Years ago my grandfather told me. “Davey, politics is a dirty business.” As I have gotten older, I have come to understand what he meant.
From time to time, I have quoted to our church something Steve Brown said about politics. When he was a pastor, he would tell his church, “I have political opinions, and they’re better than yours. But that not why we’re here.” And once or twice over the years I’ve had to exhort some of the brothers and sisters to leave politics outside the church. Not very often, but it has happened. I really want there to be places in my life that are free from political rancor. Like church. Or playing music.
I think one of the things that grieves me the most is the black-and-white characterizations of people who vote differently than someone’s own perspective. I really don’t know anyone who thinks that a particular political candidate “walks on water.” I know lots of people who will readily admit that a candidate is flawed, even very flawed, but who still generally works to accomplish what they consider to be good things.
And I long ago realized that there is only one Messiah per universe, and He isn’t running for office in either political party.
Also, long ago I decided that I would rather hire a foul-mouthed, immoral plumber who could actually fix my toilet, rather than a “Christian” plumber who was faithful to his wife and kids but lousy at plumbing. And at times I have applied that same standard to political candidates.
Sometimes I have voted against one candidate, rather than voting enthusiastically for the other candidate. I have “held my nose” and voted for the candidate I thought would do the least harm.
I believe the Bible calls on Christians to be involved in the nation we live in, and to exert as much influence as we can for Christ. I think Christians ought to vote intelligently and according to their faith.
But we don’t pass out voting records or endorse political candidates from the pulpit, and we don’t host political candidates in church. I can’t imagine the uproar if we tried to do those things. And I am completely baffled as to why these things happen on a regular basis in African-American churches, and no one thinks anything of it. I’m sure somebody will call me a racist for even bringing it up. I just don’t understand it.
We live in pagan America. The historically demonstrable Christian influence on the founding of our nation has diminished dramatically. But that can’t mean that we give up on our nation, retreat to the four walls of our churches, and just try to pay the light bill till Jesus comes. That is forsaking the battleground and ceding victory to those who oppose what we believe, without a fight.
When the Jewish people were conquered and taken into exile by Babylon, God told them through His prophet to seek the welfare of the cities where they found themselves. “But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the LORD on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.” (Jeremiah 29:7)
They weren’t supposed to make Babylon into a new Israel. That would have been ridiculous and unattainable. But they were trying to exert a moral and spiritual influence on those around them, as God told them to do.
In the late 1800s, The Jewish people fled the violent pogroms in Russia, and many of them ended up in England. They didn’t speak the language, and they dressed and acted differently than the British.
The Jews were viewed with suspicion and mistrust, vilified and libeled, and sometimes physically abused. Because of all this, the Jewish people were forced to live in the poorest and worst districts of London.
But a remarkable thing happened in those districts. Wherever the Jews lived, they started synagogues so they could worship. And wherever there was a synagogue, it exerted an uplifting moral influence on the surrounding neighborhood. The streets were cleaner, the houses were better kept, and the Jewish people more law-abiding. Jews weren’t welcomed into English society, but they still did English society much good, simply by trying to worship and obey God where they were.
This is what Christians are supposed to do, too. We may be increasingly surrounded by those who are suspicious, hostile, or even violent towards Christians and Christianity. What do we do when so many seem to deliberately distort who we are and what we believe? What do we do when so many seem to hate us?
We do what God told the Jews to do. We stay faithful to God, worship and live for Him, and seek the good of the city and country in which we live. We live in this nation, but remember that we are citizens of another Kingdom. The Apostle Paul wrote, “But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ…” (Philippians 3:20)
And we take a deep breath, swallow hard, and remember Jesus told us to love our enemies. “But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.” (Matthew 5:44-45)
We are to love our enemies because God loved us when we were His enemy. “…but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8)
To quote Steve Brown again; “You think about that!”
Soli Deo Gloria!
Pastor David