On Politics: Oct 20, 2020

With so many hot topics and swirling messages, we thought it was important to share our thoughts on the political climate. Our goal, at the end of the day, is to pastor your hearts well. This election cycle isn’t entirely different than all the others. But in our new age of social media, the level of tension is without a doubt, higher. It’s such a noisy world these days. We no longer only have the news to rely on for all the latest info, we now have multiple apps waiting to be opened where we can listen to our co-workers, former teachers, closest relatives, and barely made acquaintances spewing out every thought that comes to mind and statistics they just read. And while this is now part of culture as we know it, we’d like to share with the 316 and beyond, the body of Christ who represent His heart and His kingdom in this world.

We’ve heard Christians who can’t support Trump say they feel outcast and more alone than ever. We’ve talked to Democrat brothers and sisters, mature in their faith, who vote with deep and sincere conviction. A couple of our Liberal friends taught us one of the greatest lessons in love a few years ago. Their heart and compassion for others was simply stunning to behold. We’ve listened as our Republican friends who endorse Trump say they feel so incredibly judged they’re afraid to share openly at all. We’ve talked to Republicans who are pro-choice and Democrats who are pro-life. There are some who lean left not crazy about wearing masks, and others leaning right who deeply value the Covid mandates. We’ve talked to a few who feel so discouraged by current propaganda, they’re choosing not to vote at all, which has also been a hard choice for them. You might be able to guess by now, this could go on and on forever. If we’re being deeply honest, humans are way too complex to fit entirely into one box. I’m not making light of any of the weighty issues. We wrestle over them as much as the next person.

But we have come to accept that no matter which way you lean, or how passionate you are, in most cases, we don’t fit fully inside one candidates agenda.

Cam and I are not recommending you disengage either. We have our own well considered votes that we plan to contribute. But one thing we’ve grown in over the last several years, is intentionality in seeking to understand those we don’t agree with. It’s changed us deeply. Not necessarily our core values, but our capacity to understand that there are paradigms built by life experiences and contexts we might never comprehend. A lens, if you will, we simply don’t have. It exposes our blind spots and we’re extremely grateful for that. We have many. These paradigms shape every thought and core belief we hold dear, and they’re as sacred to us as our race and place of origin. So yes, by all means, vote if that feels important to you. Make the best decision you can with the most information you can find. But let’s also realize we’re often grossly over-confident in our flimsy opinions and ever-developing world views. And as brothers and sisters in Christ, we must regard each other more important than our points. “We wrestle not against flesh and blood.”

We’re being bamboozled, and we’re taking the bait. We’ve been as guilty as the next. On Netflix’s new documentary, The Social Dilemma, an ex-Facebook executive tells us, “There’s always a reason something is free. If you’re not paying for the product, YOU ARE THE PRODUCT.” Over the last 10 years or so, there’s been a steady progression of our minds and culture being utterly altered by this media era. It’s caused us to divide and make an enemy out of anyone with a different point of view. We’ve become so good at choosing a side, then we carefully construct our walls to keep the insiders, in, and the outsiders, out. We don’t break bread and share our thoughts and ideas over the table of friendship, we just launch them like grenades into the abyss of online users and hope to take out as many as we can with one shot. Of course, some will cast their stones anyway… but if you must, remember those same stones have a way of finding their way back to your house and home.

For that reason alone, (and we could think of a lot more reasons) we ought to be kinder. More open. More gentle. More loving. More forgiving. More embracing. Less offended by opposing opinions, and especially the people who hold them. We’re not asking you to forsake your convictions or values, we’re asking you not to hate, or judge, or categorize your fellow brother and sister for landing in a different place. Who are we to assume they arrived there frivolously? Can we pay close attention to the language we use and the way we communicate? We do that in our own homes to honor the people we love. We practice it everyday. The sad part is not that we have wildly different ideas about things, but the mirror it provides to what’s going on in our hearts and what’s happening to our society.

Jesus showed us another way. Our friend Chris wrote, “Spend time at his feet, gaze at him through the gospel stories and remember who he was in the flesh. Remember his kindness. Remember the things he fought against, and the WAY that he fought them. Remember his humility. Remember his clarity. Remember his sacrifice. Remember his ways. His ways are not our ways. His works will RARELY (if ever) be accomplished the way we think they will be or should be.” Wow. These are such important truths to ponder.

The early church couldn’t have possibly agreed on all fronts. Can you imagine the passionate disagreements the 12 disciples must have had? To circumcise, or not to circumcise? If only we could have been a fly on the wall. If Pontius Pilate was up for election, their votes would have surely been divided. There had to have been differing opinions over the next Ceasar to rule. But we see much more clearly in scripture they had their hope set on a much greater kingdom with a much greater King. Our charge wasn’t to agree, but to live unified in love. This is how we show the world we are His disciples. This is how we accomplish unity and diversity. We love when it hurts. We love when we don’t agree. We love when we’re misunderstood. We love when it feels like we can’t anymore. We love. Indefinitely and always.

The great, late, Ravi Zacharias said, “Unity doesn’t always mean uniformity.” We have work to do. Holy Spirit makes what seems undoable, doable. Thank God we have His help.

Let’s look higher, together. Amen? ….. Amen.
1 Corinthians 12:12-31

Author: Stephanie Jackson