Ready for Some Politics?

Election year is here and I am already tired of political announcements and news stories. The slate of candidates isn't finalized but survey polls have been active for months, showing the strengths and weaknesses of the candidates.  The candidate you pledged to support last week might not be the same candidate you support this week.  Your choice might change numerous times before we actually vote.

How should Christians feel about politics? What is the position of scripture on issues such as immigration or the nation's economy?  How conservative are we to be if we are wearing the label of a political conservative, or how liberal are we allowed to become if we are among the liberals?  Perhaps we have thought the separation of church and state handles all of these decisions for us, and politics has no place in Christianity.  Would it surprise you to learn that some who attend church with you disagree with you politically? (Here would be a good place for me to suggest that we all need to be in prayer for our nation during the coming months as we select our leaders.)

One time Jesus was speaking in his hometown, and he quoted the prophet Isaiah, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me; he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to the prisoners; to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor" Isaiah 61:1-2. That almost sounds like the pleadings of one running for political office.  After all, it solidifies the basis on which Jesus will be dealing with people during his earthly life; the platform upon which he will base his ministry. It appears to be directed to the poor, the widows, the maimed, the captives, the orphans, the brokenhearted. In fact, there seems to be somewhat of a bias on the part of God toward the lowly, the social outcasts, the losers. Perhaps that is why, in the teachings of Jesus, we find that we are required as a follower of the Lord, to feed the poor, and visit the prisoner, and offer a cup of water to the thirsty.

Consideration should be given to  what it means to be a disciple of Jesus. The literal definition of "disciple" means "one who comes under the discipline of the one he follows."  So to be a disciple of Jesus means that we must place ourselves under the discipline of Him.  The discipline of Jesus is his purpose...his objective. It is outlined in the above scripture of prophecy about him, and proclaimed by him in a message to his hometown crowd.  Remember he says the Spirit of the Lord is upon him and the Lord has anointed him.  We as his disciples, with his Spirit living in us, share in accomplishing his anointed mission.

There are probably numerous suggestions on just how all this is to be done. We might not all agree on how we should feed the poor.  Some would be thinking locally while others would think internationally. And while making a meal available to the poor is a noble cause, others among us might suggest we need to tackle the entire world hunger problem.

There will be diversity among us in the ways these things are to be done; just as diverse as the backgrounds and personalities of the twelve Jesus chose to follow him and carry on his work. They differed in both political and religious things.  What was it that caused these men to work closely together even though their ideas and beliefs were so different? This is the point we must learn. The unity of the Lord's church and its work doesn't mean we will all share the same ideas and agree on everything. Our oneness....our unity comes from our common allegiance to the Lord.  It comes from imperfect people who have placed themselves under the discipline of Jesus Christ.

"How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity" Psalm 133:1.