The mid-term elections are now over. How did your guys do…..
or gals? Living in The Peoples Republic of Massachusetts
it was a bit of a surprise to see the some Republicans win this time around
including our new governor to be Charlie Baker.
I rarely if ever talk politics from the pulpit. I prefer to keep my
focus on the main thing; or better put the main person Jesus Christ. I figure I
can venture into the political world at least a little in my blog though. For
whatever its worth I’m not real big on identifying myself politically. I much
prefer to simply identify myself as a Christian or Jesus follower. For me personally that has led me in a more
conservative direction, which in turn has led me to vote for guys with an “R”
after their name more often than not. All that being said, I have a great deal
of respect for many of my brothers and sisters in Christ who tend to go the
other direction. It’s okay that we may
occasionally disagree about the best way for Government to be involved for the
common good of the people. All of that is secondary to our common commitment to
Jesus Christ and His call on our lives to love God and love others. And
contrary to what those on the extreme left might say it is in fact possible to
be a compassionate conservative and love others well.
There’s one thing I’m sure of, and that is my
thankfulness for another election season to be over. That means no more political commercials.
Praise God! I get so tired of obvious
misrepresentations of opposing candidates. Sometimes the mudslinging can get a
bit out of hand. It reminds me of a passage I read recently.
They are ignorant
windbags who infect the air with germs of envy, controversy, bad-mouthing,
suspicious rumors. Eventually there’s an epidemic of backstabbing, and truth is
but a distant memory.
1st Timothy 6:4-5a (The Message)
In this passage the apostle Paul is speaking about false
teachers who did not agree with the biblical doctrines of Jesus Christ. As I
was reading that description I got to wondering; can it sometimes describe us
as Christians when we are in disagreement?
I’m afraid there are those among us who rather enjoy controversy and bad
mouthing. It’s like they are looking for
a fight. My alma-matter Gordon College has been in the news a lot lately
because of a stand its President recently took about the schools hiring
practices as a private Christian institution. I’ve been following a discussion about
it through an alumni group on Linked-In, and I think there have been some who
definitely go over the line in trying to make their point. I find that to be unfortunate. For the most
part I’ve enjoyed reading the discussion because those participating all seem
to be very smart and well-read individuals. And yet, when they go over the line
with their disdain for those who may disagree with them, all I can think of is “conceited
ignorant windbag.”
I’ve seen the same phenomenon with Mark Driscoll recently
stepping down and Mars Hill church disbanding. There have been some who
disagree with Driscoll’s conservative views and have gone over the line, almost
celebrating his demise. I’ve never met Driscoll, but I’ve read a bit about him
and listened to plenty of his sermons. As far as I can tell, he’s first and
foremost a man who loves the Lord Jesus Christ, a gifted speaker, a family man,
and someone who probably has some anger issues and pride. So why throw stones?
He’s on this Christian journey just like the rest of us, and because of his
ministry hundreds or even thousands have become followers of Jesus.
As I write about all of this one thing keeps coming to
mind. I sure don’t want anyone to think of me as an ignorant windbag. It’s not
a very flattering description for anyone; leave alone a Pastor. I think I’ll play it safe and leave politics
and Christian controversy’s on the periphery and keep preaching Jesus.
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