On Politics And Promises

I have a favor to ask. But before you get nervous, don't worry, what I have to say may not apply to you. For the moment, I want to speak only to my own faith community, to those who consider themselves Christians of any denomination, and are therefore my spiritual family. Brothers and sisters, this is for us.

I try, so hard, not to talk about politics. But this year, things are different. They have escalated to the point of being unavoidable, and there is something I really need to ask. It's about the way we are talking during this election season.

You may be voting, or not voting, for any political candidate for any of the following reasons:

• National security 
• Globalism or nationalism 
• Constitutional interpretation 
• Tax policy 
• Education 
• Military spending or deployment 
• Fiscal conservativism 
• More/less expansive role of government 
• Second amendment issues 
• Border security 
• Healthcare 
• Supreme Court concerns

I'd like to ask you to remember, as you speak publicly about your choice, that all of the above are political issues, not spiritual ones.  There is no Scripture anywhere that dictates a stance on these matters; they are subjects of liberty, not of doctrine. They are important issues, to be sure, and your opinion on them is important also, but it is just that--your opinion. Be intentional about making the distinction.

Also, when you talk about opponents of your candidate, or you disagree with others who support a different candidate, please do so with a respect that is becoming of you, whether or not you think it is deserved by the person you're speaking of or with. Choose substance and compassion over insults and mockery. Avoid name-calling. Don't openly revel in things that cause harm or pain, even to those with whom you disagree. Be intentional about using language that shows your allegiance to your King, not your candidate.

You may be wondering why I think I can ask you this. And as a sister in our shared faith, I would have ample grounds to implore you not to jeopardize the reputation and integrity of the church, by binding her to such concerns, or doing so with loose and unbecoming talk. But the reason I am asking is actually much more personal.

You see, you are helping me raise my children. You are the community of faith with whom I have surrounded them, the models I have given them for growing up to be faithful men of God in a broken and hurting world. We are a team, you and I. This business of raising them is hard work, and I can't possibly do it on my own; it really does take a village, and you are the village we live in. And what I want for them is to be strong and healthy, to be independent and mature. I want to raise men who think deeply and carefully about the important things, and consider all points of view. I want them to know that there is sometimes more than one right opinion to have about things, and there is always more than one worth understanding. I want them to learn from you, not what to think, but how. I want them to use the language of love and respect, not the language of hate and fear.  I want them to cling, tenaciously, to the essential truth of the Gospel--which means knowing that the way of Christ is grace over law, compassion over dogma--and when what they're hearing isn't Gospel, I want them to know the difference.

They will learn these things, not just by looking to me, but by looking to you. When you conflate political opinion with spiritual wisdom, you confuse and mislead them. When you talk to and about others in ways that we would correct and discipline in the classroom or the schoolyard, you invite them to do the same. These are the ways we break their trust, let them down, lead them astray. We cannot continue.

I understand it is a lot to ask, for both of us, but this is our responsibility to each other. This is what you promised me, what we promised each other, when we accepted each other into this family, this body of Christ. When I stood there before you as a new mother, hopeful and terrified, with my babies in my arms, I asked for help for a task that was beyond me, asked for a host of mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters, to nurture and teach and raise my sons in the faith, and the preacher asked for the ones who would watch over this child, and all of you answered with one voice, "We will." You pledged yourselves to me, and I trusted you with my little ones, who are little no more. Please, church. Keep your promise.