I wish I could remember all of the conversations I’ve had over the past year that have left me with the distinct impression that, by mirroring the values and attitudes of Talk Radio or Talk Television, followers of Christ have unintentionally left him for someone else.
As a rule I don’t think the labels “conservative” or “liberal” are fair, because, from a New Testament point of view, what matters is not whether we are conservative or liberal, but what we are “conserving and protecting” and what we are willing to “change and leave behind.”
But I’m going to make an exception because how we characterize ourselves spiritually and politically has become something that seems especially timely and urgent to talk about. If by trying to combine conservative theology with conservative politics, we leave behind the foundational attitudes of Christ (Matt 5:1-12; Gal 5:22-23), and the wisdom that is from God (James 3:13-17), have we not become “liberal” in the sense of “leaving behind” and “changing from” what is essential to our relation to God and others?
Or to become even more direct, are some of us developing a “kick–something” attitude rather than a heart that has been radicalized by truth and grace?
I don’t want to get into names and personalities, because that would turn this into a political debate rather than into a discussion of whether we are unknowingly losing our hearts and minds not only to “the left” but to “the right”.
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