slander is explained away as righteous anger; winning arguments are esteemed higher than truthful ones (whether or not the “facts” align); and those who stir up dissension are given the pulpit.
So I balk when pastors tell me the Church should engage in the political process.
Why would we do that? The political process is dirty and broken and far from Jesus. Paranoia and vitriol are hardly attractive accessories for the
bride of Christ. Rather than engage in the political process, Christians have a duty to elevate it. Like any other sin, we arecalled to stand above the partisan dissension and demonstrate a better way. Should we have an opinion? Yes. Should we care about our country? Yes. Should we vote? Yes. But it’s time we
talk politics in a way that models the teachings of Jesus rather than mocks
them.
Here are seven things to remember about politics:
1. Both political parties go to church There’s a Christian Left and, perhaps even less well-known, there’s a secular Right. Larry T. Decker is a lobbyist and head of the Secular Coalition for America. He's an "unaffiliated Christian," but his entire job is devoted to keeping religion out of the U.S. government. Party lines are drawn in chalk, and they're not hard to cross. The Church must be engaged in politics, but it must not be defined by the arbitrary
lines in politics.
2. Political talk radio and cable “news” only want ratings When media personalities tell you they are on a moral crusade, they are lying
to you. These personalities get rich by instilling fear and paranoia in their listeners. If we give our favorite political ideologues more time than we give Jesus, we are following the wrong master. There are unbiased, logical and accurate news sources out there. But it’sup to you to be a good steward of information—to fact-check for yourself, take ideology with a grain of salt and make decisions based on facts rather than gossip.
3. Those who argue over politics don’t love their country more than others
They just love to argue more than others. Strife and quarreling are
symptoms of weak faith (Proverbs 10:12; 2 Timothy 2:23-25; James 4:1) and are among the things the Lord “detests.” We need to rise above the
vitriol and learn to love our neighbors the way God commanded us. We need
to love our atheist neighbor who wants to keep creationism out of schools; our
Democrat neighbor who wants to keep gay marriage and abortion legal; our
Republican neighbor who celebrates death penalty statistics and gun ownership; and yes, even the presidential candidate from the other side.
4. Thinking your party’s platform is unflawed is a
mistake The social policies of your party were
constructed by imperfect politicians fueled by ambition. It’s nearsighted to
canonize them—and it will make you obsolete in a few years. Every four
years, the parties adopt a current, updated platform at their respective
conventions. And while they stay on general tracks, every four years the
platform evolves to meet the needs of a growing, modernized and changing party. The Republican party of today
doesn’t look like it did 10 years ago. We need to know when to change our views
to meet a changing culture—and when to stand by them.
5. Scripture tells us to pray for our governing leaders (2
Timothy 2:1-4) and to respect those in authority (Romans 13:1-7)
Translation: if you’re mocking your governing leaders on Facebook, the
Holy Spirit is grieved. We should spend more time honoring our leaders and
less time vilifying them. This doesn’t mean praying the President will be
impeached; it doesn’t mean praying your candidate will win. God commands
us to pray for our leaders—for their wisdom, for their hearts and for them to
be led by Him.
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