In these times it is so prevalent to have an entitled opinion, a political stance and we can be so good at taking a moral stance as Christians that we can often forget to check ourselves.  Check ourselves against the standard of God’s Word that is…

I used to love politics.  Loved to follow the latest twists and turns, loved to dabble in the odd comment vs comment Facebook political debate; one day it all changed.

There was no trigger per say but just a realisation that having these intense opinions and debating in many forums never left me feeling peaceful, more like tense and frustrated.

I decided to give it up, to withdraw from having a  strong, stated, political stance; from always having something to say; from paying close attention to the latest political controversy.

At the time it wasn’t a deep revelatory spiritual conviction but rather a ‘I don’t want my life consumed with this’ moment.

I disengaged from being deeply invested in world events and political agendas.  Don’t get me wrong, I still kept a general awareness of the news and current events, and voted based on my convictions, but overall I became much more detuned from the daily news cycle.

Fast forward a few years and my initial choice has begun to take on some spiritual roots.

I have friends who love politics and they at times will share what is going on re this or that and, whilst meaning well, will often impress an urgency on fellow Christians to take a political stand to ‘save the world from peril’.

This got me thinking about the Gospel, God’s message of love, and how Jesus was often challenged by the leaders of His time yet refrained overall from engaging in politics.  Jesus didn’t preach a stance but rather lived a life of love and impacted the world beyond measure.

Scripture encourages us to be the salt, the light but to always walk in love.

1 Thessalonians 1:3 “We remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labour prompted by love..”

1 Thessalonians 3:12 “May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you.”

If we are going to have any attitude or stance at all surely it should be one of humility.

To take up the Cross daily and live a life led of the Spirit, empowered by the Lord and a vessel fit for the Father’s use is my heart’s cry.  The more I have recently thought about having a strongly expressed political view, the more 1 Thessalonians 1:5 rings true, “because our gospel came to you not simply with words but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and deep conviction.”  I wonder at the value on words or an argument or a point of view for just words sake.  In having a political stand are we losing sight of loving those who are right in front of us?

The Great Commission is to go into all the World and preach the Gospel….the good news…..’preaching’ politics doesn’t seem to get a mention.

Our commission is to share the gospel, to pursue the hearts of the lost for the Lord.  It is a life we undertake that should be founded in love and guided by the Spirit.

The Great Commission was never about politics, for the heart that is opened to receive the gift of eternal life through Christ Jesus is not the result of a good argument, but the result of the very presence of God (1 Corinthians 2:4 “it is not with wise and persuasive words but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power”).

As the Word says, there is nothing new under the sun and as long as there has been unredeemed humanity there has been conflict between the ways of God and the ways of the world.  Politics will always be an intellectual debate of the issues of each generation; it is birthed of the world and will always challenge the truth of God’s Word until the day of the coming of the Lord.

Jesus lived a life of love yet did not compromise; if He has set this pathway before us then surely in His strength we can follow in His footsteps.  As we spend time in the Lord’s Word and have our hearts softened and our minds renewed, we become more aware of the depths of God’s compassion and mercy for His children.  When you experience, even for a moment, God-breathed compassion for the lost, every political agenda fades.

When we rest in the truth that people vote from their core beliefs and acknowledge that to see a deep change in any political landscape, the hearts of people need change, the Gospel takes it’s true place in our lives.

There is a beautiful old hymn that really says it all,

‘Turn your eyes upon Jesus

Look full in His wonderful face;

And the things of earth

Will grow strangely dim

In the light of His glory and grace’