This article is a long time coming and one that I hope will convict many of you for placing your faith in anyone other than God. On a daily basis, I have to endure people commenting through our various social channels regarding Obama this or Obama that in regards to the moral decay of our nation. I try to stay quiet in regards to politics for the simple reason that I take seriously Paul’s command to submit myself to earthly leaders. In short, I give to Cesar what is Cesar’s and to God what is God’s. I know that my Lord is sovereign over all things and that He is in control. What I am confused about is how many supposed Christians make a 1 for 1 connection between political affiliation and salvation. There are so many of you who literally believe that Jesus is a card-carrying member of the Republican Party. The reality is that Jesus would have abhorred the Republican Party as much as He would have abhorred the Democratic Party. All one needs to do is read the bible to realize that Jesus was neither a liberal nor a conservative, but God.
I have to profess before I get too far along that I vote Republican consistently for the simple reason that I am a single-issue voter. I personally can’t vote for anyone who believes that killing children is ok. That being said, I generally dislike the person I vote for even if they have the title of Republican. What I refuse to do is vote Republican because I believe in doing otherwise would be impossible as a Christian. I know many believers who vote Democrat for the simple reason that they can’t stand the way they treat the less fortunate and frankly I don’t blame them and I’m sorry to say, neither would Jesus.
For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me. – Matthew 25:35-37
I could fill up a book of verses from the bible that discusses the command of helping the poor and needy. From the Old Testament to the Epistles, we are commanded to give sacrificially to the poor and needy. Even more convicting and topical is the command to take care of the stranger. Considering that the Republican Party has been focusing on excluding the immigrant and the refugee out of a fear of terrorist attacks (as if that would prevent anything) shows a complete and total lack of faith in God working all things for our good. Many “Christians” have placed their faith in men who have shown that they care nothing about the poor and needy, the hurting and the homeless, the scared and powerless.
I am not saying that the Democratic Party is better, only that they aren’t much worse. I am also saying that many of you are more concerned with who will win the race for President than you are about spreading the Gospel to a lost and ever increasingly rebellious nation. I am going to say something that will shock and probably upset many of you but the truth is that there are just as many lost folks in the Republican Party as there are in the Democratic Party. The “religious right” is a construct that has been created in order to get you to associate your morality with your political affiliation. This is wrong and this is unbiblical. We are to place our faith in God and in God alone. Anything less is sinful.
This article is being written for the simple reason that I have seen some of the most horrifying examples of unchristian comments regarding liberals and Democrats. Some of you cuss and curse fellow image bearers of God because you disagree with them and don’t even realize that you are being just as hypocritical as the people who you attack. Rather than being broken hearted for the lost, you spew hate and anger towards them. Rather than reaching out and being salt and light, we condemn and judge.
We are to love our fellow image bearers of God. This command does not mean to love only those who agree with us politically or those who live within the borders of our country. We are to sacrificially give to the poor and to tell them about the love of God. We are to fight for every innocent life and we are to take care of those lives after they are born. We are to proclaim the truth of what Jesus did for us on the cross and we are to fight for the religious liberty of all people. We are to submit to worldly authority and we are to be willing to die for the Gospel. Tell me, which political party or politician possess all those traits? Here is a hint, none of them. Embrace your exile in Babylon and start living the Christian ideals you claim you live by. No man or woman, Democrat or Republican can save this nation. Only Jesus Christ and real revival can save this nation and only if God wills it.
