This post was first written on April 1, 2016. I have rewritten it to fit today because I feel like Christians need to recognize that our actions do matter.

I am so blessed to have close friends and family members who are pastors. I am so blessed to have so many solid Christians in my life who are friends.  I am so blessed to be a member of a Christian church family.

Why is it that I wonder from time to time where my Christian friends and family members fit into the world of politics today? [ I know this idea does not seem to transition well from the first three sentences, sorry.]

“Then they sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to Him in order to trap Him [Jesus] in a statement. They came and said to Him, ‘Teacher, we know that You are truthful and defer to no one; for You are not partial to any, but teach the way of God in truth. Is it lawful to pay a poll-tax to Caesar, or not?  Shall we pay or shall we not pay?’  But He, knowing their hypocrisy, said to them, ‘Why are you testing Me? Bring Me a denarius to look at.’   They brought one. And He said to them, ‘Whose likeness and inscription is this?’ And they said to Him, ‘Caesar’s.’   And Jesus said to them, ‘Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s’” [from Mark 12].

“My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it” [from John 17].

These two scriptures are very popular and may mean different things to different people, but I don’t think it is too much of a stretch to say that Jesus is trying to relay the idea that what the government demands of man is much different than what God demands of man.

The Jews of Jesus’ day were longing for a Messiah (they still are).  In Jesus, they did not find what they were seeking.  They wanted a warrior to overcome Roman rule.  They wanted an activist who could take control of the political situation of the day and change it in their favor.  Instead, they got an advocate for peace and a model of servitude for common man, both Jew and Gentile.  When He responds to His questioners, he tells them to “render to Caesar the things that are Caesars’s”.  This is not a tax revolt statement.  It is more of a “pay your taxes” statement, but keep in mind that God’s Kingdom is above the Roman Empire.  God’s Kingdom is above all.  Remember, you believers are “not of this world.”

Politics?

I don’t know about you, but to me, the word has a distinctly “worldly” feel about it.

As Americans, we are told by many in other cultures that we should appreciate our vote, our ability to participate in government, our means of expression.  We should.

I don’t advocate that we just quit participating but I do advocate that we educate ourselves as much as we can about what is going on with a candidate and we need to reflect on what our support for a candidate really means. 

This may be a very inconsequential metaphor, but it is just like clicking “like” on someone else’s Facebook post.   Be very careful what you like.  Be very careful about who you like.  Your liking indicates something about you.  No one has to know how you voted, but thanks to “social media” today, so many Christians are expressing ideas about who they are supporting in an open manner.  Expressing our political views on social media is a choice [like voting] but some of the things I see on social media make me cringe.  I have a lot of contact with non-believers and I can tell you that they ridicule Christians who get carried away with politics and post hateful statements online.  I have heard like “Is that what Jesus teaches?”  “You wonder why I don’t go to church?  Now you know.”  “Why would I want to worship sitting next to those hypocrites?”  As Christians we wring our hands about how the power of the church is waning in society today and we don’t see ourselves as contributing to the problem.  Let me be bold.  Christians who are so caught up in politics that they make hateful statements are contributing to the problem.

Also keep in mind that politics can be all about “being used.” Adam Hamilton in his book Seeing Gray in a World of Black and White says: “Too often faith has been used by Christian leaders and politicians to further a particular political party or political agenda.”   For many political operatives, the Christian Evangelical group of voters is just a demographic group.  I don’t know how many times I have heard a pundit or a politician say that such and such candidate has “locked up” the Christian Evangelical vote.  I don’t want to think of myself as a voter in a block of voters, just voting like others in my demographic group.  I don’t want to be courted by a politician who wants my vote and that is all.  I vote and then find out that said politician really does not reflect my beliefs, knows nothing about God or His Word, and displays behaviors that are incompatible with my faith.

At the beginning of this post I commented on the many Christians I have in my life.  Guess what; I have many non-Christians among my family and friends and many of them won’t have anything to do with God because of their feelings of disgust about the church.  Often they are not fully aware of the position of the church.  They just think they know because of how hey see Christians behave.  There is a trite expression that many Christians forget: “You are the only Bible that non-believers will ever see.”  As Hamilton says, “Christianity has become a wedge that drives people from Christ, rather than drawing them to Him.”  Christian behavior is the real wedge.

I want to vote with my head and my heart. I want to vote for the candidate that reflects the best choice for me.  I want to vote for the candidate that reflects how I feel about my faith.

Is the perfect candidate out there?

Sadly no.

They all have flaws just as you and I have flaws.

You may have to make the slightly square peg fit into the round hole, finding a way to make it work.

It is important to do this because our vote does matter.  It matters because we have the right to vote.

It is important for Christians to be actively, intelligently informed about our government.  What we need to give to “Caesar” is our vote [and our taxes]  because we have a nation that allows participation and requires taxes. But also what we need to do in the world today [in my estimation] is never to forget that we are people of God, people who advocate peace and love for one another.  That is the message from the King of our Kingdom.

That is the message we should show to the world.

Our political activity should be positive rather than negative. We should discuss and act as citizens who want to offer “the balm that can heal” a divided country rather than citizens who want “to divide our nation” [Hamilton, XV].

I wonder from time to time where we all fit into the world of politics today?

We don’t seem to fit, but we need to do the best we can to be a positive force, to offer that balm.

Just go to your polling place, vote and try to be “the balm that can heal.”