I, like many, have been watching how the oncoming Presidential elections have been coming together.  The potential candidates have spawned opinions (and dissention) on both sides of the aisle.  Unfortunately, it has also done the same on both ends of the pew.  There is a spirit of fear and division prevailing in our nation, as many prepare to go to the polls and determine who is the lesser of two evils, rather than which candidate is qualified and ordained by God for the position.  If you listen, even half-heartedly, you’ll hear that this election is the greatest in our history; everything is hinged upon it.

I want to remind you, that we are people of faith; and our faith is planted within an unshakeable foundation—the unchanging and inerrant Word of God.  In our faith-walk, it is oftentimes necessary to communicate the rules of engagement.  As we engage in political discourse, we are still to be living epistles; so, hate isn’t winked at here.  Fear is not to be perpetuated, and strife will not be applauded.  Political candidates who claim to know Christ must be held to the standard of Christian conduct; so, political indiscretions won’t be overlooked.  Slanderous comments won’t be written off a righteous indignation (that applies to both you and your politician of choice), and please please please know that truthful debate with factual data has greater importance (and value) than an argument won.  So, Christians, if you’re going to converse and and/or participate in politics, be the living epistle and elevate the communication, conversation, transparency, due diligence and expectations.  With that in mind, I want to share seven truths that you, as a believer, should know and remember about politics:

  1. Both political parties to church. Realize that there is Christian left as well as a secular right.  Should Christians be involved in politics?  Absolutely!  But we cannot allow ourselves to be defined by the political machine and its ambiguous, blurred lines.
  2. Political talk radio and cable “news” only want ratings. The moral compass of many media personalities points south.  If you feel that you’ve tapped into the accurate source of news, you might want to put in the time to fact-check for yourself.  Take the time to do your own due diligence, rather than being influenced by random prophecies, slick newscasters, opinionated pastors, or gossiping associates.  If you know it because someone else told it to you, then you don’t know it well enough.
  3. Those who argue over politics don’t love their country more than others. Truth is, they just love to argue more.  According to scripture (James 4:1, Proverbs 10:12), strife and arguing are symptoms of weak faith.  Your ability to mock, defame, and curse your governing leaders on social media is a symptom of a heart that is absent the love of Christ.  Just because your neighbor has an opposing view, there is no justification to not be love in action and continuously pray for both them and the political climate.
  4. Thinking that your party’s platform is unflawed is a mistake. Truth is, the social policies of your party were developed by imperfect politicians (many of which were fueled by ambition).  If you do your research, you will find that political parties adopt current, updated platforms every four years and present them at their conventions.  They are merely attempting to keep up with a changing world.  Unless you are able to find an earthly government that has been solely based upon a scriptural context, it is constantly changing.  So, if you are holding fast to a political philosophy that you feel is the “original” and therefore “pure” and perfected way of providing government, you are officially obsolete in your thinking.
  5. Scripture tells us to pray for our governing leaders (2 Timothy 2:1-4) and to respect those in authority (Romans 13:1-7). If we truly believe that God has declared the end from the beginning, and He has ordained anyone who rises to a position of authority, then we must also accept that nothing associated with this (or any) election takes Him by surprise.  In fact, He foreknew the outcome and it is a part of His plan.  According to scripture, the end times don’t look too good.  Some political leader has to be a player in what is scripturally inevitable.  However, that’s not your worry.  God commands you to pray for our leaders—for their wisdom and that their hearts and mind will be led by Him.
  6. Don’t be paranoid. The country is not going to be destroyed if your candidate loses. As 2 Timothy 1:7 says, “God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” Stand up and demonstrate what God has given you. America has functioned—albeit, at varying levels of success—for years under the direction of alternating Democrat and Republican control, and at every flip, the other side thought it was the end of the world. It’s not. And if we’re a Church that believes God is in control, we have to believe that He is the one in control of the end times—not whoever’s in office now, and not whoever succeeds them.
  7. Stop saying, “This is the most important election in the history of our nation.” Truth is, it isn’t. That propaganda, communicated by politicians, is meant to instill a sense of urgency regarding adoption of their agenda and philosophy.  The most important election in history is subjective to the population making that determination.  To the enslaved blacks, the most important election was when Abraham Lincoln was elected.  Every generation thinks and feels that it is living in the most important moment in history.  We’re not, our parents weren’t, and our children probably won’t be.  It’s up to you to reconcile yourself to that being okay.

https://goo.gl/VB3dv6

Scriptural references: KJV Bible
7 truths reference: relevant magazine