Leadership Thought: Let's Fight Like Christians Over Our Political Views.

Dear Friends, 

Last night I watched a disturbing interview on 60 Minutes which featured an unemployed woman who had lost a high-level position due to the impact of Covid 19. When asked about the economic effects on her family, she said it was devastating. But then she pointed out that the most significant consequence to her family was not financial, but relational. She then expressed how difficult it has been for her and her family to witness the polarizing impact the pandemic is having on our nation. I think she was probably longing, like I am,  for the "join hands" bi partisan efforts that helped unify our country following the 9-11 tragedy. The woman had no apparent political axe to grind. She was just tired of seeing people pointing fingers and spewing words of animosity toward one another that did nothing but only intensify our nation's divide. 

Are you a contentious Christian?  In today’s political world it is easy to become one.  Each one of us may possess strong feelings about our political positions and persuasions. At times we may even draw our political line in the sand which hinders us from communicating with others who may disagree with us.

It is not wrong to feel passionate about the positions we hold, but let’s be careful  in doing so to remember our witness for Christ is more important than the candidates we support or the positions we espouse.

As Christians there are times to be both peaceable (Romans 12:18) and contentious (Jude 3).  We are to be both kinds of people depending on the issue and concerns we address. “For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven…a time for war, and a time for peace.” (Ecclesiastes 3:1, 8)

Whatever our reaction and response to the issue being addressed, our ultimate concern must always be our witness for Christ.  All of us need to remember that “the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome, but kind to everyone.” (2 Timothy 2:24)  Yes, there is a time to fight for our faith, (and our causes) but let’s be sure the underlying cause for the fight is our love for Jesus and our desire to see others come to know Him.

Philip Yancey in his book The Jesus I Never Knew offers thoughts that provide a much-needed boundary for our conversations and relationships with others.  Yancey writes “I feel convicted by this quality of Jesus every time I get involved in a cause I strongly believe in.  How easy it is to join the politics of polarization, to find myself shouting across the picket lines at the ‘enemy’ on the other side.  How hard it is to remember that the kingdom of God calls me to love the woman who has just emerged from the abortion clinic (and yes, even her doctor), the promiscuous person who is dying of AIDS, the wealthy landowner who is exploiting God’s creation.  If I cannot show love to such people, then I must question whether I have truly understood Jesus’ gospel.”  Quoted from “I Can”, Art Lindsay, p 251.

So maybe the best thing we can do is to turn off our television sets for a while and ask God to show us if our contention is “godly, loving and kind.” And if the answer is no, let's spend some time in prayer seeking ways to be a part of the solution and not the problem to our nation's divide. It may be hard for us to do, but whoever said being a Christian would be easy.

Yours in faith and friendship,
Tom