When I was a teenager, I was passionate about my political views. And I looked for opportunities to express those views, because…well…I was right and all the people in my life needed to be enlightened.
I do remember a few adults in my life counseling some (what was the word) moderation in my approach.
- My parents cautioned me against seeing those who disagreed with me as being ignorant or evil.
- They also raised solid questions and points about the political ideology I had grown up with (and that they generally agreed with, but with some important exceptions). I just wasn’t always ready to fully listen or process those questions or points.
- One of my favorite Christian school teachers (he taught me in 3rd and 4th grades and in several classes while I was in high school) challenged me to think through what I was actually asking or expecting people to believe or to do.
- And my Christian high school principal challenged me to “moderate” my approach. While he appreciated my views, he felt my approach should be more humble, more reasonable, and more “moderate.”
But “moderation” was a bad word, right?
In my teen and young adult years, I was conditioned — by my friends and some of the political influences to which I listened — that moderates (the very word put a bad taste in my mouth) were usually establishment sell-outs who preferred the status quo (even if that status quo consisted of evil, injustice, or suffering) over the discomfort or courage required for change.
It should be noted that I didn’t consider my parents or the teacher or administrator I cited above to be “sell-outs” or compromisers. Thus, the seeds were planted.
As I moved into my college years, I was exposed to more perspectives, and my horizons were expanded. Not at first, but in time. (It took me eight years to get my four-year college degree, but that’s for another article).
Still, I was passionate in my views.
Then, I felt God lead me away from politics and into ministry. I followed that call. In 2002, I walked away from a budding political career (with some promising opportunities) to teach at a Christian school and then later to become ordained as a pastor.
More seeds were planted in my time as a teacher, and then everything changed when I became a pastor.
I no longer saw the world as a binary struggle between good people (as defined by their political or theological views) versus bad people (those who warred against those ideals and beliefs). Instead, these words from the Apostle Paul really sunk in:
For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. (Ephesians 6:12, KJV)
That verse really started speaking to me like never before. The other political party is not our enemy. The public official we didn’t vote for is not our enemy. Even those people who are diametrically opposed to everything we believe in…even they are not really our enemy.
Satan is our Enemy — capital “E.” His forces (i.e., demons) are the “principalities,” “powers,” and “rulers of the darkness of this world” who constitute the “spiritual wickedness” that we ultimately wrestle against.
Though I already knew these things (intellectually), it really, truly sunk in that I’m supposed to love people (Mark 12:31), even people who I might perceive (rightly or wrongly from a practical standpoint) as my earthly enemies (Matthew 5:43-44).
Incidentally, as a side note, it’s not just sad, but troubling and dangerous, that many people of professed faith don’t believe in a real Satan or in angels or demons. If you don’t believe in supernatural beings who are evil, then the entire premise of Paul’s words in Ephesians 6 collapses. And we’re left with seeing other human beings as evil. In that kind of world, evil doesn’t recede. It destroys!
But… I’ve never been under any delusions. I’ve always known Satan and his forces are real. And, the more I reflected on the Bible’s teachings on spiritual warfare, it made even deeper sense that…
I’m supposed to pray for all the people in my life, including those in leadership (I Timothy 2:1-2), strive to be at peace (Psalm 34:14, Romans 12:14-18), and overcome evil with good (Romans 12:21).
When it comes to politics, we have to acknowledge that we are doing business in a fallen, sinful world. Therefore, things will never be perfect or utopia-like until Jesus reigns Himself directly. Until then…
We are muddling through the mess of this world.
And we need to do the best we can — being driven by humility, spiritual awareness, love, and prayer.
Are we going to have different points of view when it comes to how we should do this?
Of course!
Because we now “see through a glass darkly” (I Corinthians 13:12), we are going to be “groping in the dark” (to steal a phrase from Benjamin Franklin’s famous appeal for prayer at the Constitutional Convention).
So…
How do we know when our political beliefs become toxic or dangerous?
Answer: When they take us away from humility, love, spiritual awareness, and prayer.
Think about it…
- Do you truly love all the people in your life, including those with whom you disagree?
