It’s Not Us vs. Them
As true Christ-followers, we need to stop politicizing God and our faith. When we politicize Him, we are effectively putting Him in a man-made mold, trying to form Him into an image we created – an image we desire God to fit because it falls in line with what we believe. That image is not God. That image is an idol. The truth is God does not fit neatly into any political party.
Labels such as conservative and progressive divide the church. When we place labels before our faith, we are telling the world we follow the ideologies associated with that particular political party. Though the intention may be innocent enough, we are no longer putting Christ first. Just as a kingdom divided against itself can’t stand, how can a body divided work?
Some purposely label themselves to disassociate themselves from the other political parties, but is that love? What are we saying about our sisters in Christ who associate with the other party? We have enough division in this world already, do we really need to add to it?
Instead, we should be showing the world the love of Jesus and how, through repentance and acceptance of Jesus as Savior, they can receive eternal life. Show them how God heals the brokenhearted. Show them how He loves those the world casts aside. Show them what it means to live in the freedom of Christ.
We are Christ-followers. When people hear I am a Christian, I don’t want them to wonder what political party I’m associated with. I want them to see Jesus. I don’t want them to immediately disqualify what I have to share because I vote differently than they do.
Jesus says in John 13:34-35 “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are disciples, if you have love for one another,” (ESV). If we are angrily divided over our political stances, rather than united under the love, grace, and forgiveness of our Heavenly Father, then how will the world know about the redeeming power of Jesus Christ? How will they understand the love and sacrifice of Jesus? Why would the world even want to know about Jesus?
Part of Jesus’s prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane includes a petition to the LORD: “that they may be all one…that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that You have sent me.” (John 17:21). He wants us to be united, not divided. And again, He wants us to love one another. Is it love to call another sister in Christ a bigot, a racist, or an idiot? How is that edifying or unifying? It’s not.
I’m not saying we shouldn’t vote, speak out against policies that harm or oppress others, or stand up for those who have no voice. In fact, we are called to help those who are oppressed or have no voice (see Psalms 82:3, Proverbs 31:8-9, and Isaiah 1:17). But, to do those acts under the umbrella of our chosen political party, rather than fulfilling the call God placed on us, is again idolatry. Some may say they can do it both for political party and God. Why? Why take the glory away from God and place it on a man-made construct?
Of course, to be united in Christ, we need to fully understand what it is He stands for, which means we need to read the Word of God. We also need to pray and ask the Lord for wisdom and guidance. Finally, we need to show love to all, even if they disagree with us politically. If we can’t love our sisters in Christ who vote differently than we do, then how are we going to love our neighbors? Our enemies?
I write this to encourage all of us to think about how we label ourselves or how we allow ourselves to be labeled by others. We shouldn’t label ourselves at all, except as Christ-followers. It’s not us vs. them – it’s us. Let us come together under the banner of the LORD, sharing His love, peace, and His redeeming message of hope with others. Then, let the world look at us and see Jesus.
