Politics and Prose

Yay, we’re in another election year! (I hope you can taste the sarcasm in my voice). Another election year of being as reductionistic as possible. Seriously, it’s like we learn nothing every four years (which is a problem because there are elections every year). 

I will never tell you how to vote or who you should vote for. The goal is always to get us all to consider how we are thinking about things. 

I recently had a conversation with a friend about not imposing her religious beliefs on others and therefore she can’t vote with Jesus in mind. This is a common line of thinking but there’s a small problem in there. 

We are not Christians in some parts of our lives and not others. It’s like saying, when I go to work, I’m not going to be a Christian because my workplace is not the place to bring that Jesus stuff. 

When we think like this, we completely miss the mandate to be salt and light in this world. We carry the message of the Gospel with us wherever we go. Our aim iis to follow Jesus in all of life for all of life. 

Further, I think the “I’m going to leave Jesus behind in certain places” view is devoid of love. If we believe that Jesus is the only way and that he radically changed our lives, it is unloving not to share that with others. 

Consider this, there are only two options for eternity: life with Jesus or life apart from him, hell. Love compels me to tell you about the hope that I have. I’m carrying that hope with me everywhere that I go, including the voting booth. 

Who to vote for

Can I just say, personal opinion here, the American political system as it presently stands, sucks. Every four years, we’re talking about the lesser of two evils. We’re forced into unsavory binaries and some of us feel like we’re unable to be faithful to Jesus under this system. 

One of my favorite quotes is: I’m too liberal for conservatives and too conservative for liberals, said anyone following the whole Jesus. 

Maybe it’s a little reductionist but you get the point. As believers, I don’t think we can fit neatly into anyone’s political categories. Which leads to the all-important question, if we’re trapped in a binary then what do we do?

I think it starts with voting with your conscience and what you believe to be the most biblically true (Rom. 14:5). I emphasize biblically true here because so often we find ourselves being discipled by our political parties and favorite influencers rather than the Word of God. 

If we’re following God’s Word then I think that leaves us with some conundrums. Whether we like to admit it or not, the Bible isn’t as black-and-white about everything like we would like it to be. Our brains need shortcuts, the easiest thing for us to do is categorize things as simply as possible so we don’t have to think about them again. 

This is how biases become harmful. We have a bad interaction with one type of person and assume all of those persons are bad people. Our brains created a harmful shortcut. We have this same tendency theologically. 

 I’ll take the most hot-button issue (because losing subscribers is always fun). 

Abortion. The historic Christian position has always been pro-life. In all of Christian history, killing the baby has never been the first option. With that said, in all of Christian history, pro-life has never just meant pro-birth. 

In the historical record, Christians were at the forefront of starting hospitals, orphanages, universities, and education initiatives for all. Christians were the ones who stayed behind to care for the sick during plagues at great risk to themselves when everyone else fled (See the smallpox outbreak in Rome in 165AD). 

It is nearly impossible to go more than four pages of any book in the Old Testament without seeing the command to care for the poor and most vulnerable in society. Israel was supposed to leave the edges of their fields unharvested so that those passing through and in need could be taken care of (Lev. 23:22). The sin of Sodom and Gomorrah was that they didn’t do justice (Ezek, 16:49). The passage Jesus uses to open his ministry says he has come to set the oppressed free (Lk. 4:18). 

Take all of that into consideration and the question you now have to answer is: how do I vote on this issue? On one side there’s an ethic that says to have the baby at all costs while supporting policies that would diminish the child’s life on earth (a simple example is taking healthcare away from 40 million people). On the other side, some policies seek to improve the quality of a person’s life but also see a fetus as not a person. 

Vote your conviction but understand that each answer is an imperfect solution. 

Let the Church be the Church

I recently witnessed a conversation where people were arguing about going on a mission trip. Many of the arguments against going were centered around the government doing too much for non-Americans and issues abroad. I interjected to remind the participants that we are the church and not the government. 

Our hope and aim is not in the power we wield politically but in Jesus who sits on the throne. Our job is to do what we have been called to do: make disciples. An easy definition of that is walking with God and leading others to do the same. 

And this is what it really comes down to. Vote all you want but who are you discipling? 

What other ways are you making fertile ground for the gospel to be shared?

If your church shut down tomorrow, would your neighborhood miss you? 

North Carolina provides my favorite example of an opportunity for the Church to put its money where its mouth is. If every church in the state, not family, adopted a child in the foster system, it would be done away with. I use this example because North Carolina is a state that typically votes pro-life. Here is a chance to go one step further and give the most vulnerable in their state a home. If the Church is going to take the lead in the realm of ethics, this is the low-hanging fruit to show a consistent pro-life ethic. 

I Pledge Allegiance 

I’ll close with this, we are called to be ambassadors of Christ (2 Cor. 5:20). An ambassador is an authorized messenger or representative of a higher authority. Who we are, as people, signals to the world who we represent and where our allegiances lie. 

Who do you represent? Your nation? Your party? Or your God?

What I’m Reading

Turtles All the Way Down by John Green

I Finally Bought Some Jordans by Michael Arceneaux 

Practicing the Way by John Mark Comer

A Final Word

"How strong and merciful are the arms of grace to hold our collapsing selves on a given day." -Charles Spurgeon