August 5
Beyond Politics
There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you—who are you to judge your neighbor?” ––James 4:12
There’s a huge battle raging in the US––and across the globe––for the hearts and minds of every human being. Both sides of this battle use compelling arguments to promote their point of view, and claim that the other side is out of touch with the average person or is just plain evil. One side promotes a me-first agenda and appeals to the more selfish needs of its constituents, while the other side promotes truth and justice.
Democrats vs Republicans? The Left vs the Right?
Nope. I’m talking about the battle raging between the Kingdom of God and the kingdom of darkness. We keep His Kingdom in mind when we engage with the world—including the realm of politics. The enemy’s goal? To rip the Church to shreds and divide it over political (and other) issues. Awareness of this spiritual battle is HUGE for God’s men.
We play into Satan’s hands when we make eternal judgments based on temporal issues (i.e., when we use a person’s political views as a yardstick to measure the authenticity of their faith). I have mature, Jesus-loving friends on every side of the political spectrum—and some are dumbfounded that anyone “on the other side” could actually be a saved-by-His-blood follower of Jesus. They say, “If you belong to that party, you just can’t be a true Christian,” or, “If you like that politician, I question your faith.”
I am all for political involvement and believe that every Christian’s voice needs to be heard—in the town square and at the ballot box. But it’s not my job to judge you—or for you to judge me. Can I disagree with you? Of course. Can I engage with you about your political views? Yes, and I believe it’s important for believers to do so. But judge? No. In Jesus’ words: “Do not judge, or you too will be judged” (Matthew 7:1). And yes, we are called to correct (speak the truth in love about another’s blind spots or sin patterns), but not to judge (take on God’s role as the final arbitrator regarding the state of that person’s soul).
There’s also a fine line between disagreement and judgment. The key is to see our friends and neighbors—even those with radically different political views than ours—first and foremost as God’s creation, made in His image. Look, I get it; it’s hard to do sometimes. I mean, if someone gets in my face about abortion and tells me that it’s just fine and anyone should have access to it at any time, I’m going to explain why I believe life begins at conception and that God has a destiny for every life.
But I’m not called to judge them. I can fight them at the ballot box, pray for pro-life legislation, and work to secure the rights of the unborn. In doing so, I have to remember that first and foremost, I’m a citizen of the Kingdom of God—that is my highest priority, and yours. And as His children, our calling goes above winning arguments—it is first about winning souls.
So what does that look like—the “not judging” thing? It means asking the Holy Spirit to enter into the heated discussion with someone whose opinion is the polar opposite of ours. It means not pigeon-holing or stereotyping a person based on their political views. And here’s the tough one for me: It means trying to love them as Jesus does. Easy? No. Biblical? Most definitely.
Who better to set an example of what it looks like to be both Jesus-led and politically engaged than God’s men? Watch Jesus when He engages with those who have a different viewpoint than His. We take the Kingdom position that God is the judge, not us. Our role is to model Jesus’ strength and love to everyone we meet—even if we’d never attend their political rally or vote for their candidate.
That’s where we start, men of God. Not with a party, but with His power. Not with the ballot box, but in our prayer closet. Not with a candidate, but with a King.
Father, I have strong views about politics—help me share them boldly but also thoughtfully and always under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.