Recently while in Curitiba, Brazil, I saw a city caught up in the enthusiasm and display of local elections. As an outsider who didn’t speak the language, it was easy not to get entangled in regional concerns.

Today as those of us in the US are entering into the final hours of a national election I find it far more difficult to know how to even acknowledge the day without arousing suspicions, fears, and disagreement among ourselves. Within this past week we saw on this blog how painful it was to see friendship broken, or at least strained, over our nationalistic and political differences.

So let’s together resist the urge to use this  space to engage in the kind of partisan debate that violates the evidence of our relationship to Christ (Gal 5:22-23); the marks of Christ-like wisdom (James 3:13-18) or the full spectrum of biblical values (Micah 6:6-8).

Long ago a prophet of God told the city of Jerusalem that she had made the communities of Sodom and Samaria look good by comparison (Ezek 16:51-52). Ezekiel described the sins of Sodom like this: Look, this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom: She and her daughter had pride, fullness of food, and abundance of idleness; neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. ⁵⁰And they were haughty and committed abomination before Me; therefore I took them away as I saw fit.” (Ezekiel 16:49–50)

The prophet said this not to judge Sodom, but rather to humble a chosen people who had been unfaithful to their God.

As people who believe that a heart relationship with Christ is the ultimate biblical value, we have every reason to join our neighbors in voting for the common good. But let’s not bank the reputation of our King and the principles of our first citizenship on the altar of political sacrifice.

Wherever we stand in the messy deliberate half-truths of partisan political debate, let’s remember that those on the other side of the political aisle are not demons, but people for whom Christ died.

This is no time to lash out. It’s a time to reach out to one another, and moreso to our God.

Vote on whether you think this post is something you'll be thinking about:

(+35 rating, 36 votes)

Loading...