The Political One
I can’t believe that I’m going to write something political but here we are.
I’m not going to tell you who I’m going to vote for.
I’m not going to tell you what political party I’m registered with.
I’m also not going to tell you what political party you should be a part of or who you should vote for.
It would be very, very easy to do so.
To rant and rail about a candidate and regurgitate all the same vitriol they’ve been flinging at each other and the opposite party for months.
To join those that have drawn lines in the sand with family and friendships over their choice of candidate. And not just in the Presidential race. Senate, House, even local.
This entire political season has been bloody.
And it’s a horrible realization to know that even when Election Day has passed, the fight won’t be over. There will probably be rioting in the streets, regardless of which side wins. There will be probably be…I don’t know. Very little purely positive I’m sure.
But this isn’t going to be about which side should win.
This is for my fellow believers. My brothers and sisters of faith. Those walking the narrow path with me and with Jesus.
What have we done??
What are we doing??
We have allowed ourselves to be caught in this horrible web of dichotomy.
You are either a Republican or a Democrat.
You are a Liberal or a Conservative.
Red or Blue.
An American or a heathen.
And you have to choose! Choose now! Because if you support this candidate then we can’t be friends because you are a supporter of oppression. And if you support this candidate then we can’t be friends because you are supporter of oppression.
I am so tired of hearing people talking about voting Biblical principles. Because there isn't a candidate that supports ALL of the Bible's principles! I’m sick of hearing people proclaim which political party Jesus would be a part of. Whether he would be a liberal or a conservative.
Quit trying to make faith and Jesus fit how you are choosing to live and vote. How about we just let Jesus be Jesus and instead of trying to line him up with our political beliefs, we start realigning our lives, EVERYTHING about our lives, with him.
“But that’s what I’ve done!”
Really? You have? You sure you’re not picking and choosing certain attributes to focus on because that makes your life simpler? Because then you don’t have to admit that you have no idea who the best person for our country would be because BOTH show positive sides of Scripture just like BOTH show negative?
Christians, we have to stop buying into the idea that who a person votes for is what determines whether or not they are an enemy! That’s going through life according to the rules of the world and we don’t belong to this world anymore! We are not condemned to it or condemned by it any longer.
And we have done the greatest disservice possible to Jesus. We’ve had the arrogance to decide that he would be hemmed in by this dichotomy too. That he would operate only by the rules of this world. That his choice would be between the two that we’ve laid out before him.
Hmm…who else does this sound like?
For the past week I’ve had the story of Jesus and the adulterous woman in my head. We’re not going to get into the historical commentary that goes with it and the sub-lessons that can get pulled out of it, we’re going to break it down to its simplest state and that leaves us with two truths.
The first being that Jesus can’t be trapped by the rules, customs, laws of this world. He was presented with two options. Obey the law and kill this woman. Or disobey the law, be labeled a heretic, and lose all credibility; possibly his life as well and the woman would still, inevitably, die.
This is what we do as humans. There are two choices. Only two choices. If you pick ‘A’, it means this about you. If you pick ‘B’, it means this about you. These are your only choices and these are your only reasons.
But Jesus didn’t get trapped. He didn’t compromise himself and he didn’t disobey the law. He didn’t find a loophole or try to change the truth. The woman WAS guilty and under the law, SHOULD be stoned. He simply presented a different reason, a different thinking, which showed a third option. Not to obey or disobey the law, but to understand it.
And that is the second truth. With Jesus, compassion and grace and truth win over the law. Because that was the whole point. If you live your life according to the Rules and the Law, you will never, ever, ever succeed. EVER.
Right and wrong are still in existence. As is truth and lies. As is guilt and innocence.
The woman’s guilt didn’t change. But instead of living with condemnation, she was given a second chance. Her sin wasn’t glossed over; it was acknowledged by Jesus who told her, in essence, “Stop.” Compassion, complete and full compassion, ruled that day, not hate filled punishment.
But we are not operating under these truths. We are living in a world with two choices. And condemning those that don’t pick the one we have.
We are operating right now like people that claim to follow Jesus but don’t actually know him. We’ve accepted the rules of the world, its boundaries and regulations. There is only right or left. Red or blue. Oppression or opposition.
You are not a Republican or a Democrat. You are not Red or Blue.
YOU ARE A CHRISTIAN.
Which means you live your life according to three laws above all else.
1. Jesus died for ALL the world, out of love, to save it from sin. And sin causes separation from God. When we accept Christ, there is no more separation. We are back in the presence of the Lord. And this is true for ALL who accept Jesus.
2. We are to love our God with everything in us and in every aspect of our lives. With all our hearts, all our minds, and all our strength.
3. We are to love our neighbor as ourselves. Not just our literal neighbor. Humanity. We are to love and treat ALL people the way we SHOULD love and treat ourselves.
“But there’s so much more to it than that.”
Quit using the other situations in the Bible as an excuse to hate or be rude to someone that thinks something differently than you! Someone who has decided that this Biblical truth is more important to them than the ones you’ve decided to vote on.
“But again, it’s more complicated than that!”
Of course it is!!! Do you think you’re the only one, your side is the only side, dealing with complexities and compromises and decisions that have roots going way down deep into their family? So quit acting like you are the complex thinking, seeking to serve God human and the other side is a simplistic, unintelligent moron. These are real people! Not abstract ideas.
“But then how can I still love someone or support someone that doesn’t pick the same truths that I pick?”
Yesterday I had coffee with a friend.
We got into politics and were on different sides of the spectrum. She explained her truth, I explained mine. She tried to convince me and I tried to convince her. But at the end of the day, who this woman votes for isn’t going to change my friendship with her. Why? Because I KNOW her. I know her heart. I know her love for Jesus. And I know her desire to live according to the will of God. The tenets of a political party aren’t going to change. The worst members of that political party aren’t going to change that.
How can you still be friends? You have to make the choice to trust Jesus in them and that they are operating the best way they know how to live in accordance with God’s will, just like you are.
“But they can’t…”
Nope, going to stop you there. You don’t get to decide that.
You don’t get to get into hypothetical cases. You take it by a real person to real person situation. And if someone decides to drop you because they’ve decided that they can’t trust Jesus in you. Well…then they made their choice.
And by the way, I’m assuming (even though I know this assumption is wrong) that every Christian reading this IS attempting to live according to God’s will. They are living according to the three above mentioned rules. They are living with prayer and asking God to create in them a clean heart, free from bigotry and hatred and individualism. If you are, then I’m with you my sister. Or my brother.
I will choose to trust the love in your heart. I will choose to trust the presence of the Holy Spirit. And I will choose to trust that we are not held captive by the dichotomy present in politics and in this world. We both picked the third choice, we picked Jesus. I will trust your choice. Just as you should trust mine.