- Do you love the politicians you didn’t vote for?
- Do you pray for them?
As a pastor, I began to see the people around me not as a political activist but as a pastor. And taking that pastoral perspective helped immensely.
Though I’m not perfect and I sometimes fall short, in general…
- I want to listen to people
- I want to help people
- I want to encourage people
- I want to help them get closer to God
My political views take a back seat to all those things.
And when it comes to politics, the wisest ruler in history has changed my perspective on that too.
When I was teaching at Fair Oaks Academy (originally named Bethlehem Baptist Christian Academy), my pastor mentioned a couple of times in his preaching that he read through the Book of Proverbs once each month. I wish I could say I started doing that right away, but I didn’t. Instead, I logged that for future reference.
Several years later, a few years into my second pastorate, it really sunk in that I needed to heed that advice. So, I started reading Proverbs regularly. Do I read it every month? No. But I read it multiple times each year. There have been times when I’ve powered through the whole book in one day!
Reading Proverbs frequently has changed my life.
Yes, the whole Bible has changed me. I’m not elevating one book above the rest. Don’t read this article that way. But when it comes to the practical things in life…including politics in this fallen world… the Book of Proverbs is indispensable.
Think about it…
King Solomon—the man who got wisdom directly from God so he could sufficiently lead God’s people—is the author behind most of the proverbs in the Book of Proverbs.
We’d be fools not to read it!
Do you know how many times the Book of Proverbs tells us that wise people seek wisdom? And how these wise people listen more, talk less, and store up knowledge?
Answer: A lot.
And, keeping politics in mind, reflect on these verses:
- Where no counsel is, the people fall: but in the multitude of counsellors there is safety. (Proverbs 11:14, KJV)
- Without counsel purposes are disappointed: but in the multitude of counsellors they are established. (Proverbs 15:22, KJV)
- For by wise counsel thou shalt make thy war: and in multitude of counsellors there is safety. (Proverbs 24:6, KJV)
If the Bible says something once, it’s important. If it says something twice, you better sit up and take notice. Three times!???
Three times, the phrase “multitude of counsellors” (sic) is used in the context of decision-making, including political decision-making.
Do you know what this tells me?
We need multiple wisdom perspectives in politics.
This is why “cancel culture” (and even “callout culture”) is so toxic and dangerous. And…
It’s why it’s LUNACY to become so obsessive, tribal, or extreme in your political ideology that you stop listening to any voices that might differ from your opinions (or raise questions about your agenda).
Looking at this as an American…
We need a healthy political left and political right. We need those perspectives at the table.
In the classic sense, conservatives tend to defend tradition, order, and the rule of law while advocating for fiscal restraint. Liberals (again, classically speaking) tend to (as my father would say) “look out for the little guy.” They tend to make sure that we don’t become so rigid in our habits and married to our traditions that we sabotage progress and that we don’t become so fiscally tight-fisted that we become a cold, heartless society that cares little for the poor and disadvantaged.
We need both perspectives. But…
We don’t have a healthy left or right in America today.
Both the left and right have become increasingly extreme, toxic, and (in their own way) dangerous to the future of our nation.
Sadly, many people who profess to be Christian are part of the problem, not the solution.
If you want to be part of the solution…and if you’re a believer in Christ, I hope that’s the case…
- Be humble. You don’t know everything or have all the answers.
- Love your neighbor (all your neighbors)
- Love the people you disagree with, even those you consider your enemies
- Seek peace and pursue it.
- Be a voice of wisdom, not simply one that vents anger or opinions.
- Seek out wisdom, not just opinions.
- Remember that we’re ultimately engaged in a spiritual battle.
- And we win more by praying than by complaining.
- Pray passionately and without ceasing.
- We must exemplify the love of God and overcome evil with good.
- We must lift up the Name of Jesus.
If your political views have made it difficult to practice those virtues, then your political views need to be reexamined.
Be part of the solution.
God’s solution.
For further reading:
When it’s impossible to love those who are doing so much damage to our country and our way of life, the only solution is to allow God to love them through us. That’s not easy, but it’s not impossible.