Sick and Tired of Politics as Usual: Use the Politics of Jesus

Maybe this is just a personal rant, but I hope not.  I hope it speaks to the hearts and minds of all who read this.  But more than that, I hope it calls you to action!  I hope it prompts you to DO something, SAY something, WRITE something – FORCE yourself to be recognized!

I don’t think I’m alone when I say that I’m sick of the way America’s politics are handled.  Gone are the days of cooperation, compromise, and civility.  Now all we are left with is blame, finger pointing, and mudslinging.  And let’s not kid ourselves – This is not just in Government Politics, but it’s in the Politics of our Churches, Denominations, Families, Circle of Friends, and even social media (like FaceBook, Twitter, etc.).

Let’s define Politics.  For the purposes of this essay, Politics is the way that people deal with one another in order to make decisions.  Mostly I’m going to focus on high-level politics (Government, Denominational, World), but the same could be said about our own dealings with our smaller circles of friends, co-workers, and families.

I’m tired of opening the newspaper, going online, watching TV, and even trying to relax by surfing FaceBook because of Politics.  I concede that wherever 2 or more people are gathered, there must be politics – it’s the way we relate to each other.  It’s how we make decisions.  Maybe I should say I’m tired of the STATE of Politics, not Politics in general.

Politics right now are filled with hate, mistrust, division, anger, misinformation, exaggeration…need I go on???  Instead of saying, “Here’s why my idea is good,” all we hear is “This is why that person is an awful, lying, cheating, immoral, SOB.”

When I vote, I want to know why I should vote for Person X…not why I shouldn’t vote for Person Y.  I’m tired of voting for the “least worst” candidate.  I want to vote for the best candidate.  I’m tired of settling for the “least worst” solution.  I want to have a hand in the best solution.

Let me stop and remind you, this is not just about National and State politics.  My own Denomination seemed to forget who is really our leader.  We just had our General Conference of the worldwide Methodist Church, and to put it mildly, it was not pretty.  We forgot that God’s plan is what we should be following…not our own.  We forgot God’s call to make disciples, and instead the delegates argued about who can and cannot be a disciple.  Last time I checked, that’s not a human decision.  Last time I checked, God gets to do the judging, not us.  Of course there is “right” and there is “wrong.”  We need to uphold “right” and shun “wrong,” but unfortunately, we pick one issue and let it dominate.  We can’t even agree that we disagree.  We can’t even admit that we need God’s help and leading. 

I dread Election Years.  We need to elect, I get that!  But can anyone tell me why every 4 years certain issues come up, and then they are forgotten for the next 3 ½ years?  They didn’t magically disappear.  Are we so stupid that we don’t see that politicians raise certain issues to divide the average citizens?  Are we so stupid that we let them divide us?

Name the issue:  Health Care, Homosexuality, Abortion, Taxes (need I go on?).  Why are these issues only important in years divisible by 4?  I’ll answer that…Because they divide us!  Because they put Americans into 2 camps.  These are all important issues.  They need to be discussed and legislated (or discussed and not legislated).  But they do not need to divide us.

Do we have to be a “Fear Based” Nation??? Do we have to make decisions based off of fear of what might happen?  Or can we make decisions based on hope?

I realize all Americans are not Christians.  But, for those of us who are, can we not follow the Politics of Jesus?  (I’m NOT necessarily speaking about the book of the same name by John Howard Yoder – though it does apply here).  Can we elect our leaders based on hope for the future instead of fear of what the other candidate may do?  And if our candidate loses, can we still live in the hope that God gives us? 

