Proverbs 4:25 Let your eyes look straight ahead, fix your gaze directly before you.
26 Make level paths for your feet and take only ways that are firm.
27 Do not swerve to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil.
To the late Jerry Falwell, God was a Republican. One comment I read, by a man who knew him, said that for Falwell, to not be a Republican was to basically be an unbeliever. And if God is, indeed, a Republican, what does that mean?
Well, we might ask, could God then be a Liberal?
When we think of these parties, we sometimes think of the things they are passionate about: the Left trumpets freedom of choice in abortion, equal rights for homosexuals, pull out of whatever war is going on at the moment; the Right tends to go in the opposite direction.
The two wings of government also disagree, often sharply, on how to conduct the affairs of state. Liberals appeal to compassion for the poor while Conservatives lean to helping those who are making it to make more. Liberals tend to expand government while Conservatives aim to limit it (all of this tends to be more rhetoric than action). Liberals are sounding the warnings about the environment while Conservatives pooh-pooh them as "tree huggers." Liberals stand for a relaxation of things like censorship while Conservatives are trying to push bills that promote temperance and Judaeo-Christian values. There is a tension between the two, not so much over morality, but over how much the state should control it. Indeed, when the state makes things illegal ~ like the use of liquor, or gambling, or drugs ~ criminal groups take over providing the public with their vices. And too much license in a society promotes all of the destruction that follows in the wake of people left to their own lack of judgment.
The tension between right and left is seen in all of nature. If we follow too much license, we head for shipwreck. If we become too morally rigid, we create a breeding ground for hypocrisy. The pendulum of morality in society is ever swinging back and forth.
Jesus said, "When you're looking at me, you're looking at the Father."
So now we need to decide, was he a Republicrat or a Democlican?
We should examine Jesus to see what he is. Is he Republican or Democrat?
I've studied Jesus for decades, so I'll give this a try.
Jesus was concerned about morality. He encouraged people to work hard and make an honest living. He attended the synagogue. He was an entrepreneur and an individualist. He encouraged venture capitalism. He surrounded himself with businessmen. He demanded tax collectors to change. Yup. He was a Republican.
But wait.....He was considered by the right-wingers of his day to be a rowdy sinner.
He provided wine for banquets miraculously. He hung around with reformed prostitutes and calloused working-class people. He harangued hypocritical religionists. He spoke of the abuse of the underclass by opportunistic men in power. He criticized leaders. He paid outrageous taxes. He was concerned about the poor. He had his own one-man health care system. He loved nature. And he opposed the use of physical force to set up kingdoms. Hm. Maybe he was a Liberal.
It looks to me like he embraced the good in both parties. Maybe it's time Christians did too. Are we called to polarize people? Or are we called to make peace?
Phil. 4:8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.
9Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.
Sometimes both political parties are capable of thinking about and even doing good things. Sometimes both of them fail. Christians, let's carry the God of peace into all arenas: whichever side of things they tend to lean to.
Make straight paths for your feet. Don't play favorites. Love your enemies.
3 comments:
Good observation. If Democrats really practiced wheat you say Jesus stood for, I would go that way. The problem is both parties as a whole just want power and they will do anything to hold on to it once they have it. These are the "Powers of the air" working. here is the rule on this. Fruit. By their fruits ye shall know them. They both produce the same fruit. Now individually there are Christians in both parties. the left right things is "Principalities and powers" that rule in that arena. Have you ever noticed that no matter how intense the debate you see in the media, nothing really changes? I think only a move of the Holy Ghost thought the land can change things. The rest is just the drama of politics. That will not change until we change.
Democracy was the best alternative the modern thinkers could come up with to replace the church-state system of Europe. But it does have its drawbacks, and you just mentioned it. It is a never ending tangle that is largely manipulated by propaganda.
Bush is almost like a monarch, and that's what bugs people about him. He no longer cares about his legacy: he is just determined to do what he thinks is right. Funny that he is also such an avid believer in the system of democracy. His vision is for a Middle East democracy. Would that it would come true. Then those Muslims would be free to hear about Jesus.
There are evangelicals now who are doing the green thing. Maybe there is no global warming; but if it looks like there is, we don't have to be stupidly critical of those who are convinced it is coming. What do I know, anyway? I'm not one of these people who is really studying this, trying to understand all the data.
Does it matter in terms of the gospel? I don't think so. Jesus didn't tell us to go out and save the planet. Our message is that the God-man has come and he is the way out of this mess. That's enough right there to keep us busy until he returns. Just figuring out how to tell people that Jesus is the savior, and convince them.
With regard to green thinking, God said he would destroy those who destroy the earth. Is he happy when we pollute, waste, kill his creatures, and gunk up the world he made? But is it our first priority? Probably not. But kudos to those who make the effort. They are at least telling the world that some Christians think these things matter. And on some level they probably matter to God.
We don't have to become Liberals. But we do need to listen to them.
We do need to commend them when they make sense. And we do need to appreciate whatever it is that is true in what they say. At least I'm trying. But I've been around a lot of liberals over the years. And they change too.
Those same people who say its getting hotter were saying it’s getting colder 30 years ago. Truth is its getting hotter and colder. That depends where you live. I would worry about the Persian leader getting his grubby hands on an N-bomb and flinging it towards Israel. Talk about getting hotter. President Bush understands this. He got it on 911. Most of this country has conveniently forgotten the lesson on 911 if they even got it.
By the way did Deb get home ok. Sorry i couldn't meet her. we are just to far away now and they changed all the rules down there.
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