Which Party Are You With?!
by Jeremy A. Brown
Are you a Democrat or a Republican? It’s another election year in the USA and you can’t be neutral; which side will you choose? A recent study found that once you stake your claim with a particular party you have a 50 percent chance of offending someone from the opposite side of the political spectrum. So why do we allow politics in the church? Christ’s followers are supposed to love God with all of their heart and love their neighbor as thyself (Matthew 22:37-40). We’re all aware that politics is the debate or conflict between different ideologies hoping to gain power. Should we bring this conflict to the church?
We act as if politics hasn’t seeped into our church, but there are sermons calling one politician over another the antichrist, claiming one party is more Christ-like than the other, and so on. We always forget a few things with politics; both parties have been in and out of power since abortion was legalized, homosexual marriage was legalized, sex trafficking boomed, drugs were legalized, corporations have been preying on the average person either via chemicals in the food supply or overcharging them for their diluted products, etc. No party has stuck with the Christ-like principles our nation professes to believe. So, again we ask, why do we allow politics in the church (Matthew 15:8)? It has no place in God’s church.
God says that His foolishness is wiser than the wisdom of man; and the weakness of God is stronger than men (1 Corinthians 1:25). Politics is all foolishness when the policies being passed don’t represent the views of Christ’s followers, which this nation claims to be. God made it so simple and yet we cannot keep the simplest of simplest things; LOVE GOD WITH ALL OF YOUR HEART AND LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR LIKE YOU LOVE YOURSELF. Most of us wouldn’t harm or want ill will for ourselves, so why can’t we strive for these type of relations in the church?! We don’t need politics in the church. We need the true love of God, and if we can’t do it in the church with the truth we have, how can we expect those who aren’t aware of God’s truth to accomplish it!
God tells us the church will not be immune to the current political and cultural chaos we are seeing. This chaos not only threatens to rip the world apart, but God’s church will be right in the thick of it (Matthew 24:21; Revelation 6:17). As a church we need to draw nearer to each other so that we may strengthen each other. Because the Bible tells us when we see the earthquakes, hear the rumors of wars, and see nation rising against nation, these are the beginning of sorrows. It will get worse and we will need a strong support group to get us through the trying times that are coming because our world has chosen to reject God (1 John 4:7).
Politics in the church—“AIN’T NOBODY GOT TIME FOR THAT.” If we aren’t preaching the love of God, then what are we preaching? If it spews divisiveness, then we need not bring it to the church? Leave the ways of the world with the world when you come to church. Come with the LOVE all of us Christ-followers claim to have.