Politics and Jesus.....They don't mix

All of you who know me know that I am passionate about politics and the direction which this nation is headed. However, after listening to pastor Loran Livingston last night, I have seen the error and folly of my ways. He made a point in his sermon that I apparently must have missed. When I was saved, Jesus made my life and priorities very simple. My life was to no longer be dictated by the wicked ways of this world, but rather to be focused completely on the cross of Jesus Christ. How could I not realize this? Look at 2 Timothy 2 starting with verse 3:" You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. 4 No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier. " Paul tells Timothy that he must endure the hardship of being a soldier for Jesus Christ. So what was he saying? Storm the gates of Caesar's palace and demand the government to give equal rights to all and free healthcare? No. Jesus told us to go out and spread the gospel to all nations. He told us to help the poor. He commanded us to look out for the orphans and the widows. Never once did Jesus demand anything from the government. In fact, I believe about the only thing Jesus said about government was to render unto Caesar what is Caesars. So how did I (we) get so off track? I believe it comes from the American philosophy of intertwining patriotism and Godliness. This is nothing short of blasphemy. Mixing that which is Holy with that which is profane.

When we choose sides, someone gets left out. If we choose Republicans, then the Democrats get left out, and vice versa. So when the church chooses one, it alienates the other. How then can we reach those whom we "left out" when they feel we have an agenda against them? I have always been a self admitted homophobe. I think homosexuallity is a nasty, disgusting, abomination to the Lord. However, if I were to refuse to witness to a homosexual, how would he or she ever know the love of Christ and be given the chance to repent? This is to my shame. It's easy to forget to love the sinner, and hate the sin. God was merciful enough to save me, but yet I look down my nose at another human being that doesn't suit my taste and think God is not merciful enough to do the same for them? What hypocrisy! We can never look down our noses at anyone. I see this now, and I also realize how easy it is to forget just how nasty and perverse my own sin was before God until He had mercy on me.  You see, the church can not take sides. We as Christians can not take sides. We have been given an order and our order is to preach the Word, to preach the cross to a lost and dieing world. We can't afford to get tangled up in the affairs of this world. We are not of this world. We should set and keep our minds on Godly things and shun the evil distractions of this age. I am ashamed to think of all the time I've wasted huffing and puffing over the way things are going in our culture. I must realize that God did not call us to save America. God did not call us to raise up conservative politicians. God did not call us to be in the snare of politics created by the depravity of man. No, God comissioned us to go out and preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ. To bring the good news to the ends of the earth so that men could be saved! We must remember this world and all that is in it is passing away. We will not be able to save it, but we are able to bring the knowledge of saving grace to people dead in their sins. I do believe as Christians we must vote and stand against evil, but not in the way of political activity. We must remember that we are not of this world. We can never take our eyes off of Christ, for when we do, we begin to slip and fall. Jesus never promised us life would be easy. We must train our children up in the truth of the Lord. We must boldly proclaim the Gospel to all who will hear. Most of all, we must put our faith in the one who is able to deliver us, the Lord Jesus Christ. We must keep our eyes on the prize, and continually do the work of our Heavenly Father. We can't afford to take our eyes away from Jesus even for a moment. Remember, He didn't call us to rally at TEA parties or to gush and swoon over elected officials. He called us to be light and salt in a dark and tasteless world. If we forget that Jesus died for all...white,black,yellow,red,asian,european,african,american,muslim,buddhist,hindu,tao,jew,straigt,gay and on....Then we loose that light and our salt becomes tasteless. Jesus said to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. Who is our neighbor? Everyone. How can we love our neighbor if we hold any preconceived predjudices against him? We must search out our hearts and put away the garbage instilled by worldly thinking. This is hard to do, but it can and must be done. So tell me, do you believe Jesus would be a democrat or a republican? If you were to answer either or, you need to fall on your face and repent before God of your carnal spirit. If, however, you see the utter foolishness of such a  question, then you should realize that as a professing Christian, when you wave your political flags that you are making Jesus appear as one or the other. Even if it is not your intention, remember the world sees you as a  Christian first, and will always look for ways to condemn you. If you are seen showing any partiallity, then you just destroyed any chance of being a witness to someone on the other side of the political fence. Remember, we are children of the the risen King. Our battles are not against flesh, but powers and principalities of darkness. We are to be a witness for Jesus. We are residents of the Kingdom of God, and it is for this Kingdom that we should always be campaigning.
Written by Kirk