Saturday, October 18, 2008

Lisa Samson on politics

I want to share with you something that Lisa Samson wrote on her facebook page.  
I'll admit that I used to have problems understanding how a person could be a Christian and vote a certain way.  But as I become more aware of the diversity in the Kingdom of God, I have less problems with it.  
My hubby and I were talking today about how Jesus was not political at all.  He did  not try to change things through the political system.  And I'm not really sure that's working for us, either.  Perhaps if we want to change things, it needs to be done through how we live and love instead.  

God's Will Be Done

A lot of my primary colored friends, both red and blue,
 are openly endorsing a presidential candidate. It's their right . . .
 and . . . I can't blame them. I'm the gal that seeks
 to be in a state of reconciliation with my 
brothers and sisters in Christ, so I normally 
try to concentrate on what we agree upon.

I've seen the political divide do more amputation 
in the body of Christ than anything else. 
Now is it true amputation? No. But in the minds 
of believers, they have, for all practical purposes, 
cut off brothers and sisters. I'm not willing to go there. 
Jesus' last wish before his ascension was that 
we be one. Does that mean we have to agree 
on everything? No. But it does say to me, 
at the very least, I can't tell you you're not in Christ
 or even go so far as saying what one fellow 
believer said if you don't vote for his candidate, 
"As a result, many Christians are no different 
than non-Christians in their worldviews 
and their actions." NO different? Really?

This type of rhetoric is something I abhor. 
It is cowardly because it immediately says 
if you disagree, you are not Christlike, and there's 
no reason, other than disobedience to God's word, 
you could possibly feel that way so you're not 
worth talking with. (The "you're a dumb-dumb" 
if you don't agree with me is another popular 
device but a bit off topic. Just had to get that out there.) 
Either way, I find no place for these sorts of line 
in good debate, but especially between Christians.

Because if we declare that those who do not vote 
with us are not good Christians, they have plenty 
on their side to support that you're not either. 
Abortion, gay marriage are the crying card 
of the believers on the right side of the spectrum - 
poverty, war, the death penalty, on the left. 
If you're Catholic like I am, you're really in a twist here, 
because not only do you decry abortion, 
but both Pope Benedict XVI and 
John Paul II (man do I miss him!) declared the 
invasion of Iraq unjust. Both candidates 
favor embryonic stem cell research. 

What's a person to do? 

Recently I started a group on facebook called 
"No Matter Who Wins" a call for prayer for 
whoever is the next President of the United States 
and, health permitting, fasting the day before 
and/or of election day. (Can I get an amen 
that day can't come soon enough?) I know the wide
 variety of my friends on facebook, and to see 
who believes prayer matters, and how diametrically 
opposed they are to one another politically 
makes me chuckle warmly, because these days, 
there's really only one place all Christians can join
 together, one posture--on our knees--
where we are the same. 

So I do not ask you to vote for one person or 
the other, (in good conscience I cannot vote for either), 
because by Nov. 5th, we'll all know, if we believe this 
from Romans 13 that "there is no authority except 
that which God has established," who God put into power. 
Does that mean everything that person does is God's 
will from then on out? I don't think so. But it can and 
does give us comfort that God is still in the kingmaking 
business and we can do what we can, but in the end, 
the choice is his.

So, instead of telling everyone who God wants, 
maybe it would be a better choice to say what you 
can only truthfully say, "This is who I want." 
Because God may have reasons you cannot 
know when putting someone in office. It may be 
judgment, it may be for peace in a way you 
can't now predict. (Hey, nobody expected the 
Messiah to be a wandering prophet from Nazareth!) 
And then rest in the fact that God's will most 
definitely will be done, and while his choice may 
not have been yours, comfort yourself that you just 
tried to do the best you could with the knowledge 
you were given.

In all of this, let's keep praying, and not only praying, 
but seeking each day to follow in the footsteps of 
our Master, to take his teaching and his example 
seriously, to love better, live holier, give lavishly, 
and learn how to be His Body in a way that will be 
the true healing of our nation. 


Feel free to pass this on. You don't even have to give me 
credit! (I like to share.)

7 comments:

  1. Here's the deal. In the days when Jesus walked on the earth, they didn't have democracies. Rome was a dictatorship, the people had no options. And since we live in a free society, you can decide to vote or not. However, evil flourishes when good men do nothing.

    I agree, God is in control and He establishes the leaders. However, I don't think that releases us from voting and praying and doing all we can.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Jan, Right. I'm not meaning that we shouldn't vote. But it often seems that Christians put all their eggs in the political basket when it comes to changing things and I really don't see how we've been able to accomplish much that way so far.
    But we all should definitely take advantage of our right to vote and vote prayerfully for the person we think best.

    My hubby and I were actually talking about politics in the pulpit when the subject came up.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I'm reading Clarence Thomas' book "My Grandfather's Son" and he talks about how difficult it is to change things in Washington despite the determination of the party in office. Call me old-fashioned, but I'd like less government control in this country, not more. Some of the "issues" this year are things that should never have become political in the first place. They are moral problems.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I will have to say that we will have to agree to disagree when it comes to this article. :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Indeed, ladies. I agree with you.

    ReplyDelete
  6. (Kay, could you email me--I've tried to send you an email twice and it's failed to get there. Do you have a new email address?)

    ReplyDelete
  7. I think in deciding, choosing, determining, agreeing, disagreeing, it all has to be done with regards to God's Word and what He teaches. It's not so much about taking sides as it is about always seeking the right thing according to what is taught in Scripture.

    For me politics isn't so much about working for change as it is about trying to do right in all things according to God's Word.

    ReplyDelete

I love to hear your thoughts!