Saturday, January 21, 2017

My Politics Aren't Christian

Love or hate your leader, this is still adorable.
I really wish I could use scripture to say my politics are more Christian than yours.  But I can't.

My only comfort is that your politics aren't more Christian than mine, either.

My dad taught that the Jewish people of Biblical times thought the Messiah would bring sweeping social and political change, essentially bringing back the halcyon days where Israel was prosperous and powerful.

But he didn't.  Jesus didn't drive out the Romans; he didn't campaign for political office or join the priests or lobby for legislative change.

In fact, the only political statement Jesus made was: "Render unto Caesar what is Caesar's."

It's not anti-Christian to make a social and political difference, but neither is it Christian.

Christian is supporting spiritual change on a personal level.  "Go and sin no more" wasn't legislation Jesus tried to push through, it was said to a woman whose heart he saw and knew.

Christian is focusing on the spiritual health of the people around you, connecting your life to others.

Jesus spent time with people.  He spoke to smelly rooms full of strangers, on blistering beaches, in the dust and the dirt, among the salt of the earth.

Jesus, who is God, paid no attention to the state of his country.  He paid attention to souls.  When his country killed him, he didn't rail against the political system.  He focused on the men dying with him.

Politics inspire our passion, causing both joy and rage, but if we want to follow Jesus' example, we can't allow the problems of the world to ruin the love between us.