Politics, Faith, and Unity

On a stage with ideas bouncing around left, and right, pundits and politicians seek to influence the populace to throw their weight behind them. Sometimes, they say what they think the people want to hear so that the people will vote for them. Others seek to sway the voter to their ideas, making convincing arguments to bring the people to their line of thinking. To the voter, it can be a confusing time. So many topics and each politician with a different view. To confuse things further, each citizen's life may be impacted differently by the issues at hand, which makes ranking the priority of the issues difficult. One person's pursuit of happiness may collide with that of another. Another person seeks liberty and freedom at the expense of someone else. How does one weigh the issues fairly and prioritize them rightly?
If we are to take our own individual interests as the measure, others who reflect our demographic concerns will line up with us. We will separate into voting blocks according to interests and concerns that match our own. What we end up with is a lot of self interested groups who align with each other.
Some of these groups promote and prioritize under a banner, and align behind a party that reflects their commonality. Minorities, feminists, immigrants, evangelicals, gun rights advocates, to name a few, can bring great pressure to bear on the political scene. Elections are influenced and candidates position themselves to receive the greatest gain they can from each of these political factions. The individual voter is left trying to figure out which candidate fits the criteria that matches his demographic and interests. It is not an easy task.
If we take our faith as the guide, we are often not much better off, as each group seeks to claim moral high ground. Some hot topics like abortion and religious expression may sway us in one direction, but candidates who may stand opposed to our faith in these areas may line up with us in others, like helping the impoverished and oppressed. Honest Christian brothers and sisters may go to the same church, but disagree on which candidate best represents their faith. They may prioritize the issues differently. They may not agree on the veracity of the candidates. Personal history and family background feed into lives differently to inform and influence. Disagreements arise as issues and interests divide us.
My plea for those caught up in the election process is to put faith above politics. Our disagreements in reality, are often precisely because we believe strongly. But that does not mean we have to part company. Faith should rise above party bickering. The one who demands loyalty above all others calls us to unify around our faith. The apostle Paul wrote to the church in Corinth which was divided among party lines. Some aligned behind one party figure, while others untied behind another. He warned them against division and called them to unite under one head (1 Cor. 1:10-13). Addressing this division he writes,"Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all partake of the one loaf" (1 Cor. 10:17). He writes the Ephesian church to unify them under "one Lord, one faith, one baptism" (Eph. 4:3-6). To the Phillippian church, he writes to encourage them to stand firm "in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel" and that they "be of the same mind, having the same love" (Phil. 1:27, 2:2). He calls the Galatians to unify under their faith (Gal 3:26-29).
As we think about our country, we are called to be a light to a dark world. That is hard to do if we are divided along party lines. But if in spite of our divisions, we unite as one loving family of faith we will do much more than influence an election. We may actually influence our country.

Rendering Unto Caesar

It is tax time again. It is interesting to note places taxes are mentioned in the Bible. Citizens were subject to assessment and were burdened with taxes (2 Kings 23:35; Esther 10:1). There was a flat tax (1 Samuel 8:15). People had to borrow money to pay their taxes (Nehemiah 5:4). Some were arrested for tax evasion (2 Kings 17:4). Clergy claimed an exemption (Ezra 7:24). Tax collector’s were not well thought of (Matthew 18:17) and were advised not to cheat others in performing their duties(Luke 3:12-13). By the same token, those paying taxes were not to cheat the government either (Mark 12:17; Luke 20:25). It was taxation (Per capita) that brought Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem at Jesus’ birth (Luke 2:1-5). Jesus paid taxes and provided the funds for one of His disciples to pay what he owed (Matthew 17:24-27). He ate with many tax collectors (Mark 2:15) and even called one of them to be His disciple (Luke 5:27-28). A tax collector even wrote one of the Gospels (Mathew 9:9). Taxes have been a part of society for a long time. It is necessary for governments to protect its citizens and provide for the common good, and that is why its citizens are to pay taxes (Romans 13:6-7).

A Map to Follow

Recently, President George W. Bush, during a news conference, stated that it was his job to make decisions. Who can deny that the decisions he makes have the power to impact nations and alter the course of history. Most of us, however, are not such big players on the world scene. Our decisions seem insignificant campared to the president of a super power. The little man doesn't seem to make much of an impact. But if this is the case, why is it that such big players seem so fearful of the little guy? Tomorrow is the day the little guy speaks. Decisions will be made tomorrow that have the potential of changing the balance of power and changing the course of the nation. Tomorrow is election day. For the last several months I have been flooded with mail from politicians trying to influence my decision. They are seeking my vote, courting favor, and seeking to stay or get into a position of decision making power. Whether they do or not depends on the voter. Suddenly, the little guy holds all the cards. In the end, we are the real decision makers. We are the ones who set the direction of our country.
How then, are we to weild our great power. So much depends on our vote. We dare not take it lightly. We need all the wisdom we can get. Where do we turn? For the Christian, there can only be one answer. As we look to the sacred Scriptures to guide us in making the little decisions of daily life, how much more must we depend on them to guide us in the greater decisions. As Christians, we are obligated to support those who hold morally superior credentials. We can not afford to vote our pocket book. We must vote our faith. The Bible is our map, our guide. Using it as a voters guide, we can set the tone for politics and change the landscape of our country. May God help us to vote his values.