Politics Before the Church?? Yes or No…

The sensitivity amongst those we live around in our communities continues to skyrocket. You can literally feel the tension rising. And what has caused me the greatest concern, is that the people you have stood with in agreement in the church on Sunday, the ones we call brother and sister in Christ, the ones we say ‘Amen’ (and I mean amen) with in a chorus of voices in a sanctuary, the ones with which we lift up hands of praise to our Creator, are the exact ones who have begun cutting each other off, shaming one another, and disowning one another – all in the name and game of politics.

You say anything remotely political these days and you are either heavily crucified or applauded, and this reaction has seeped its way into the Church… and I don’t necessarily mean the physical building… I mean the people of God, and causing a great divide amongst the very ones that Jesus came to die for. We have allowed our various political stances to come in and cause a great divide between brothers and sisters in Christ! And for that, our hearts should feel pained, burdened, and conviction over.

So, I personally have had to begin doing some soul searching and I have asked myself some hard questions:

* Do my political stances come before my commitment to Christ?

* Am I willing to love and continue to be unified with another professing believer whose political stances differ from mine?

* Would I rather align myself with those who are politically likeminded over those who are Biblically like- minded? (You can be Biblically like-mind and still have different political views)

* Am I willing to sacrifice my unity among other believers for something broken and temporal?

Answering these questions honestly was not an easy thing to do. I confess that I have felt the struggle in my own heart, and my desire is that in a dark and stormy world, that we as the Church, can be bonded together with other believers in peace, and find a place together that is free from this raging storm. As we take on our responsibility political, my prayer is that we keep it in the proper place in our hearts and lives! In our strong desire to protect our communities and our nation, let us not forget to be heavily burdened to protect the Church, the bride of Christ.