Politics and Faith

My second oldest son is starting a new political party.  He's entitled it the "Conberals."  See what he did?  He put conservatives and liberals together and came up with a new word and a new party.  He has a slogan, emblem, and he's looking for members.  Gabe is also pretty astute when it comes to all things news.  He wakes up in the morning and turns on the TV searching for the latest headlines. 

Truth be told, Derik and I are pretty politically minded as well.  But we tend to keep quiet about it.  In a world that is so politically charged, we have made a conscious decision to put our politics on the back burner.  Why?  Because people who define themselves as highly political have divided into an us vs. them mentality and general logical discussion has become a thing of the past.  While Derik and I hold firm political positions, we feel more strongly about matters of the faith. 

If all liberals hate conservatives and all conservatives hate liberals, how would a liberal witness to a conservative and how would a conservative witness to a liberal?  If an independent tried to witness to a staunch conservative or liberal, people of the passionate political persuasion, often push the independent to pick sides.

In spite of what you may hear, Christ was neither a liberal or a conservative.  How do I know?  Because Christ had a mission - to do the will of God the Father who sent Him.  John 6:38 - For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him [The Father] who sent me.  Christ was focused on things eternal.  He was concerned with the state of a person's soul.  He did NOT advocate in favor of social justice for the Jews.  He did NOT teach on the principles of low taxes or small government.  We can try to justify our politics based upon biblical principles.  But politics change - sometimes by the minute.  The principles in the Bible do not change.  A liberal 100 years ago is not the same as a liberal today.  A conservative today will not be the same as a conservative 100 years from now.  But what Jesus taught thousands of years ago IS the same today.

I squirm when I hear politics preached in churches and by Christians.  Now, certainly, I have biblical viewpoints which guide me in the voting booth.  But not all Christians are Americans.  Many Christians do not have the right to vote, and regardless of how you feel, the Bible doesn't not denote what the proper form of government should be. When we make identity politics the focal point of our lives, we sin.  Our identity is not found in the political world, but rather in Christ.