Love and Politics

I get super nervous whenever I talk about politics. My whole body feels like I’m preparing for battle. But Jesus has been helping me view these discussions differently: to see these conversations as opportunities to love my neighbor by practicing empathy, humility, and compassion. He’s shown me there are people who love Him and His Wordpeople who are my brothers and sisters in Christwho fall all over the political spectrum. And that’s okay. As Christians, we don’t all have to agree about politics, because, ultimately, our identity isn’t defined by our political views. Our identity is found in Jesus. And, while Jesus does shape how we view politics, Christians will sometimes disagree about the actions we should take in dealing with problems in this broken world. Practicing God’s command to love our neighbor during political discussions is HARD. It’s easy to fall into the temptation of putting our identities in our political views instead of putting our identities in Christ. When we remember we are defined by Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, we are freed to love our neighbors better. Suddenly, if they don’t agree with our politics, it doesn’t feel like a personal attack. If the person we’re talking to is another Christian, we’re on the same teamJesus’ team. Therefore, we can work together toward finding a solution instead of just shouting at each other. If the person we’re talking to doesn’t know Jesus, it’s an opportunity to show His love by listening well and speaking humbly and compassionately. At the end of the day, disagreeing with love and humility which includes admitting when we are wrongshows we care about the person we’re talking with. As Christians, our goal in political conversations isn’t proving we’re rightit’s showing who Jesus is. Taylor Eising When someone disagrees with us, what would it look like to work toward understanding the other person’s viewpoint lovingly and humbly? Which is more important: your identity in Christ or your political views? If your political views change, does that mean your identity in Christ changes? Someday, Jesus will return to fully establish His kingdom here on earth, and we will live in perfect unity under His reign. How does this sure hope affect the way we engage with politics? Love your neighbor as yourself. Matthew 22:39b (NLT)

Read Verses:

Ephesians 2:14-22; 4:1-6; Matthew 22:37-40