One of my friends got me hooked on Micheal Gungor. His unique sound and lyrics are a really refreshing step away from Hillsong (nothing against them, jut needed a change.) In particular, one song really sold me on Gungor, his song “God is Love.” I was amazed at what Gungor states in many of the one lined phrases, perhaps more to write on later, but I want to focus on one line. The line that caught my eye is when he sings, “God does not belong to Republicans.”
So often we hear in the media about the liberal left, and the religious right. It appears today that Christianity has been labeled as a right-wing movement, serving only the purpose of the Republican Party. Obviously, we as Christians certainly don’t see it that way. Hopefully we realize that there are both liberal and conservative Christians. This idea of God being a Republican seems so preposterous in fact, that Christians hardly realize that there is a huge misconception about Christianity.
I was talking with a friend about Christianity this past week at college. As we were talking about it, she seemed really open to talking about faith, so I asked why she hadn’t looked into it more than she had. Her response startled me. She told me that she was not a Republican, so she didn’t think the church was for her. Ouch. I know it was an excuse, but the fact that it could even be used as an excuse stung me when I heard it.
Despite our political beliefs, we need to remember that God is above it all. There is nothing wrong with religion in politics, but we as Christians need to make sure our focus is the lost, and not a Christian government. Ultimately we know that God will be the sole authority for us all, and therefore the lost > politics. As someone who loves to debate politics, this was a hard pill to swallow. None the less, it is a humbling moment that had to be. If you are like me, I humbly ask you to think about if your outspoken political views are helping, or hurting the kingdom of Christ.
It all comes down to what matters, God does not belong to Republicans, or to Democrats, nor to Libertarians, the greenies, the American Independents, or even the minor Christian political party! If you want to know what is important to God, look around. In fact, he left a list known as the 10 commandments, then added more with his Son who he sent for you and I. Christ makes it simple when asked what the most important commandment is. He states “Love the Lord your God with all your heart.” Followed by (making it second most important) “Love your neighbor as yourself.”(Mathew 22:37-39). If you want to compare your political platform, and what is important, to that of God’s; the question then becomes, how are doing taking care of widows and orphans? (James 1:27).
The idea that religion in politics is a good thing vanishes when examined from a historical perspective. Once people of faith act to support a political cause in an "organized" way, they will find that the politicians have hoodwinked, out maneuvered and subverted them! It is not possible for trusting people (believers) to work safely with scheming, selfish and power hungry people (politicians). The process of subversion is well advanced, that is why the populace sees Christians as Republicans.
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