Here I am one more time talking about the subject of politics and the Christian. This is my last post in the series. I do not wish to belabor the point, and feel other topics need to be examined. Today, I want to focus on where the Christian puts their hope for their future as individuals, and the future of this country. Now my opinions, for whatever they are worth, should not be considered the gospel, for there is only one Gospel. But here goes.
I think Satan uses every measure possible to distract mankind from the things that really matter and that would bring us true fulfillment. The most important of which is to have an intimate and deep relationship with God in Jesus Christ. I think Satan uses politics to divide the masses. And not just divide the masses, but to destroy the very principle at the basis of the “greatest commandment”: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself’” Matthew 22:37.40. This is not an optional platitude or some mission statement. It’s a directive. How does politics or the use of politics by the enemy seek to destroy this principle? By pitting neighbor against neighbor in the worship of their own political ideology. Our political ideology and party becomes our god. We trade in the strategic vision of the abundant eternal blessings, for the crumbs gained in the temporal political battle.
And this is not a new problem. Look back to the days of Jesus. If ever there was a viable political candidate, it was He. He related to the common man by sleeping in the fields and in houses of people who were generous enough to invite him in. He healed the sick, He fed the hungry, and He cared for the poor. He was also a true reformer. He ate dinner with tax collectors and prostitutes, He chased out those who turned the temple into a market place that exploited people desire to have their sins atoned for through sacrifices, and He pardoned the mistress caught in the very act of adultry. He had no wife, no mistresses, no shady business deals, and when given the opportunity to glorify Himself, He demurred. He refused to even debate with the body-politic on the subject of politics/religion. And He shared His power and authority with those who gave up the trappings of the world as He had done. Of course, His immediate ministry and future would be bright, right? The story ends with Him riding into town on a colt one Sunday. By Friday, a lynch mob had used the state political process to murder Him.
As a people, we can be quite vile, heartless, smug, self-righteous, and judgmental. And we can do this with very little effort. For all of the confidence we may have in our guile and intelligence, we can also be easily manipulated to do evil. Of course, we often disguise this natural tendency by keeping a close check on our behavior. But the problem still lurks in our hearts. It’s one of the many by-products of our sinful nature. Only in the sphere of politics is the aforementioned behavior justified. And not just justified, it’s encouraged. And if someone has the gall to have a different political view, we consider them inferior to us. We have contempt for them. We mock them. We take glee in their shortcomings and their troubles. And we feel justified because our way is the right way. But is it?
In truth, God’s way is the right way. His ways encompasses everything that is true, right, and pure. He cares for the poor and the elderly. He also knows and loves the unborn. He hates the rich, who get rich by exploiting the poor and vulnerable. He also admires the diligent and productive worker who makes sound decisions with their resources. He calls us to emulate the ant, and not the sloth. But most importantly, He calls us to know and love Him, and to love each other.
Unfortunately, many Bible-believing, God-fearing Christians are so caught up in who is a Democrat and who is a Republican, we often end up discarding whole sections of the Body of Christ due to difference in our political opinions. We are drawn into the little box that pumps out the clamor found on CNN, FOX, MSNBC, or the Big 3 broadcast networks. We feed on the words of the many experts, who provide so much information. Forgetting that this world has an appointment to be judged, and that Satan is working to ensure we are all caught by surprise when that appointment comes due.
We also tend to be highly selective of which tenets of God's word (which is His revealed will by the way), we think are important. We vote for candidates who will “take care of the poor”. Unfortunately, these candidates are either outright advocates or implicit accomplices of the killing of 50 million unborn in the past 35 years. We also vote for candidates who stand for “family values” and “small government”. But these same candidates voted for the greatest period of government spending in the history of this country, but not for the benefit of the common man. They also implicitly refuse to ensure the financial security of families who lose loved ones in wars they advocate. In short, the political system/parties/process only addresses a small sliver of the needs of mankind. It’s the same problem we’ve always refused to admit: That we can’t save ourselves or each other. God in Jesus Christ gets to the root of our needs: To be forgiven of our grievous offenses against God and each other, and to be restored to God. Jesus is the Remedy. Not Palin. Not Obama. Or any other Democrat or Republican.
As Christians, the desire to tell the world about the Remedy should be our work. Not wallowing in the cesspool of political group think the enemy so gleefully supplies us, in the hopes we forget about the eternal. And since we know what the enemy’s goals are, we should never be willing or unwitting participants in them. Again, please be mindful of the appointment that approaches.
Be blessed,
Your brother in Christ
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