Let's Get Political , Political!

I apologize for the cheesy pun and reference to an 80's classic tune that may now be stuck in your head.

After fighting the crud and stomach bug for the last few days I wanted to keep my word to try and get something out on Monday so here goes. My hope is that each Monday I will post a new blog and some weeks I will post an additional blog around Wednesday or Thursday.

Acts 5:29

But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men."

Another area that was highlighted in my discussion with what I will dub “The 4” is that today’s Church is too political. We have all seen how divisive the political currents are in today’s culture. There seems to be no middle ground were civil discussion can occur it is either my way or the highway and that is coming from every angle. My last post commented on how the days after 9/11 caused us to begin to show hate towards one another and it was not long after those days that hate started turning inward to our fellow Americans. I am not a political person and will never claim to be so do not worry I will not turn this into a political rant for one side or the other.

The days of bipartisan politics are gone and what used to be civil discussions about disagreements have now turned into arguments and divided families, friends, and even churches. I may have mentioned this in an earlier blog but I saw a Pastor on a YouTube video behind the pulpit on a Sunday morning during service burning his Nike apparel in an effort to lead his congregants to boycott Nike. To me this is insane behavior. In my mind, and probably many outside the church, this looks a little different. To me it looks as though he is saying that he would rather his congregation burn and tear up perfectly good clothes as opposed to giving them to the needy because he disagreed with a commercial. Where is the Christian love being shown there?

What does it all mean? Which party should the Church support? How should current events and political affairs be addressed from the pulpit?

I am not sure what it all means except I am sad that our country is in the state that it is in and I pray that we can find some common ground and find it soon. As far as the Church goes, I do not believe the pulpit should be used to endorse or disparage any candidate and Christians should be able to use their own moral compass to vote for who they feel lines up best with their beliefs. The Church is here to guide us towards Jesus, His will, and His Power. He is the only one we should concern ourselves with. That does not mean to not vote or not get involved but it does mean that we should take these matters to Jesus and measure candidates up to His standard. When politics are discussed from the pulpit and the focus is on politics and not God then we are pushing people away. When current events and political affairs are relevant to the Church and God’s Kingdom then I believe the Church has a duty to talk about those issues and what Scripture says about them, not what Brother Scott or anyone else says about them. As Christians I believe that our opinions on these issues should be scripturally based and morally sound.

As a Christian you should never be afraid to take a side on an important political issue or debate that is happening in our country but please be very careful that you do not cross the thin line from supporting an issue to hating those who oppose it. Ask yourself, “If I post this or say this, could it cause someone to want no part of the God I serve?” If the answer is yes, then maybe we can reconsider the way we are addressing these issues. Another thing to remember that we serve God and only God and we cannot let these issues become bigger than the God we serve. / Scott Thank you for reading. As I am hoping to get this in front of many eyes as possible I truly appreciate all of you for reading and anyone that can share I would appreciate it twice as much. I am not looking for any self-gain here but feel that God has put this discussion on my heart not so I had hide it under a shade but so I can place it on a hill for many to see. Having readers share this will definitely help this grow.