podcast@coffeetheologyandjesus.com

The Political Lie Christians Eat Up, and Love to Eat Up.

Few disclaimers.

1. My beliefs in the risen Christ far surpass my allegiance to some political party.

3.  If you’re a hard headed conservative or liberal then you’ll most likely be offended.  I make no apologies for that.

4. If it’s long winded….oh well

This topic has been on my mind for probably the past year or so.  It’s an election year, politics are a hot button issue, and I know these are turbulent, difficult times in our country (as well as the rest of the world).  But there’s an epidemic that has eaten it’s way in to the Christian movement.  It’s an epidemic of making political enemies, coming against other people in the name of values, morality, and “christianity” and it needs to stop.

I am blown away, absolutely blown away that people who claim to be Christians, followers of Jesus, are so easily sucked in to the political rhetoric vacuum.  I see “christians” posting pictures putting down our president.  I hear “christians” saying that we need to go to war over seas.  I hear many “christians” say things regarding political ideologies that make me say “How would Christ EVER support that?”

It’s frustrating because I read some of the most basic commandements Christ taught us.  Loving our enemies, praying for those who persecute you, turning the other cheek, being keepers of the peace, etc etc.  Then I see people bashing our president, supporting wars that kill hundreds of people, and I hear people who make an effort to avoid R rated movies, talk about politicians like they aren’t even human.   It frustrates me so much that we allow ourselves who claim to be followers of Jesus, the person who died for the sins of humanity, to be so rude, so demeaning, and so spiteful to other people.

Christ tells us to pray for those who persecute us. The “persecution” (if you can call it that) we suffer here in the states is absolutely nothing.  It’s petty little pieces of trash compared to history and other parts of the world today.  Yet I wonder how many evangelicals are praying for our president right now? I wonder how many christians have hearts of love for our president and other politicians.  Because I’ll tell you what, I don’t see any of it and I get so discouraged because we love to fight, and we hate to love.  We hate to be humble, we hate to admit that sometimes we aren’t always right.

Christianity has been hijacked by political garbage.  it’s taken us away from our first love, from Christ.  Politics have taken us away from our purpose, which is to be agents of love to a broken, dying world.  Agents that are ushering the kingdom of God, not the kingdom of conservatism, and not the kingdom of liberalism.

It’s not going to stop until people start laying down verbal weapons and start coming to the table open and honest.  I have many, many friends that have many different ideologies, yet we are able to find common ground. Why? because I’m not trying to put them down, and they aren’t trying to put me down.  We do our best to understand the viewpoints we have of different issues then come together to find the best solution.  Sometimes, my view is wrong and needs to change.  Other times their view is wrong and they change.  It’s a give and take conversation.  This is the calling of Christians.  We are called to be unifiers not dividers.  And if the other “side” is dividing people, then rise above it and make every effort to unify people.

We have a very warped sense of morality in our Christian circles.  We put a huge emphasis on not saying bad words, we put a huge emphasis on not drinking, smoking, or watching really bad movies.  But the emphasis on loving all people? On praying for people we disagree with? On making every effort to be unifiers, peace keepers, and people who introduce people to Jesus?  Well thats’ all on the back burner.  When it comes to politics those things are not even on the back burner, they are not even in the kitchen! They are nowhere in sight.  Because when it comes to politics, so many Christians put their faith on the back burner and put rhetoric and talking points in the forefront.  I truly believe the heart of God breaks watching His children participate in the verbal food fight that runs our country instead of rising above it and unifying people together.
Here’s the bottom line.  We need to realize what our calling is as followers of Christ.  It is NOT to be conservative, liberal, or whatever other political affiliation we have.  It’s not wrong to hold views that tend to fall in those categories, it’s wrong when those views take the drivers seat in our ideologies and beliefs.  Our allegiance as Christ followers is to the Kingdom of God period! Our allegiance does not lie with a particular nation, it lies with the Kingdom that Christ says “is not of this world”.  We need to set our minds to the ideologies of Christ.

When we get to heaven God isn’t going to ask us if we were conservative or liberal.  He’s going to ask us did we love God, and did we love people.  Did we do the will of the Father or were we too wrapped up in some political jargon to notice what the will of the Father even was?

-TW

P.S everything I said regarding being keepers of the peace, loving our enemies, praying for those who persecute us etc.  Can all be found in the sermon on the Mount from the guy that you most likely claim to follow.  Don’t tell me you’re a follower of Christ and then ignore some of his most direct teachings.  I’m not saying any of us execute these teachings perfectly, but to completely ignore them isn’t following Christ. It’s making up your own religion and choosing the nice convient teachings and ignoring the ones that make you uncomfortable