Study – Grow – Know

Should Christians Avoid Political Issues and Politics in General? Part 1

January 26, 2015 at 9:20 AM 3 comments

I think there is a huge difference between being aware of and having opinions on political issues as opposed to being involved directly in politics, for the Christian. As I’ve stated before in other articles posted here, I have been struggling with my level of involvement in the political arena. At one point, here in the city where I live, I even ran for public office…and lost. Looking back, I honestly believe that losing was in God’s plan. The question of just how much (or whether at all) a Christian should be involved in politics is a real question and Christians need to take the time to deal with it as they would any other important issue in life.

But, we need to be clear on the difference between offering an opinion on a political issues and being involved in politics per se. With certain issues coming to the fore by Charles C. Johnson (GotNews.com) over the past couple of weeks regarding specific individuals within the so-called conservative political arena, my attention has been once again dawn to this issue. What is my involvement supposed to be?

It seems to me that many people who call themselves Christians, also call themselves conservatives and patriots. I, myself, believe it is difficult for a liberal/leftist to actually be an authentic Christian, which has, in the past, driven my political ideology, including the way in which I have responded to people. To me, it’s similar to what Jesus says about how difficult it is for a rich person to enter into the Kingdom of God (cf. Matthew 19) and that is due to the fact that a rich person puts his faith in his riches to the point that they are unwilling to let go of them if called upon by God to do so.

We see the left as a party that hates God. After all, at the last Democratic National Convention, God was boo’d several times. They did not want Him to be part of their party’s platform. The left also seems to be willing to fight to the death to keep abortion legal, not concerned at all for the unborn. They see the unborn not as viable life, but as fetal tissue and some have gone so far to say that even during a partial birth abortion procedure, if the baby survives, it should be left with the doctor and mother to decide whether to kill the baby. That is done either by putting it in a separate room to slowly die or snipping the baby’s neck as Gosnell did many times. Those on the left do not see this as murder.

The left shows little support for the founding documents of America to the point that many elected leftists try to change the Constitution even though they’ve taken an oath in which they’ve sworn to uphold and protect it. This makes them liars or ridiculously stupid people who don’t understand that they’re lying.

Bearing all of this in mind, we understand that many on the left lie, cheat, distort, steal, and more. All of these things can be easily justified by the left. Those on the left who say they are Christian may not do these things, but they support those who do within the political arena. In other words, the ends justifies the means for many on the left and much of Christianity is seen through the lens of social programs, something I don’t believe Jesus ever advocated that government should do at all. He did it Himself whenever He could. He designed His church (Acts 2ff) so that there was a system in place to help those within the local church who were in need. There were guidelines though to the process that are clearly spelled out in Acts and in numerous epistles written by Paul.

Today’s leftist Christian seems to lack understanding in my opinion as to the role of government. Whenever the government gets involved in helping people, it usually wastes quite a bit of money. Moreover, those Christians on the left go so far as to believe that the laws of the United States should not be upheld if it means not being able to help others. For instance, we should ignore boundaries between America and Mexico because there are people who are in desperate need in Mexico. They should be allowed to come here without restriction and get what they need.

Our country (and government) is not set up to accommodate that thinking. It will quickly bankrupt America, while ignoring people who are legally here who are currently being shoved aside. I think Jesus would be completely opposed to that because above all things, He obeyed the law. Where tradition was concerned, that was another story, which is why He would speak with the Samaritan woman (tradition was that Jews avoided Samaritans because of hatred between the two groups).

While Christians on the left play very fast and loose with laws of the land, believing that Jesus would set them aside (there is no evidence of Him ever setting one law aside in Scripture), Christians on the right are often too rigid concerning the law. We often hold our patriotism way above our Christianity. That often means that compassion goes out the door completely for principle. We have an obey the law, but seem at times to have no love. Those on the left can pick and choose which law they will obey or push because they believe compassion for others trumps the law. It doesn’t in my opinion.

There are a myriad of differences between the right and the left, conservatism and liberalism (or leftism). I’ve listed just a few. My biggest problem with using political ideologies to take sides is that it automatically creates “my team” and “my opponents.” Anyone who is not on “my team” is seen as “my opponent.” Because they are considered opponents, then all is fair in love and war, right? I can pounce on opponents when they fail or falter. I can even gloat about it, right? I can cheer when the left falls through sin or simply stupidity. That’s what Jesus would do, right? Hardly.

Sadly, there are many on the left who tell us they are Christians and do the same thing toward those of us on the right. It’s wrong.

I will be back later today with what I believe to be are some concrete examples from the Bible about the Christian’s responsibility in the world concerning political issues and politics in general. Let this article simply serve as an introduction to the subject. In reality, I view these articles as preaching to myself. If someone benefits from them, that’s fine too, but it helps to solidify my understanding of a particular subject when I can write about it. If you disagree, that’s fine. No harm done except maybe 15 minutes out of your life to read this.

My goal is emulate Jesus in all things and that means with my response to those with whom I disagree in the political realm. I think we’ve seen several examples of people who have jumped into the political realm to condemn the left, ridicule them, and have had the rug pulled out from underneath them due to their own pride (which goeth before a fall). Now that they’ve fallen because of their own sin, they’re stamping their feet and insisting that people stop looking at them, talking about them, or even questioning their commitment to Jesus. It’s the old “judge not” clause that is repeatedly ripped out of its context and thrown in the face of someone by another who has fallen and doesn’t like that type of spotlight shining on their life.

We’re all sinners. Some have simply received from Jesus the grace that comes by His offered salvation. Because we need His grace so much, that should force us to address others – even those we view as opponents – with grace and respect, right? Instead, we often see ourselves as better than others. If I find that developing within me, then it is far better for me to stay out of any controversial topics at least until such a time that the Lord can create within me enough of Himself so that His character – not mine – comes across.

What is the Christian’s obligation when it comes to political issues and politics? Join me next time for that answer.

Entry filed under: Life in America, Religious - Christian - End Times, Religious - Christian - Theology, salvation.