Marcus here. For just a minute, I’m going to adopt the role of pastor here. So file in. Take a pew. Sing a song by yourself. Say a prayer. Is your mind in the right place? Good.
Let’s talk about politics.
It’s that time. Now that both parties have had their convention, things could get heated. Here’s a reminder to folks to behave appropriately. In fact, let’s hold each other accountable in this network to a higher level of discourse for the next few months with these Ten Commandments of Talking (or blogging) Politics.
1. Do not worship political theories or parties. (You shall have no other gods before me.)
Do not worship ideas or theories instead of God. Not your stance on global warming or Capitalism or deregulation or education or abortion or gay marriage or health care or international trade or war. Do not put your hopes in a political stance or party line or economic theory. Those things are important, but they should not distract us from our unity in Christ Jesus.
2. Do not worship political figures or images. (You shall not make for yourself an idol.)
Obama is not the savior. Neither is McCain. Neither is the Republican Party or the Democratic Party. Do not bow to Elephants or Donkeys. Good leadership is important. Political pep rallys and mascots are fun, but they should not distract us from our unity in Christ Jesus.
3. God is not divinely endorsing your political opinion. (You shall not make wrongful use of the name of your God.)
This is slippery. But it is important. We can’t answer the question Who Would Jesus Vote For? except in the privacy of our own hearts. I’m serious. This doesn’t mean Christians can’t express political opinions if they are so inclined. But it does mean we must humbly represent our opinions as our own personal opinions, not God’s opinion. Neither party is God’s party. And in a sense, both candidates already belong to God because they both acknowledge him publicly. (And of course, we don’t judge hearts.)
4. Do not use God to prop up your politics. (Remember the Sabbath and keep it holy.)
OK, people. Both sides fail at this too. Corporate worship is not the place for political messages. Period. This is a fine line to walk. It doesn’t mean politics can’t come to church at all. Rick Warren did a fair job at Saddleback recently. But it wasn’t under the guise of worship. In your blogs, do not use the Word of God to prop up your political hopes. Don’t.
5. Honor your father and mother. (Honor your father and mother.)
Election season is probably not the time to try to convert your parents to your political viewpoint. Here’s my suggestion. If they start ranting and raving against your candidate, respect them by keeping your mouth shut. Don’t take the bait. And certainly don’t bait your parents! This doesn’t mean all political discourse is off limits—but remember that elections aren’t sporting events. Do not let abstractions become a wedge between you and your family. It’s not worth it.
6. Don’t be cruel. (You shall not murder.)
Elvis may have said it best, but Jesus had some good words on this too. He said, “Anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment… anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.” (Matt 5:21-22). If another blogger slanders you, talk to him or her privately first (Matt 18:15-16). Don’t air ugly conversations in your comment sections. Don’t attack people or ideas in public posts. This doesn’t mean you have to be silent. Respond to comments with an email. Engage them as Jesus says. And remember that it isn’t a sin for two Christians to disagree about politics.
7. Be pure. (You shall not commit adultery.)
I’m not sure how this applies to politics except as a reminder that we need to be examples of purity. Before you post a comment for or against someone, ask yourself if you are going to sully yourself or discredit yourself as a Christian. And don’t forget the comparison between idolatry and adultery. Don’t get so excited about politics that every conversation and post and comment reveals which side you are “in bed with.”
8. Be honest. (You shall not steal.)
Be honest when you vote. Stolen elections won’t help anyone. For some people, this may be a call to volunteer to work the polls on Election Day! A friend of mine volunteers for every election. Of course, every state is different, but she recommends contacting your local democratic or republican headquarters. Tell the party chairman for your party that you want to volunteer on Election Day. (You will need to be trained before you can work the polls.) The phone book should list contact information for both parties under “Associations” or “Political Organizations.”
9. Defend the truth and the facts. (You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.)
And who is your neighbor? Barack Obama. John McCain. Joe Biden. Sarah Palin. But also the Democrat next door and the Republican across the street. Here’s my practical suggestion. Refrain from sending asinine email forwards. But let’s take it one step further. If you receive a slanderous email, check the Snopes page on McCain or the Snopes page on Obama. Then send a kind response to the person who forwarded the email (NOT the whole list) explaining the error as gently as possible.
10. Be prepared to accept the results. (You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife.)
In November one party will win control of the executive branch. The other will lose. When the time comes, do not covet your neighbor’s political victory if your side loses. If your side wins, do not gloat.
