Christian Politics

I've been working up the nerve to write a political blog because I fear the fallout, but hey, it's my blog. I can say whatever I want. So here goes.

1) I hate that the church gets involved in politics. Not because I don't believe faith should influence our vote - I do - but because the church seems to think that means vote Republican no matter who's running. And while I align myself with the Republican party on the abortion issue, on issues of economy and equality my understanding of biblical principles sway me left. (Therefore I consider myself non-affiliated.) And I refuse to vote based on one issue. Especially abortion, because in 2004 I was persuaded to vote for Bush because in his 2nd term there were going to be two supreme court seats opened, and I was assured that if I voted for Bush he would appoint Republicans and Roe v. Wade would be overturned. So in that election more than any other, I was told, I needed to vote Republican. So I did. And I've come to realize that the President maybe doesn't have so much power on that issue as I thought.

2) As a follow up to that...I kind of wonder how much the President really influences things. I mean everyone is always asking the question "Are you better off now than you were four years ago?" Well, no, at least not because of anything Obama did...but I'm also not worse off. And I don't think that answer would've been any different if McCain had won.

3) Christian persecution. I heard this sermon a couple weeks ago that seemed a bit convoluted to me. The premise was that under Obama, our church is being persecuted. Hence (this was an undertone), our faith should influence us to vote for Romney to preserve the church. All the biblical examples he used of persecution showed stronger faith and a growing church. And in the end he said it doesn't matter who wins, it's the hearts of the voters that matter.

So this got me to thinking. Let's say I buy the premise that Obama persecutes Christian freedom (I actually don't). And let's say I buy the premise that persecution helps the church grow (I actually do). If these two things that seemed to be the theme of the sermon are both true, shouldn't our Christian faith influence us to vote for the one who will help the church grow - the one who is allegedly persecuting it? I mean, I sit here with a Bible on my nightstand and 6 more on my shelf, and more days than most I forget to crack it open. If owning a Bible was illegal I would either get rid of mine, or be gung-ho for immersing myself in it. Why risk the ownership unless I'm all in? And if Obama is going to illegalize Bibles (he's so not), and that would help my heart for God grow stronger...then he should be my pick. Right? I'm not saying I hope for persecution. But let's face it, the hearts of the voters would be either all for or all out in terms of the Christian faith if we were persecuted. (And no, I do not consider Target saying "Happy Holidays" a form of persecution.) There'd be no more room for luke warm faith. Is the point really just that Christians are afraid that a little heat will compromise the cushiness of our faith?

4) Abortion. So, I don't believe in abortion no matter what. But come on Christians, if we can compromise on rape and incest to have a better chance of saving 99% of aborted babies, why not do it? We can still stand by the fact that abortions are always wrong. But a vote is never going to pass if it doesn't allow for those exceptions. And for the love of Pete, leave birth control out of it. It's like an orphanage is on fire, and there are 100 kids inside, and the firemen come and say, "well, we can save 99 but there's one we won't be able to reach" and we say, "well then forget it. We value life, and if you can't save them all, we won't compromise on that."

5) I think Romney is ridiculous. Party affiliation aside, he is just ridiculous. I fully expect politicians to lie and change their alleged opinions, but come on. The guy changes his mind more than a newborn baby gets his diaper changed. (And they seem to be full of the same stuff.) Even if I did align myself more to the right side of the spectrum, I don't think I could vote for him. And if you disagree, that's fine, but please don't try to persuade me to change my mind. It's not going to work, just as I don't expect Romney supporters to go out and vote Obama after reading this.

6) Why do born again Christians keep bringing the candidate's faith into this? They keep saying that Obama claims to be a Christian but he doesn't really know the Bible (true of many Christians, let's face it), so we should vote Romney. Umm...last I checked most born again Christians don't consider mormonism to be a truly Christian religion. So even if you don't think Obama is a Christian, fine. Either way, we're not going to have a Christian President, so get over it.

OK. Rant done. This ends my political voice for the season, except for jokes. I will now return to referring to Romney as "Mittens."

Tear Down The Walls

I've been reading Ephesians lately. Chapter 2:11-18 talks about two groups: the uncircumcised and those who call themselves "the circumcision." While the uncircumcised were formerly excluded, in Christ they have been brought near to God.

Verses 15b-18 says: "[Jesus'] purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit."

What struck me is that I always thought Jesus died for our sins. And he did. But not exclusively. According to this passage, his death also put to death hostility between the "us" and the "them" groups. He tore down the "dividing wall of hostility" (v. 14). He died to bring peace.

Which got me to thinking: how often have we Christians just built that wall of hostility right back up? This passage makes it clear that everyone has access to God through the Spirit through Christ's death. But how often do we say (or imply by the way we speak out against things), "Jesus died for everyone—but not you."

"Not you—you're gay."

"Not you—you're a Democrat."

"Not you—you smoke cigarettes."

"Not you—you have tattoos and piercings."

"Not you—you don't like the King James Version."

Through our actions and our stances, sometimes we preach hatred, not peace.

Now, I want to be clear: being uncircumcised isn't a sin, where as some things we stand up against are. Some. But if sin blocks us from access to God through Jesus' death on the cross, well shoot. What did he even die for?

So, if even sinners like me have access to God through Christ, why would we imply that certain kinds of sinners don't?

I'll freely admit that I implied this all over the place in high school. I preached to others about faith a lot, but it was in the context of pointing judgmental fingers at them when they swore. I never would've said that I believe people who swear don't have access to God through Christ, because I didn't believe that. But my actions communicated that to the very people I was trying to reach.

There's a balance between standing up for what's right and acting as if Jesus doesn't love people who aren't doing those things. But the bottom line is: Jesus never asked anyone to clean up their lives until after they developed a relationship with him. We don't need to fix ourselves first. We can't. We bring ourselves to Jesus and he fixes us. Throughout our whole life. He doesn't stop working on us until we reach the pearly gates.

Politics

I hear people worry and argue a lot. About the economy, about political views, about all the things the government is doing wrong. About the environment, about abortion, about the degredation of America. About war, about international relations, about the starving children in Africa. About the hidden bacteria in our grocery bags and the cancer-inducing water bottles we drink from.

And for a moment, sometimes I worry, too.

But I always come back to the same thing. We live in a broken city, in a broken state, in a broken country, in a broken world. In this world there will never stop being wars, corrupt politicians, bad policies, and economical concerns. America may collapse, and as hard as it would be to live through that, I think...this is not my home. That's what I always come back to. This is not my home.

This country, this earth, it's so temporary, so broken. It hurts to live through the brokenness, especially when it touches those you love. It hurts to see my cousin deal with the loss of a leg as he sits in a hospital in Germany in critical condition, all because of war.  I can't imagine losing a limb. Aside from the excruciating physical pain, the emotional pain he must be feeling is overwhelming. The wondering about how his life will be different. The memories of what he's lived through. I can't even imagine it. I stub my toe and I turn into a big baby. Losing a limb? I can't fathom it.

But even as I read the updates on his health and pray for him, I hold on to that same thought: this is not his home. It is not my home. We are passing through. We live the best way we know how, to bring God glory, in the midst of a broken world, knowing that all the while, God is really the one in control.

Sometimes that's so hard to believe. But I trust him, I know that he knows so much better than me, and I know that no matter what happens with our government and our world, one day it will all be over. Josh will be restored to a better body than the one that just lost a leg. And I know where I'll be. My hope is not in this world, so I don't worry about all the things I can't change about our country. I do what I can to impact lives for God, and I'm trying to leave the control up to him.