Saturday, January 21, 2012

Jesus for President!


Most of you have probably seen the Youtube video of a young man from Washington State who does spoken word on the subject of Christianity. It is powerful to watch and think about. We all, as believers have had our moments of being completely hypocritical and this gave words to some of the thoughts that have been going through my mind lately. I have been having problems with my fellow brothers and sisters more since about 2008 and some of the political ugliness that I have seen spew out of people who call themselves Christ Followers. I have seen this mostly on social networking sites like twitter and facebook because they are "safe" forums to not have to stand up for what you believe in a Christ-like manner. It is easy to forward some racial or politically ugly picture and not be the source of it than to stand up and be counted and stand in your Christ-given freedom to not be a part of the world.

Now, I am not endorsing one political party or another and will not be sharing my own political beliefs on this post, however, I know that a relationship with Christ should lead you to yield some good fruit instead of mud slinging, name calling, racial slurring, and just plain ugliness. I have seen pictures depicting our nation's leader in situations that seemed to me to qualify as Course Joking. I have heard disputes where one group of people are calling another group of people idiots or something even more ugly just because they differ in their views on medical benefits.

I guess my question to all of you that are doing this is...is this worth it? Is it worth destroying your witness and smudging Christ's name for your political agenda or for your friends in your "party" to get a laugh at your president's or presidential candidates expense. I realize the leaders (both present and previous) have made mistakes and led our country astray at times. I also know that the decisions made in the White House, Congress, etc... haven't always been "Christ-centric" but there is much to be learned from Matthew in the scenes of Jesus' conviction and eventual turn over into the Roman Government's hands. How did he conduct himself?

I don't remember him making a comment like "Well, it's probably because there is a Roman in government that I am going to be put to death!" or even "These people are idiots, they are not worth my time" nor did I see him having his friends come together to hold signs asking to vote that person out of office but they were still respectful of those that were put in governmental positions. Does this mean we have to roll over and accept things happening in our country that do not line up with scripture. NOT AT ALL.

My argument is that the godly do not heckle, joke, and sit around posting facebook pictures that are derogatory and downright cruel. They get up, pray for their country and its leaders and see the president as the neighbor that Jesus was talking about when he said LOVE THY NEIGHBOR as THYSELF. They also make positive changes by writing letters, campaigning in a upright and integrity filled way and stop being the ugly that this country believes we are in the Christian faith.

My hope is that those of you who wish to act this way politically...would stop putting Jesus' name on it. Just a note, that guy you are heckling and joking about...is his creation made in HIS image. The same woman that you are joking about due to her upbringing or beliefs is the woman that Jesus went to the cross for and died for. We all need to become a little more aware of our words and the kind of message they depict for those that do not know the Jesus of the Bible who was full of compassion, conviction, dignity, integrity, and LOVE.

I am in no way arguing that Christians should have no part in politics. We definitely need to take our place in government so that we are being heard and noticed in the governmental departments of our country...however....we also need to do it with the right guide, the HOLY SPIRIT. I can stand firm in knowing that the HOLY SPIRIT did not lead you to forward that post about how democrats are like toddlers or how republicans are just trying to get richer. Let's be what we say we are...just a note.

Here is the video I referenced earlier...



I started to think about how we are asked to conduct ourselves according to scripture and inquired of a dear friend to give me some idea what Jesus asks of us and these are his thoughts....

In Romans 12 Paul gives a few tips meaningful to this conversation. Verses 15-16 really hit home: "If others are happy, be happy with them. If they are sad, share their sorrow. Live in harmony with with each other. Don't try to act important, but enjoy the company of ordinary people. And don't think you know it all."


One verse that has really stood out to me lately on this subject is John 9:1-34, focus on v24. Here the Jewish leaders cornered a man who was healed on the sabbath, which didn't fit their idea of what spirituality looked like. In trying to get the man to confess that Jesus was evil (and therefore his view on right and wrong were jacked up) they say "Give glory to God! We know this man is a sinner." This gets overlooked easily but is very important. The use of spirituality and guilt is sickening. They are basically saying "If you want God to be happy with you, you'll agree with us on this." Sound familiar? People on both sides of the aisle say the same type of thing. Some using spirituality, "If yer a dad-gum Jesus follower yu'll hate what I hate." Others using morality and generalizations, "Unless you hate kids and want them to have no schools and insurance you'll vote like I do. Other using intellect, "If you want to be enlightened like me and not a myth believing idiot, you'll have the same views as me."

This was so well written I did not want to take it into my own hands! My friend Nick wrote it and it is so true...this behavior just doesn't line up.

I couldn't keep my mouth shut any longer!

Thanks for reading today's rant!




1 comment:

Bridgett Owens said...

I love the way you share your heart. I cannot help but feel like you are in many ways walking in the paths that Jesus walked here on earth. Imagine how sad it must be to know that after all of these years, the religious leaders will believe that the hate and ignorance they carry with them towards others is the same problems Jesus had to face when He walked through this world! I wish that people would start living like Jesus asks us to. Instead of putting ourselves as number one and looking at what is wrong with someone else, it would be such a better world if we could instead see the fault within ourselves as we are searching for the good in someone else. It's better if we decrease so that God can increase!