Jacksonville Chapel/Emergence

It's politic season again. What this means is that church after church will support one candidate over another, distribute propaganda in the form of "voter guides", and one pastor after another will be quoted and interviewed about who is "God's choice" for President.

Here's the deal: Christian does not equal Republican. Christian does not equal Democrat. In our country, certain issues have been adopted by certain parties. It is assumed if you are pro-life, you are a republican. It is also assumed that if you care about meeting the needs of the poor, you are a Democrat. These are not political party issues. These are people issues. We should all be concerned about the poor, abortion, or taking care of the planet God has given us.

There's plenty of temptation out there to push you to one side or another of the "aisle". Andrew Jackson, over at Smart Christian has put out a great list of how we should engage in politicas as believers without "selling out". Here's that list with some observations of my own:

1 - Christians must never allow ourselves to equate the biblical Kingdom of God with any human political party or nation (John 18:36; Isaiah 9:7; Matthew 6:33, Philippians 3:20, Revelation 11:15). I may get completely lambasted for this, but America is not "God's Chosen Nation". The Republicans are not "God's Chosen Party". When we can all look at the entire world God has created and see an even playing field, we'll be a lot closer to humbly realizing the world as God created it.

2 - Christians must never allow ourselves to elevate a specific politician to a messianic or savior status (1 Peter 3:15). We see this at every political rally or event. People worship at the altar of the elephant or donkey. There has even been a huge upswing of fainting at rallys this year because of being overwhelmed by being around the "superstars". This is nuts. I see it at concerts, too... even Christian concerts. Let's not forget who the Savior is.

3 - Christians must not just vote, but more importantly, we must pray for our government and the leaders of all political parties (Matthew 5:44, 1 Timothy 2:1-2). We are to pray for everyone--especially our enemies--even political ones! We should not curse or bash the other people, just because we don't agree.

4 - Christians must always remember that our ultimate security is in Christ and in the unshakeable kingdom of God, no matter what presidential candidate or party wins (Hebrews 12:26-29). I've heard numerous times that if we elect a certain candidate over another, we are destined to be attacked and brought down to our knees as a country. While it may seem like one person's stance on defense is more hefty than another's, our ultimate security and protection is found in Christ.

5 - Christians must never allow ourselves to bring the divisiveness and polarization of political parties into the church, the family of God (Romans 16:17, 1 Corinthians 1:11-12). Divisiveness occurs for many reasons. Sometimes, it is trivial (music style, color of carpet, etc) and other times it is deeper. No matter how deep your political affiliation is, Christ's prayer was for us to be one. Yes! You can worship alongside of someone who supports a different party!

6 - Christians must never allow ourselves to demonize or dehumaize another person - no matter what politician it is - because every single human has been created in the image of God (Colossians 3:8, Matthew 7:1, James 4:12). Campaigns never engage in this kind of warfare, do they? Ha. Even your worst enemy was created in the image of God!

7 - Christians must never engage in angry confrontational arguments, instead of being open to learn through civil debate and dialogue (James 1:20, Philippians 2:14-16, 2 Timothy 2:14). Understanding that your opinion is not necessarily the "right" one or the only one is so crucial to discussing politics. There are good and bad sides to every candidate--every party. Let's be honest about humanity and discuss things in the right way.

8 - Christians must never allow ourselves to become so intertwined so closely with one political party that we forfeit our independent identity as followers of Christ. When we do, we lose the prophetic voice to speak and clarify biblical truth to all politicians and political parties (1 Timothy 3:15, Ephesians 4:15, Romans 3:4). The second you start raving the red or blue banner, you have lost the ability to speak to the other side without being an enemy. I don't know about you, but I'm a Christian. It's the only label I really want to thrust on myself.

9 - Christians must never allow ourselves to engage in partisan politics by supporting divisiveness between races, between male and female, between rich and poor, and between the young and old (Matthew 5:9, 2 Corinthians 5:18-19). Because we know the God of peace, we should be the peacemakers. Especially in a race highlighted by such diversity--a black male, a white female, and an older guy--we cannot choose sides based on gender, race, or age. That's just plain silly, besides.

10 - Christians must not allow ourselves to fall into the trap of simply cursing the darkness through negativity, instead of constructively engaging our world as perserving salt and illuminating light (Matthew 5:13-16). The only way to change soemthing is to be a part of the process. Don't stand off to the side whining. Be productive and constructive. No one likes a negative person--let alone a Christian.

So, there ya go. That's my political statement for this year. Now...go live for Christ... not for some political hack or pompous pundit.