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by Aaron Felty

I grew up in a single parent home where my mom was a registered democrat. I believed from my early years that the democrats were for the little or poor guy and the republicans were for the wealthy. I went to church every week to attend an AWANA program and church services. From my earliest years, I never remember anyone connecting faith and politics. That does not mean it did not happen, I just do not remember. In full disclosure, my mom and I both are now conservatives.

However, there is no place in Scripture that links saving faith to politics. I believe it is folly on both sides to claim that one particular political party completely represents Christian faith. What I do know is that Christians on both sides of the political spectrum do a disservice to Christ by the way we treat one another. Jesus said in John 13:34-35 that we would be known by our love for one another. To quote The Princess Bride, “I do not think this word (love) means what [we] think it means.” Whether you are a liberal Christian who believes in abortion, same sex marriage, and greater involvement of the government in our lives, or you are a conservative Christian who believes abortion is wrong, marriage is between a man and a woman for life, and the government should be less involved, the way we treat one another is of primary importance. 

I believe we fall into the trap of folly because we have lost the ability to love one another even when we disagree. Perhaps we have never had that ability. So the world outside of faith, which we are trying to win for Jesus Christ, watches us bicker over supporting Trump, Roy Moore, Al Franken, the tax plan, the Affordable Care Act, same sex marriage, and so on and says a resounding, “NO THANK YOU!” They are saying, “If these supposed followers of Jesus, who are always talking about God’s love and Jesus’ life, cannot demonstrate love for one another, why would I want to associate with them?” God is love and we cannot claim to love God and hate our siblings (1 John 4:20). We often get hung up in foolish (not discerning, unwise, or not using good sense or judgment) arguments and treat one another as though our political positions will cause us to go to heaven or hell.

The only way to heaven is through the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross. The Bible says the requirement to get into heaven is to confess with our mouths that Jesus is Lord and believe in our hearts that God raised Him from the dead (Romans 10:9). There is no room for political posturing and ideology. There is no statement here about the age of the earth, our views about same sex marriage, the size of government, immigration policy, and war. Please do not get me wrong, I believe the Bible is clear about those things too, but they are not salvation issues. It seems to be a lack of good sense to argue so fiercely over things that are not salvation issues. I also know that a mature faith is one that allows Scripture to inform ones politics, not the other way around; yes, there is a place for a discussion about what the Bible teaches, but too often we argue from opinion. That’s a topic for another day, so please know that the political conversations are important, but not as a test of faith in Christ Jesus. A political position may be based on a lack of faith or ignorance of God’s word, or it may not. We can only know that with a good relationship. 

When Jesus got ahold of me some 24 years ago, I certainly had some “messed up” beliefs as I would call them now. Was it the arguments of seasoned Christians that swayed those beliefs? Was it political ideology or the current cultural norms communicated through the media? No! It was spending time with the King of Kings, reading His Word, prayer, and worship that began to challenge my worldview. It did not happen all at once. It took, and is still taking, many years to rearrange my thoughts, beliefs, and standards around Scripture rather than politics or culture.

Let me be crystal clear: our faith should inform our political ideology, but we must not confuse political ideology with faith. It is a certain immovable obstacle for the unbelieving world. I believe this is self-evident, but if you do not believe me, try to convert someone to Christ using political positions.

“But in your hearts, set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared in and out of season to give a reason for the hope we have but it must be done with gentleness and respect” (1 Peter 3:15). The key in this verse is to set apart Christ as Lord. Let Him lead you. Do what He would do, say what He would say, and treat people as He treated people. We do not have to convince people that their political ideology is wrong; what we have to do is love people where they are and let God do the work of changing hearts and ideology.

The question is, “What is love?” The Bible gives a thorough definition of love and it could be life-changing to others if we applied this to every interaction with people of a different political ideology. Perhaps if we followed this approach, we would find that, to take a recent cultural phrase, love actually wins! Not the misused phrase of those who think God affirms same sex marriage but the Biblical definition found in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a. Let’s look at this and apply it to our often misplaced perspective on faith and politics. 

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.”

What if we demonstrated patience to those with whom we disagree? What if our responses were kind? What if we operated with humility and asked good questions? What if we did not respond angrily? What if we focused on the truth of Scripture? What if we protected those with whom we disagree? What if we trusted that God is in control and can handle differing political ideologies, even if they are mutually exclusive, because He knows where people are in the journey? What if we had hope for people with whom we disagree? The answer according to this passage is: love wins! Re-read that passage above and put your name in where the word love is or is implied, and consider your interactions with people of a differing political perspective. Would the passage be true in those cases? 

You might say, “But Aaron, how do we respond when people are so clearly wrong?” My answer is, “Love!” You and I do not have to prove anything to anyone. We can present what we believe the Bible teaches, but more importantly we have to love one another. I am a young earth, pro-life, traditional marriage supporter who believes we cannot close our borders to immigrants, our government and country need to be more charitable to those in the greatest need, and money should not be the highest order of business all based on what I read and understand from Scripture at this point. No government is in power apart from God’s allowance (Romans 13:1-2) so we would do well to pray for and find ways to create unity not create division. 

bWith Christmas fast approaching, we would do well to remember that the government is upon Christ’s shoulders and of the increase of His Kingdom there will be no end (Isaiah 9:6-7). I fear that our futile arguments about political ideology work against the faith that God intends to unleash on the earth. Our task is to love people, present a Biblical worldview, and get out of God’s way. Let’s follow the way of 1 Corinthians 13 this upcoming year. 

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