So many of us freely proclaim our political beliefs and have no problems sharing over social media, the water cooler, or coffee. All the while keeping our faith in God top secret.
“I don’t want to offend”
“What if they think differently”
“it wouldn’t be politically correct”
These are the things that come into our minds over the anxiety of sharing about a selfless, loving healer that gave everything He had for you… I don’t want to offend. And it isn’t Jesus we are worried about offending… it’s the very people that need His name on their lips and in their heart that we fear upsetting with the actual medicine that they need.
But jumping into the violent, highly polarized, extremely biased political arena requires no thought at all.
I’ll talk about Covid and gun control and immigration and racism and elections and taxes and… many other things that are highly opinionated, extremely volatile, and by their very creation… divisive. I’ll buy stickers and change my online profile images and maybe even march! But on Sunday, my family will quietly slip out into the safety of the church building before I dare offer up any identity towards the eternal.
My prayer is for hard core, full scale reversal of this practice. May we slip in and out of the voter’s booth having cast our ballot based on our convictions and principles… and never utter a word of the choices we made or why. The power of your vote does not come from grandstanding or filibustering on the internet. It comes from that little check mark. Clicking that box is your duty as a citizen. Nothing else counts, matters, or will be remembered.
And when done, praise His name! Shout to the heavens. Live a life of thanksgiving. Live in humility. Share the Savior. Speak good. Do well. Have compassion. Exemplify love. Be Jesus! This doesn’t lead to a checkmark… it points towards the eternal. It’s not our temporary, it’s our foundation.
Your citizen duty is to vote. Your purpose in life is to praise. Can we shift this back to where it belongs? Can we see how a desperate enemy would use such confusion to his advantage?
Vote. Vote with all your heart. Vote in every election. But live for Jesus. Live outwardly, inwardly, and fully for Jesus. Jesus was asked a political question once and just like a common click-bait title we would see today, He made them regret having asked. He blew up their argument. He ‘destroyed’ them. 😉 They were ‘shredded’ because He didn’t fall for their trap and give them a political ground to stand against Him on.
What He basically said was to give to the government what belonged to the government and to give to Jesus what belonged to Jesus. When we give our time and energy to these ‘issues’ and fill the interwebs with our opinions… what we are doing is giving to the government… ourselves. That doesn’t belong to them. We are giving our efforts to the government and then trying to vote for Jesus quietly on a Sunday and it simply doesn’t work that way.
We are meant to quietly vote on election day and give our lives to the one who gave everything to us. With all our hearts, souls, minds, and strengths. Live like you are saved and embrace the Christian lifestyle that Jesus so openly and freely lived for our benefit.
If we should have learned one thing by now, no matter what side of the political aisle you sit on, is that everyone in that arena has an agenda. There, quite frankly, is no truth in politics. I would define politics as the desire to make something that is wrong, appear to be right.
The Christian should know… there is only one truth. It has never wavered and has never changed. God’s word has not flip-flopped, it has not excluded, and it does not obscure. It does the opposite. His truth brings light, clarity, and hope. This is what we should be sharing. Hope! Jesus is our hope. Are you bringing hope to the world? Are you bringing Jesus? Or do you feel the need to quote someone who makes a fortune and career out of making sure you stay upset?
Prayers for a permanent 180 degree turn around. Vote with your ballot and live for your Savior.
My Companion 