7 Things Christians Need To Remember About Politics

How to be in the world, not of the world, in a culture of political vitriol.

(much of this was taken from an article in Relevant magazine by Bryan Roberts)

I put this paper together during the Obama / Romney campaign, but it still holds true today.

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. There is the idea or even conviction that we can… Go wild, Christ-follower. Your words have no consequences here. Jesus doesn’t live in Vegas and we pretend that we can say something political and it “stays” in the political realm. But our hurting and hateful words don’t stay there. How we speak and love one another during these election days will linger far beyond the first Tuesday of November.

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 (caustic verbal attack or an abusively stated argument) 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 are called 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.

True Christ seekers will agree that we are commanded to help the poor, feed the hungry and pray for our leaders. Not one believer would say we should ignore the struggles of dealing with health care, immigration, the economy or the plight of the unborn and unwanted.

Here are seven things to remember about politics:

1. Both political parties go to church - including our church.

There’s a Christian Right & Left and, there’s a secular Right and Left. Party lines are drawn in chalk, and they're not hard to cross. The Church must speak into in politics – in love, not hate, but it must not be defined by the arbitrary lines in political parties.

2. Speaking about issues without disrespecting one another or those running for election is the standard for believers.

Each of us have ideas and beliefs that are fundamental to who we are and whom we would like to elect. When we see different solutions to a problem we are reflecting the diversity of God’s creation. When we attack a person’s character, race or religion we are sinning and attacking God’s creation. David, when he was being pursued by Saul said: “I will not touch the anointed one.” 1 Sam 26:9-11 David believed that God was sovereign and God would remove Saul in His timing. Was Saul behaving badly? Yes. Did God have a different plan for the leader of Israel? Yes. But David showed his trust in the sovereign God over revengeful and hateful action.

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 make gay marriage and abortion legal; our Republican neighbor who celebrates death penalty statistics; 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 or Democrat party’s of today don’t look like they 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 or ANYWHERE else, 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. Paul wrote those words when the Romans, who were in charge, were persecuting followers of Jesus. That matches the heart of Jesus when He said “pray for those who persecute you.”

6. Don’t be paranoid.

The country is not going to be destroyed if your candidate loses. As 2 Timothy 1:7 says, “God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” Stand up and demonstrate what God has given you. America has functioned—albeit, at varying levels of success—for years under the direction of alternating Democrat and Republican control, and at every flip, the other side thought it was the end of the world. It’s not. And if we’re a Church that believes God is in control, we have to believe that He is the one in control of the end times—not Barack Obama, not Mitt Romney and not whoever succeeds them. While we love our country we do not worship the United States our faith is built on Jesus not our country.

7. Stop saying, “This is the most important election in the history of our nation.”

It’s not. The most important election in the history of our nation was when Abraham Lincoln was elected president. Before that, we thought it was okay to own people. Every generation thinks it’s living in the most important moment in history. We’re not, our parents were not and our children probably won’t be. And that’s OK.

Sep 21, 2012 12:32pmed in the bulletin. We urge you to take a few moments to read this. Thanks 7 Things Christians Need to Remember About Politics How to be in the world, not of the world, in a culture of political vitriol. (Most of this was taken from an article in Relevant magazine by Bryan Roberts) 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. There is the idea or even conviction that we can… Go wild, Christ-follower. Your words have no consequences here. Jesus doesn’t live in Vegas and we pretend that we can say something political and it “stays” in the political realm. But our hurting and hateful words don’t stay there. How we speak and love one another during these election days will linger far beyond the first Tuesday of November. 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 (caustic verbal attack or an abusively stated argument) 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 are called 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. True Christ seekers will agree that we are commanded to help the poor, feed the hungry and pray for our leaders. Not one believer would say we should ignore the struggles of dealing with health care, immigration, the economy or the plight of the unborn and unwanted. Here are seven things to remember about politics: 1. Both political parties go to church - including our church. There’s a Christian Right & Left and, there’s a secular Right and Left. Party lines are drawn in chalk, and they're not hard to cross. The Church must speak into in politics – in love, not hate, but it must not be defined by the arbitrary lines in political parties. 2. Speaking about issues without disrespecting one another or those running for election is the standard for believers. Each of us have ideas and beliefs that are fundamental to who we are and whom we would like to elect. When we see different solutions to a problem we are reflecting the diversity of God’s creation. When we attack a person’s character, race or religion we are sinning and attacking God’s creation. David, when he was being pursued by Saul said: “I will not touch the anointed one.” 1 Sam 26:9-11 David believed that God was sovereign and God would remove Saul in His timing. Was Saul behaving badly? Yes. Did God have a different plan for the leader of Israel? Yes. But David showed his trust in the sovereign God over revengeful and hateful action. 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 make gay marriage and abortion legal; our Republican neighbor who celebrates death penalty statistics; 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 or Democrat party’s of today don’t look like they 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 or ANYWHERE else, 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. Paul wrote those words when the Romans, who were in charge, were persecuting followers of Jesus. That matches the heart of Jesus when He said “pray for those who persecute you.” 6. Don’t be paranoid. The country is not going to be destroyed if your candidate loses. As 2 Timothy 1:7 says, “God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” Stand up and demonstrate what God has given you. America has functioned—albeit, at varying levels of success—for years under the direction of alternating Democrat and Republican control, and at every flip, the other side thought it was the end of the world. It’s not. And if we’re a Church that believes God is in control, we have to believe that He is the one in control of the end times—not Barack Obama, not Mitt Romney and not whoever succeeds them. While we love our country we do not worship the United States our faith is built on Jesus not our country. 7. Stop saying, “This is the most important election in the history of our nation.” It’s not. The most important election in the history of our nation was when Abraham Lincoln was elected president. Before that, we thought it was okay to own people. Every generation thinks it’s living in the most important moment in history. We’re not, our parents were not and our children probably won’t be. And that’s OK.