While our friends and fellow church-goers start to advocate for "The Christian Party," the CNN articles begin to surface. You know the ones I'm talking about. From Todd Akin's poorly worded statement that women won't get pregnant from a "legitimate rape." Or Arkansas rep Jon Hubbard saying that slavery may have been a good thing. Or Richard Mourdock saying that pregnancy from rape is "something God intended."
And we wonder why people think that Christians are a bunch of hateful bigots, racists, and homophobes?
This is the party of God? This is the message that supposed Christians are sending to voters? It's no wonder that people hate the church and are antagonistic to The Gospel. We can't blame them. We are literally driving people away by turning the Bible into a political pundit.
For the record, I am by no means "pro-abortion." I, personally, would never end the life of an organism that is living inside me. And I, personally, have no plans on entering into a homosexual relationship anytime soon....or ever, but I will never, ever alienate or denigrate a person who does.
Why? Because I am broken. I have failed. I have committed every sin in the book. And I have been loved. I have been loved by friends, Christian and non-Christian, gay and straight, who have stood by me when I didn't deserve it. And despite all of the stupid things I have done, I have been showed grace. And if I fail to pass that grace on to others, I am a hypocrite.
I believe that I have one calling as a Christian, and that is to love broken people. In the book of Romans, Paul tells us:
"There is no one righteous, not even one." - Romans 3:10
and in the book of Matthew, Jesus tells his disciples:
"Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?" -Matthew 7:3
...and what about the book of Luke where Christ says,
" Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven " - Luke 6:37
...or in the book of Romans where Paul says,
"Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on his disputable matters."
- Romans 14:1
At what point did Christians forget these commands? At what point did we start preaching a gospel of legalism and condescension, and, more importantly, at which point did Jesus pick up a picket sign telling his followers to vote for the more "conservative" Caesar? Jesus never asked us to legislate morality. Jesus never told us to build Christian beliefs into the Constitution. He called us to love. He called us to show grace, even to people who are different than us. And he called us to recognize our own flaws before calling out others for theirs.
I have heard too many Christians complaining about Obama's reelection, and, to be honest, it makes me sick. Firstly, because the Bible makes it clear that we are "aliens and strangers in this world." (1 Peter 2:11). And we are to "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's." (Mark 12:17). We are not called to define ourselves by our party affiliation, because politics are ephemeral. Eventually everything fades, so to attach our faith so staunchly to a worldly institution is a waste of time. I am not a democrat. I am a Christian. My goal is to make believers of all nations, and I believe that I can do that regardless of who is in office or what legislation comes to congress.
Secondly, we have to remember that there are Biblical principles being reflected in both parties. The Republicans, for the most part, are well intentioned people who are trying to make a positive impact in the world. But they by no means are the only ones trying to encourage Christian principles. The people you see wearing the "Christians for Obama" pins are not voting against their faith.
Jesus was very clear that we are to:
"Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will never fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys."
- Luke 12:33
God makes it clear that all of our blessings come from him. They do not belong to us. At no point does The Bible say, "Keep all of your money because you earned it."
Pastor Rob Bell sums things up very well in his book Jesus Wants to Save Christians:
"Exile is when you fail to convert your blessings into blessings for others...God doesn't have a problem with eating and drinking and owning things. It's when those things come at the expense of others having their basic needs met - that's when the passionate rants of the prophets really kick in." (p. 45-46)
He also reminds us that:
"Jesus was a Middle Eastern man who lived in an occupied country and was killed by the superpower of his day. The Roman Empire, which put Jesus on an execution stake, insisted that it was bringing peace to the world through it's massive military might, and anybody who didn't see it this way just might be put in a cross." (p 17 -18)
"In an empire of indifference, as it becomes harder and harder to understand the perspective of others, it becomes easier and easier to confuse blessing with entitlement. Entitlement leads to immunity from the suffering of others, because 'I got what I deserve" and so, apparently, did they." (p. 124)
It is time to end the empire of indifference. And I truly believe that the current administration is attempting to do that.
I can't claim to speak for God. And trust me, I don't have it all figured out. And I realize that my human nature makes it impossible to know the surpassing grace and brilliance of the Lord. But I know one thing: God doesn't believe in American Exceptionalism. And I can almost guarantee that Jesus didn't cast a vote yesterday. So maybe it's time for us to stop attaching our politics to our faith, because they're dragging it down.
In C.S. Lewis' book the Screwtape Letters, the main character, a high ranking demon, tells his nephew, a lower ranking demon, about the dangers of religion and politics. He says:
"Let him begin by treating Patriotism as part of his religion. Then let him, under the influence of partisan spirit, come to regard it as the most important part. Then quietly and gradually nurse him on to the state at which the religion becomes merely a part of the “cause,” in which Christianity is valued chiefly because of the excellent argument it can produce….Once you have made the World an end, and faith a means, you have almost won your man, and it makes very little difference what kind of worldly end he is pursuing." (p. 53)
Politics, when given priority, can kill a man's faith.
I leave you with two of my favorite songs:
"Give Me Your Eyes" By Brandon Heath
"Give me your eyes for just one second,
Give me your eyes so I can see,
Everything that I've been missing,
Give me your love for humanity."
"Let us love like we were children,
Let us feel like we're still living
in a world I know is burning to the ground."