I’m not sure where Christians thought we are supposed to have it “easy.”  I’m not sure where Christians get the idea that life is a Utopia.  The Perfect World only comes when Christ redeems the world.  Till then, we need to live in hope for that day, not live in fear of what may happen. The world will only reflect the Peaceable Kingdom when it is redeemed.  Until that day, we need to continue to live in hope.  How will we know that day of redemption?  Isaiah 11 tells us: ⁶The wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid, the calf and the lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them. ⁷The cow and the bear shall graze, their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. ⁸The nursing child shall play over the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put its hand on the adder’s den. ⁹They will not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain; for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. (NRSV)

As People of God, we should be leading the discussions and debates…not falling for the tactics of hate and division.  We can disagree – Creation is diverse – We SHOULD disagree.  But from that disagreement, we should lead by example the gift of compromise and consensus.  We don’t need to compromise on things that are utterly important – It’s never right to commit arson.  We don’t need to compromise on that.  But on other issues, we can and should compromise. 

Not one of us has full knowledge of God’s Will.  But all of us have SOME knowledge of God’s Will.  When we can’t agree, we should acknowledge it and wait until God reveals more.  We must not get stuck in the trap of “this is how we’ve always done it.”  Sure, things worked like that in the past…but this isn’t the past.  This is NOW.  Some things stay the same, but most change. 

To close, I’ll give you an example:  In the Jewish Bible, the final book is Chronicles (they combine 1 and 2 Chronicles into 1 Book).  It closes like this:  'Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia: All the kingdoms of the earth hath the LORD, the God of heaven, given me; and He hath charged me to build Him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whosoever there is among you of all His people--the LORD his God be with him--let him go up.' (JPS 1917 Translation). 

“Let him go up.”  Where is “up?” In this decree of Persian Emperor Cyrus, he is referring to the Temple.  To the Jews of that day, the Temple was God’s home on earth.  I don’t think it’s an accident that the Jewish Bible closes with this verse.  God IS with us – we are to go up.  We are to continually seek God’s will.  It’s not a one-time deal.  We are to continually “go up” to meet God and serve God.  Only when we Christians agree on that can Politics be The Politics of Jesus.

Don’t fall into the trap of “Ugly Politics.”  Use “The Politics of Jesus.”

Love is ALWAYS the Answer

Many people will not like what I'm about to say.  Those that want easy answers will not find them here.  Those that want their convictions challenged will not get that either.  Those that want me to take a stand on issues will not find it in this post.  That is the point of what I'm going to address.  For the purposes of this article, my own opinions on the situations are not important.  I will not tell you what to think or how to vote.  This article will deal with our attitudes and motivations when thinking or voting.

I have not seen our Nation and our World so divided as it is now.  Our Churches are divided, and I would venture a guess, though I have no data, that a lot of other faith communities are divided as well.  I'm here to tell you that it doesn't have to be this way.  In fact, to be this way is to be sinful!  Yes, I'm writing from a Christian perspective...I know no other way to write.  But, even the most secular person or person from another religion, I believe, would be hard pressed to find what I have to say as being wrong.

Let me list just some of our divisions:  Republican vs. Democrat, Pro-LGBT vs. Anti-LGBT (that is a shortcut way of saying we are divided on issues of sexuality - the real arguments are much more nuanced than what I presented), "Conservative" vs. "Liberal," Religion "A" vs. Religion "B," Nation "A" vs. Nation "B," the 99% vs the 1%, Capitalism vs. Socialism, Greed vs. Charity, Me vs. You, Us vs. Them, Tolerance vs. Defined Rules.....Do I need to go on?????  I think you get the point.

The battles over these issues, and any other issue that we face do NOT have to be battles in the sense of "I win, you lose."  Our culture is one of winners and losers.  The world is made up of winners and losers.  But it doesn't have to be that way.  It SHOULDN'T be that way.  And this doesn't mean that we have to give up our convictions or our Religion, or our standards.

I don't like lists...they're often too rigid, but I think I can propose some solutions in a more efficient way if I use a list format (wow, another division...List people vs. Non-list people).

Before I do so, I'm going to use the word "Love" quite a bit.  Let me define it:  From 1 Corinthians 13: "⁴ Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵ It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶ Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷ It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres."

