A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another. John 13:34-35
The majority of Americans claim to be Christian. Clearly there are Christians on both sides of every election. Many wear crosses around their necks, on their clothing and even in tattoos to advertise their faith. Mitt Romney claims to be Christian. Barack Obama claims to be Christian. So does Hillary Clinton. So does Donald Trump. So do most of their followers. Only God knows who His children are. None of us is in a position to judge. Christ's mandate however is not just that we love one another, but that we also love our enemies. So even if we don't believe the professions of faith of our political opponents, we have been commanded to love them. Do we?
Everyone voting in the current election (even Muslims, socialists and atheists) is an American. We live here. We are raising our children and grandchildren here. Our friends and relatives live here. America is our home. I don't think anyone who lives in this country voluntarily is motivated by a desire to destroy it. No country is perfect or ever has been. Depending on where we live and what conditions we see that need to be addressed, we may be motivated to try to make changes in the current systems. We would like to make improvements but we are not seeking to destroy our home. Every citizen can find at least one change that has occurred in the past 240 yrs that they support and at least one that they don't. We have agreed, as citizens in a Democratic government to accept majority rule. Even the non-Christians should accept this much.
I do not think the country will be perfected in my lifetime (regardless of the promises of any of the political parties). Politically, my responsibility is to examine the issues, the candidates' positions and the candidates themselves, and vote according to my conscience. If I am a Christian, I should pray for guidance before making a final decision. As a Christian, I also have a higher responsibility to be God's representative in every situation. There should be a visible difference in the behavior of Christians as we participate in the democratic process. Christ's directives were to 'Judge not' and to 'remove the beam in our own eye' before addressing our neighbor's problems. Do we? Have we carefully studied our own side? Do we fully understand our own motivations? How many of us give serious consideration to even listening to the other side? How many of us examine the history of the issues of concern to see what motivates the opposition and how we came to our current situation? Do we want to understand our 'enemies' (fellow citizens) or even sit in the same room with them or are we content to win by a majority of one (with continuing hatred on both sides)? A 'house divided' cannot stand for long, even if MY side wins.
The level of hostility in the election process appears to be worsening. The major parties encourage this with increased amounts of money being spent on 'negative ads' and personal attacks. We can't support 'our side' without hating the 'other side'. As Christians, we KNOW this is wrong. As citizens, we KNOW this is splitting the country. We have already had one civil war with 500,000 casualties and hostilities that continue 150 years later. If our citizens cannot come together, we are headed for another. Christians should be leading the way in trying to bridge the divide and show love across party lines. Considering our self-imposed separations it is hard to figure out how to begin. I solicit your opinions/ideas. Thanks
The majority of Americans claim to be Christian. Clearly there are Christians on both sides of every election. Many wear crosses around their necks, on their clothing and even in tattoos to advertise their faith. Mitt Romney claims to be Christian. Barack Obama claims to be Christian. So does Hillary Clinton. So does Donald Trump. So do most of their followers. Only God knows who His children are. None of us is in a position to judge. Christ's mandate however is not just that we love one another, but that we also love our enemies. So even if we don't believe the professions of faith of our political opponents, we have been commanded to love them. Do we?
Everyone voting in the current election (even Muslims, socialists and atheists) is an American. We live here. We are raising our children and grandchildren here. Our friends and relatives live here. America is our home. I don't think anyone who lives in this country voluntarily is motivated by a desire to destroy it. No country is perfect or ever has been. Depending on where we live and what conditions we see that need to be addressed, we may be motivated to try to make changes in the current systems. We would like to make improvements but we are not seeking to destroy our home. Every citizen can find at least one change that has occurred in the past 240 yrs that they support and at least one that they don't. We have agreed, as citizens in a Democratic government to accept majority rule. Even the non-Christians should accept this much.
I do not think the country will be perfected in my lifetime (regardless of the promises of any of the political parties). Politically, my responsibility is to examine the issues, the candidates' positions and the candidates themselves, and vote according to my conscience. If I am a Christian, I should pray for guidance before making a final decision. As a Christian, I also have a higher responsibility to be God's representative in every situation. There should be a visible difference in the behavior of Christians as we participate in the democratic process. Christ's directives were to 'Judge not' and to 'remove the beam in our own eye' before addressing our neighbor's problems. Do we? Have we carefully studied our own side? Do we fully understand our own motivations? How many of us give serious consideration to even listening to the other side? How many of us examine the history of the issues of concern to see what motivates the opposition and how we came to our current situation? Do we want to understand our 'enemies' (fellow citizens) or even sit in the same room with them or are we content to win by a majority of one (with continuing hatred on both sides)? A 'house divided' cannot stand for long, even if MY side wins.
The level of hostility in the election process appears to be worsening. The major parties encourage this with increased amounts of money being spent on 'negative ads' and personal attacks. We can't support 'our side' without hating the 'other side'. As Christians, we KNOW this is wrong. As citizens, we KNOW this is splitting the country. We have already had one civil war with 500,000 casualties and hostilities that continue 150 years later. If our citizens cannot come together, we are headed for another. Christians should be leading the way in trying to bridge the divide and show love across party lines. Considering our self-imposed separations it is hard to figure out how to begin. I solicit your opinions/ideas. Thanks