With God’s grace, we can all get along for the next few months regardless of who we will support at the polls on November 4, 2008.
NOTE: For the sake of simplicity and familiarity, I’ve used the protestant version of the Ten Commandments from Adam Clarke’s commentary. However, there are other ways to splice and dice Exodus. Wikipedia has a simple chart to show other views.
And just in case you are still confused about Commandment #6:
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Brilliant.
Man, that WAS brilliant. I agree with LL. Very nice work.
Thanks, y’all.
Amen. Thanks for all you do – I’m very proud of you.
Great post, Mark.
I especially like this,
“We can’t answer the question Who Would Jesus Vote For?”
I can’t even answer the question, Who Will I Vote For?
Bravo for this!
Great thoughts, Marcus. I wish I would have kept them in my life. Now that I’m past 50 I think I at last see the light!
I vote for Elvis.
Amen- Thanks for a great post.
I appreciate you posting these “commandments” (and in such a clever way). Love God. Love your neighbor. Great reminders for not only just this election season, but for discussing controversial issues on our blogs in general.
excellent. I agree
Most troubling to me about political extremism is that it removes the possibility of conversation and the resulting mix of creative and complex ideas that navigating the future together will require.
When those on the “other side” are deemed stupid or evil and their thoughts dismissed out of hand, walls are being built instead of torn down.
How high or thick does a wall have to get before there is no longer any possibility of relationship?
I concur.
Thanks for the good word. I’m with you, Marcus.
Indeed great reminders!
I agree also!
Writing for the King,
Paul
AMEN!!!
Well said. I agree with you 100%!
Bravo. I’m so glad that there are men like you who can articulate reason to the rest of the body. Well done brother. Jentry and I miss you guys. Hope all is well.
You can count on me, Brother, if (and it’s pretty rare, though possible) I deal in politics at all at the Middle Zone! Good job, Marcus!
Thanks, Marcus. This is a very helpful post and a nice step toward a more productive discourse for people of faith engaging in political discussion.
sounds great to me – and well written also!
Marcus
Thanks for this post – very good and much needed advice.
I have my opinions about politics but hold them lightly, primarily because of this reason – We’re not home yet…this world, this fine country is not our true home and no government, except the government of Jesus Christ in the age to come will be perfect or satisfying to us
Great post.
I concur.
I like it. And I would have liked it just as much if I had seen it BEFORE posting my one and only political comment of the season.
Your post was fine! There’s no shame in backing a candidate publicly. It’s when we’re jerks about it or when we make personal attacks on the integrity of the other side that we run into trouble. Whatever you personally think of McCain’s integrity, Palin’s integrity, Obama’s integrity, or Biden’s integrity, that’s the piece we want folks in the network to avoid.
Vote Obama! Oops, I mean, nice essay and a breath of fresh air.
I just put the link to this post as my political views on Facebook.
Was referred to your blog this AM by your father. Very good piece. During the election season I find myself visiting http://www.FactCheck.org more than snopes. If an presidential election is all out war, then we all know what the first casualty is….
Thank God for using you to get this message out! I’m in overload with political information and sound bites. This piece reminds us the Jesus is NOT a Republican or a Democrat nor any other faction and I pray those that have been behaving as that was so will read this, refocus and be blessed- I know I was! Thanks for bringing it all back to Our Lord
‘The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it, the world and all who live in it’. Psalm 24:1
Let’s fix our eyes on Jesus, who is the author and finisher of our faith. Great! Politics should not divide the body of Christ instread, it should be an opportunity to tell the world that though we may have different political opinions, we do not purse our own personal agenda and dreams but we let our minds be in Christ in the spirit of respect and humility. We are not dependent on anybody. Our Only and Blessed Hope is in the LORD! Shalom!
Great reminder, thanks!
This blog was very refreshing and I sent it to a number of friends.
I would take exception to one thing – that we can never say how Jesus would vote. In extreme circumstances we can – if for instance we had someone like Hitler running who vowed to rid the country of Jews or another ethnic group. If someone like that were the primary candidate running against Obama, I think that I could say with all confidence that Jesus would want me to vote for Obama.
I think on one issue this extreme does exist.
Both candidates have taken a firm stand on Right to Life issues.
Obama is clearly pro-choice and will do nothing to stop the taking of millions of innocent lives.
McCain clearly and emphatically positioned himself as being Pro-Life and would do everything in his power to save those lives.