I should also tell you what Love is not:
Love is NOT some fake showing of value that is used to manipulate.  Love is not mere respect.  Love is not something we say but do not feel.  Love is not just that mushy stuff between lovers.  Love (for the purpose of what I'm writing) is not sexual.  Love is not tolerance.

1.  We can fundamentally disagree on any issue, but we must respect (code word for "love") the person or people on the "other side" of the issue.

2.  We must realize that NO ONE is unworthy of love.  Yes, EVERYONE is worthy of Love.  Even the most hateful person you can think of deserves our Love.

3.  We must realize that issues are non-beings.  There is no such thing as an "issue."  "Issues" are people.  If it doesn't affect people, it's not an issue.  Even when thinking of the most abstract mathematical equation (ok, I don't know much about advanced math, but try to follow me), somehow it affects people.  And ALL people are worthy of being Loved.

4.  We must see that politicians/religious leaders/public figures/etc. (who all still deserve Love) use "issues" (which are not reality) to divide.  Standing on one side of an issue (meaning favoring some people over others) is a sneaky way of saying that you have convictions.  Instead, we can hold to our convictions while still Loving the people who disagree with us.  The people I noted all have a vested interest in division.  They win, become popular, get higher ratings, etc.  We do not need to fall into that trap.

5.  Holding onto convictions is a good thing.  But first, we must see the other side, no matter how painful it may be.  And by seeing, I don't mean giving it a glance and saying, "it's just wrong."  I mean we must put ourselves in that position and think about it from that perspective.  We must be willing to be challenged, and only then can we say we truly hold onto our convictions.

6.  Calling someone "ignorant," "narrow minded," "bigoted,""weak," "without standards," and such, while sometimes accurate is not showing Love.  Labels are the first way of making a person into a non-human.

7.  When our convictions are attacked, we owe it to the other side of the argument (meaning the people on the other side), to seriously consider what they have to say.  Yes, even if they are not being Loving. Only after we consider their stance can we choose our convictions.  We will be attacked by hate, but we can respond in Love.

8.  We can, and should, let our religious beliefs determine our convictions.  But, I know of NO religion that promotes hate.  Most religions have been perverted to promote hate at one level or another, but when we get to the root of these religions, the message is usually Love.  (Ok, Satanism may be an exception...there are always exceptions).

9.  When we feel ourselves beginning to lose Love, we need to remove ourselves from the situation and regroup, and only then can we re-enter the debate.

10.  Language has everything to do with these battles.  We cannot argue, but we can debate.  We cannot judge (in the sense of what God does), but we can hold to convictions.  We cannot label others even if they do it to us.  We must treat every ally and opponent on every issue as an individual.  There are no "clones."  We cannot hate, but we must Love.


Only when we accept those 10 propositions can true debate and discussion happen.  Yes, we will disagree.  Yes, this means that it will take longer to find a solution.  But, Yes, this means that people will be valued as they deserve.

We want quick answers.  We want right and wrong.  But our "issues" (which again, are people) are so nuanced that there is not 1 quick answer to MOST situations.  Yes, there are exceptions - Murder is wrong.  Stealing is wrong.  Arson is wrong.  But except in obvious cases, the answers are not so obvious.  This may mean that voting is not the answer.  Voting can mean that 1 person more than half the population gets to decide for the entire population.  In some cases, that is fine.  We can elect leaders that way (I'm sure there are exceptions to this statement).  But most situations should have consensus, not majority.  And when we can't reach a consensus, we need to continue discussion and debate - NOT argument and judgment.  And all this MUST be done in Love.

Division is sinful.  Division puts up false socially constructed fences between people that inhibits real discussion.  We can disagree, but we must never be divided.

Our world is not without hope.  Our nation is not without hope.  Our Churches are not without hope.  The very essence of Love is hope.  The things that seem dead now can rise again.  The "roadblocks" can be moved.  But all of this takes initiative.  And often WE have to be the ones who initiate the change.  WE have to be the ones who change the discourse.  This is a long and dusty road, but it CAN be done if Love is our focus.