Social media and cable news are abuzz with diatribes and vitriol over the 2016 Presidential Election. If you support the Taz, apparently you are a racist, a liar, a misogynist, and a demagogue.
If you support Yosemite Sam, then apparently you are corrupt, a liar and a murderer . . .
and you REALLY love pant suits.
In such a hostile environment, how is a Christian to respond?
If grandpa comes to the dinner table with a gaudy slogan hat, should the Christian pass him the turkey and call him a sucker?
If Auntie gives a smothering hug and kiss in a flashy orange pant suit, should the Christian exclaim, “Pant suit lover!”
Oh the horror!
If a Christian is attacked for whom he or she supports, should he or she respond, “I know you are, but what am I?”
Or would Southern charm do the trick? You know, a little, “Oh sweetie pie . . .” And then, BAM!
Observing Christians’ behavior of late, it’s difficult to see Jesus. You know, the One Who tells us through the Word to:
- “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Matthew 22:39
- “[L]ove your enemies and pray for those who persecute you . . . .” Matthew 5:44
- “Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.” Ephesians 4:3
- “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.” Matthew 5:9
- “Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.” Ephesians 4:2
- “Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble.” 1 Peter 3:8
- “Don’t have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels. And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. Opponents must be gently instructed, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will.” 2 Timothy 2:23-26
- “For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.” 2 Timothy 4:3
Some of you might have clicked on this article hoping for some advice on how to vote. Well, sweetie pie, sit down a spell and let me enlighten you.
Just kidding.
Nope, I’m not letting you off that easily. How to vote will take some DEEP soul searching this time around.
The point I want to make here is that Christians can’t leave Jesus behind. They must take Him along wherever they go. They must at all times be a witness for Christ.
And that means shelving the diatribe and cooling the vitriol.
That means sharing views in a loving and peaceful manner.
That means being a peacemaker not a rabble-rouser.
That means being humble and compassionate.
That means loving those who disagree.
That means using the Bible
(not Taz or Sam)
to soothe itching ears.
Religion and politics are two things we are taught never to discuss with family and friends. But that shouldn’t be if Christians let Christ be their voices.
So, the next time you find yourself in a political discussion, take a deep breath and follow Jesus. That doesn’t mean to hide your beliefs or to avoid a controversial issue; rather it means sharing your beliefs in a loving and caring manner.
Well said. It is true that people forget there Christian manners when politics in involved.
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Isn’t it a weird year? We are all stunned by “Brexit” over here. The same kinds of argument apply. Actually glad you aren’t telling anyone how to vote! Only how to behave …. 🙂
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Must remember also though that there were times that Jesus went into the offensive. Can’t always be “loving,” esp. when under attack by fanatic bashers. But of course, still fight in a Christlike way.
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Well, the thing is, Divine Love is both Truth AND Grace. I think we as human beings get hung up on Truth (er, our own truth that we are desperately trying to pass off as God’s), or Grace (which in human practice, looks a lot more like license).
When Jesus went on the offensive, He only did so in response to the Father’s expressed will. So, Jesus didn’t really go on the offensive… Every word He spoke, every action, was in obedience to the word He received from God the Father. I don’t know about you, but I have never met another human being able to hear and obey God so clearly as to have every word and act be in alignment with His will.
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Who says that you can’t go to the offensive and still follow God’s will? You probably don’t know about the saints who are fighting for the faith on the front lines right this very moment.
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Thank you for making assumptions about the depths of my knowledge. Is that what you are talking about when you say “on the offensive”?
Bc that strategy– trying to distract from self-justification by attacking some aspect of a stranger, is not at all capable of aligning with God’s will. But, it is going on the offensive. I’ll give you that.
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Sure, anytime. A word of advice. Don’t go spreading your beliefs if you can’t even defend yourself from even a small challenge like mine. You won’t survive long.
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If I’m intent on merely defending my beliefs, I’ll end up angry, adversarial, unkind, and unsavory.
But if instead of mere belief, I rest on Truth– I won’t feel compelled to defend against those who challenge it. Because Truth has Christ as its defense (John 14:6). And He has already conquered all those who would oppose (John 16:33).
The Christian’s war is fought within their self (Romans 7:23)– the final battleground of Truth. Any war outside of ourselves cannot be holy, and neither can any threat from without be taken seriously:
“Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” (Mt. 10:28).
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Reblogged this on James1948's Blog and commented:
Thought provoking
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Wonderfully said! Love the Lemon Breeland reference. I really appreciated the closing thoughts. I rather think that when “religion” gets into the picture, we need to change the focus to Jesus. Talking about Christ is not the same as talking “religion” since we are simply speaking of our King and Master, it is a relationship of love and obedience, not a religion of rules nor is it a religion among many others. That may sound like splitting hairs to the non-believer, but i believe it is a real difference to the Christian believer.
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This was excellent so here’s a hearty, AMEN! I’m going to share it….
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That was good LOL Ive always just voted for whom I wanted to vote and rolled with it if it doesn’t turn out the way I want. I take into account the Book of Esther. She found a way through the Law to get what she wanted accomplished and we can do the same.
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Agreed. For me, it is a matter of conscience. I don’t think I sin by voting for one candidate over another so long as I have carefully considered the choice from a Christian standpoint and have a clear conscience about it. It may be the wrong choice, and it may be an imperfect choice, but a clear conscience is reflective of the freedom in Christ Paul spoke of in 1 Corinthians 8, 10.
