Is God a Republican or a Democrat?

The other day someone asked my youngest daughter what made her parents mad. Her answer?

Politics.

What I hoped to hear was something like – oh, I don’t know – maybe when others dishonor God, or injustice, or sin. But politics? Ouch.

What is it about politics that arouses such passion?

Recently, I’ve picked up Amy E. Black’s book, Beyond Left and Right: Helping Christians Make Sense of American Politics (Baker Books 2008). In it, Dr. Black, a Wheaton College political science professor, suggests four principles to guide Christians developing a framework for thinking about politics.

1. We all “see things imperfectly as in a cloudy mirror” (I Corinthians 13:12a; New Living Translation) and therefore should exercise genuine humility when discussing politics.


In other words, I don’t know it all, so I should stop acting like I do.


2. The diversity of the body of Christ makes room for Christians to disagree on many political matters.


Really? You mean since I don’t know it all, maybe I can learn something from a brother or sister in Christ with whom I disagree politically?


3. The label “Christian” is for God and His work, not to validate human endeavors like politics.


As much as I may hate to admit it, God is not a Republican or Democrat. He’s not a Liberal or Conservative. He’s not a mascot for one party or the other. When we take our politics and try to hang God’s name on it, we use His name in vain.


4. Politics can and should be a means for demonstrating love in action and building the body of Christ.


Jesus said, “By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (John 13:35; New Living Translation) How will others know we are followers of Christ? Not how we vote. Not what school of economics we adhere to. As the song says, “They’ll know we are Christians by our love.”

The next time someone asks my daughter what makes her parents mad, I hope she’ll be able to give a different answer.

A Mile Wide and an Inch Deep

In his article, The Coming Evangelical Collapse, Michael Spencer claims evangelical Christianity is on the verge of a major collapse in the western world.

One of the reasons Spencer gives for the coming collapse is the failure of Evangelicals to pass on “an orthodox form of faith that can take root and survive the secular onslaught.”

Regardless of what one may think about Spencer’s prediction, it’s hard not to agree that evangelicalism’s emphasis has shifted “from doctrine to relevance, motivation, and personal success – resulting in churches further compromised and weakened in their ability to pass on the faith.”

So how did Evangelicals get to this point? Spencer argues:

“Ironically, the billions of dollars we’ve spent on youth ministers, Christian music, publishing, and media has produced a culture of young Christians who know next to nothing about their own faith except how they feel about it. Our young people have deep beliefs about the culture war, but do not know why they should obey scripture, the essentials of theology, or the experience of spiritual discipline and community. Coming generations of Christians are going to be monumentally ignorant and unprepared for culture-wide pressures.”

Have Evangelicals focused so much on telling others how to behave that we’ve neglected sharing with them what we believe and why we believe it? Do we even know what we believe and why we believe it? Are we a mile wide and an inch deep?

While Jesus was here on earth, He didn’t spend much time trying to change the politics of the Roman Empire. He had little to say about the sexual ethics of first century Palestine. Instead, He focused on making disciples. He healed the sick. He spoke out against religious hypocrisy. He taught about the Kingdom. He glorified His Father in heaven.

If Evangelicals desire to be more like Jesus, their focus needs to be more like His focus. As Jesus said, “Students are not greater than their teacher. But the student who is fully trained will become like the teacher.” (Luke 6:40; New Living Translation)

Solid Foundation

How solid is the foundation on which you’ve built your life?

This question is rarely asked or answered when things are going well. But when the storms of life hit – when everything seems to be collapsing around us – the strength of our foundation could be the difference between surviving the storm or a mighty crash.

Those who’ve built their lives on money and possessions have undoubtedly had their house shaken a bit lately. The stock market is in a free fall with no bottom in sight. Each new round of layoffs adds to an already high unemployment rate. Retirement dreams vanish as 401(k) statements are opened. Many are discovering they owe more on their house than it’s worth.

Did you know that Jesus had a lot to say about the foolishness of building one’s life on money?

While teaching the crowds on the mountainside, Jesus said:

“Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.” (Matthew 6:19-21; New Living Translation)

So if money makes for a shaky foundation, on what sort of foundation should we build?

In the same mountainside lesson, Jesus taught:

“So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.” (Matthew 6:31-33; New Living Translation)

If you want to survive the storms life throws at you, make sure your foundation is built on things that are important to God.

This may take some serious remodeling. You may have to make some radical changes in your plans to get it right. But, before you do anything, be sure to consult with the Architect – the one who designed you in the first place. After all, it was He who said:

“Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock. But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn’t obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash.” (Matthew 7:24-27; New Living Translation)