“A politician thinks of the next election. A statesman, of the next generation.” – James Freeman Clarke
As campaign season ramps up with the major party conventions this week and next, you’re likely in one of two camps. The first camp is made up of those who are already weary of the political back and forth of the past several months. The second camp consists of folks who are just now paying attention. Regardless with which group you associate, there are long term implications to the decisions we make in November.
Our nation is at a turning point. The political divide has grown wider, race relations are strained, and an atmosphere of anger is being pitched by different constituencies. What is the response of a Christ-follower to the political environment?
John Wesley’s advice to the early Methodists, which he recorded in his journal in 1774 is helpful:
“I met those of our society who had votes in the ensuing election, and advised them
1. To vote, without fee or reward, for the person they judged most worthy
2. To speak no evil of the person they voted against, and
3. To take care their spirits were not sharpened against those that voted on the other side.”
We need to vote. It’s vital that faithful followers of Jesus engage in the political process. To retreat to a Christian ghetto and simply hope things get better would not serve our interests, nor the best interests of the nation. While we engage, we need to maintain a sense of grace. Even within the Body of Christ, there are differences of opinion concerning public policy. We can learn to disagree agreeably. The last piece of advice is the most difficult in today’s political climate: to avoid demonizing those on the opposite end of the spectrum. Every person we ever see or meet is a person created in the image of God, a person of infinite value and eternal worth. Even if a person has the wrong motives, sinful motives, even, we can learn to treat them with grace. Grace doesn’t imply we must agree with them, or endorse their ideas, or avoid conflict. Grace does imply that we treat people the way we want to be treated, that we live out the ethic Jesus taught and exemplified.
As we enter this stressful season, remember that God is God and we’re not. He’s in control and he cares. No matter what happens we can work to build for the Kingdom and see God do what he wants to do in and through us.