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Whats important to one individual isnt on the top list of priorities for another. One thing about getting older is that Ive noticed the change in my own thinking as maturity sets in. 😄👌
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Excellent and timely post! If we get sucked into this battle, be it based on ideology or ‘idiotology’, we will be fighting the WRONG battle every single time.
LOVE is our great command. Wonderful reminder!
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“Idiotology.” I like that.
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I have been in a bit of a word play stretch on my last novel. I have a funny post up today that illustrates the work.
btw, I did share this post with my children. It is something I want them to think about also!
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I’m heading over to your Blog now to read it! And I’m glad you found my post worthy of sharing. 🙂
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What about 1Pet.2:13. Basically says submit to all authority, including the emperor. Guess our turn will come soon because one of the two candidates will be our next emperor for sure. crossingpaths.net
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This is perfect.
When asked about paying taxes, what was Jesus’ response? In Mark, it was to draw a boundary between what is God’s and what belongs to the world: “Jesus said to them, ‘Give to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.’ And they were utterly amazed at him.” (Mark 12:17)
We have so much more freedom in our responsibility to vote than we do in choosing to pay taxes. And I think we misuse this freedom as an opportunity to sin against others and against Christ. All too often, political human beings conflate their personal decision with God’s will, our finite understanding with Divine Wisdom. It is in this self-made righteousness that we condemn all who dare see things differently.
The fact is, BOTH candidates in this election are far from ideal. Who we vote for then, cannot possibly be “right” in the sense of Divine rightness. So, agree to disagree. Give to God what is God’s: love, unity and compassion for those weaker than us.
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Such a tough subject but there is a great message here. I rather enjoyed the the pant suit collection of many colors… “Pant suit lover!!”
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This is absolutely great….and I love the humor you have tossed in! I have always believed we should live our faith rather than beating others over the head with it. It is hard to see Jesus when you are using Him as a bat. Thank you so much for this post! I love it.
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Since I can’t double like this post I am commenting. Well said my friend.
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A true pleasure to read this. Thank you
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Amen Christ before and Christ behind. Now is the time He must consume all our mindset.
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I was excited to get your post, and you know the title drew me in. I really like the II Timothy 2:23-26 reference. Good post, loved the humor.
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Ha. Well, you were probably disappointed because this was not the substantive discussion we batted around earlier. But it will come.
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Well, to be honest I thought gee perhaps I am much too serious, and had to reconcile with how God wired me. Plus, you got so much feedback. It really made me ponder. But I have resolved to give it as I am given. I do love your gift. There is room for both, many. And yes, I am waiting for your more substantive take on this subject, sir. :.)
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Truth and grace are not mutually exclusive. I have no problem with Christians speaking Truth; that’s what we are supposed to do. I’ve just seen too many, particularly in theology and politics, handle Truth in a mean-spirited and arrogant fashion. We are told by scripture to be bold in Truth but humble in spirit, similar to how Jesus instructed His disciples: “be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.” Matthew 10:16.
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I just quoted that scripture to someone within the past five minutes. Wow. I know that it isn’t mutually exclusive, and I also know that I am not being mean-spirited. I just want people to know the truth and not be deceived. However, speaking truth is not necessarily popular today, perhaps not any day. Love our discourse.
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There are no coincidences, right? 😉
I have not interpreted any of your posts as anything other than loving and sincere (hopefully you didn’t think I was critiquing you). I follow you because I love your posts. I think we agree on many, many things.
You are right, Truth is not popular today, which is why Christians find themselves in the middle of so many controversial topics. The world demands Christians’ tolerance, but it is not so quick to extend the same tolerance to Christians.
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You’ve got that right. Christians do not get the same arm of tolerance extended. Oh well. We’ll just keep on plodding along.
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Well said, as usual, Daddy P.
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Very well said. When I read some responses to coverage of political figures on some websites, I’m astounded by the ugly and evil responses, and even that they are allowed. It’s gone way beyond bad manners.
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I will now be hard pressed not to yell “pants suit lover” tomorrow… lol.
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Amen!
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Agree. In a deeply spiritual moment this morning the term fighting windmills came to mind 😉 Blaming and accusing comes easy – the deep soul searching you so well sight, not so much. And yet we must each make time to research, study and, um pray.
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Love this post – so perfect given how intensely polarized America is these days! Jesus trumps all ❤
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I loved reading your post, and your humor made me smile 🙂 Thank you! Sometimes we forgot the message, and lose manners. We should always follow our heart. I can’t share it because my blog it’s not focused on this subject but I must tell you I really would, because it’s worth sharing. Good job and keep it up!
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That’s what I’ve been saying for months now! Thank you!
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Reblogged this on maryhallrayford and commented:
My point, expressed differently for the past few months!
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This is so refreshing to hear! Sometimes I despair that people have lost their sense of decency–I’m glad you still possess it!
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Great post. Check out my current and upcoming political and theological posts! Follow for follow. Share anything you like to increase the following and viewership. Thanks. I look forward to your future posts!
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Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Thank you! I say this again and again to people… It really is all about L O V E!
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Good stuff here, and I’m writing after the election, but as you know it still needs to be said.
By the way, I nominated you for a Blogger Recognition Award at https://wordpress.com/post/constancebuckley.wordpress.com/7958. God bless!
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