So I’ll take the unpopular position here that I believe that McCain – as flawed as he is and as much of a snake as he can be in the political arena – would be Jesus’ choice for this one – barring any unforeseen intentions or circumstances..
If McCain were more relativistic about Right to Life, I would wholeheartedly agree that we could not possibly know which of the candidates was on Jesus’ side.
Thank you for reading – this was written in complete charity and I bear no ill will to those in disagreement, but I think it’s time to fully back the candidate who has stuck his neck out to take a moral position.
Blessings,
Adam
Thanks for the comment, Adam, and thanks for visiting HighCallingBlogs.com.
I don’t think the comparison between Obama and Hitler is fair. It would be just as unfair to compare McCain to Hitler for some reason. In secular rhetoric, comparing someone to Hitler is like comparing them to Satan–and it serves to shut down communication rather than open it up.
So, respectfully, I stand by the larger point of our post here. As far as I know, Jesus didn’t take any political position during his ministry as it is recorded in the Bible–except to say “render to Caesar what is Caesar’s.”
It is easy to become caught up in what we believe is the “correct” political view, I’ve done it myself. But what is better, though much harder, to do is to trust God with the outcome. God is big. I am small. God has the better plan. I will cast my one vote and pray that God’s will be done in this and all things. (But I still have my bumper sticker and yard sign up….)
Mark,
Thank you for your post and for giving me the opportunity to dispel a misunderstanding.
In no way at all am I trying to compare Obama and Hitler.
Obama is a fine individual who happens to be relativistic when it comes to abortion. If McCain were also relativistic, then it would be a moral “draw” as far as who I would vote for.
The fact that McCain is taking the stand on abortion that he is sets him above Obama morally.
The point about Hitler I was trying to make is that if you take Obama just as he is now, if there were a contemporary Adolf Hitler trying to run against him, it would be our moral duty to vote for Obama just as he is rather than allowing someone truly evil to obtain office.
The shaky ground I am on here is that with the abortion issue I was not trying to convey that a vote for Obama was to allow someone evil into office. Obama is not anymore evil or sinful than the rest of us – but he is dead wrong in his stance about abortion in upholding a woman’s choice in whether or not she wants to take the life inside her.
I think Obama is mistaken along with millions of other Americans, McCain is not mistaken about this issue.
If Obama wins the office I will support and pray for him as our nation’s leader (as I did when Bill Clinton was in office). I will not regard him as a “Hitler”.
Adam
One more quick point –
Not trying to elevate John McCain as morally superior to Obama, but elevating the Right to Life issue itself. To me that is the only thing setting the two candidates apart on this election.
Question:
If there are no human beings being aborted; if it’s just tissue and a procedure, to me there is no abortion issue and the procedure falls within the scope of the woman’s choice entirely.
My foundation for the above statements is that there is a live human being present in the womb in its most helpless, innocent form.
If I am right that there is an innocent human being being killed, don’t we have an obligation as citizens, let alone followers of Christ to do anything and everything to protect those unborn children – and if there is an opportunity in an election to further and promote that protection, aren’t we under an obligation to cast our votes in favor of the innocent – regardless of the flaws of the politician that is offering to support and protect those lives under his watch.
My point about Hitler stands – think about if millions of Christians had stood against Hitler in the polls in the early years
Think about the current time with race relations if millions of Christians had stood behind civil rights and taken a firmer stand against so-called Christians who were involved in lynchings and other forms of oppression.
Politics isn’t perfect and McCain nor Obama are perfect. Again, if they had equal views on Right to Life this post and my previous would not even exist.
My challenge is that there are absolute moral values at stake this election and I am stating that I am going to cast my vote to support those values and I have no regret pleading with others on this board to do the same. If you even care to open this page and further to post, you already have my respect regardless of your opinion on this or your opinion of me for that matter.
Thank you for reading!
Blessings,
Adam
Marcus, I appreciated your post and your efforts to explain how to take a (more) Christian perspective on our political differences. Not being a red-letter Bible scholar (but rather a Quaker), I’m wondering if you can offer some guidance about how to address the type of point that Adam is making, above, where he is (probably unintentionally) raising the rights of innocent unborns over and above the other innocents who are being killed (such as in Iraq, in a war of disputed just-ness) and over and above those who are starving, destitute, in needs of God’s love, here and abroad. I personally prefer Obama to McCain– I think that Obama is more likely to be a leader who respects both peace and justice (Has either word been uttered by McCain?). But I really do struggle with how to address the problem of one issue – (in this case, abortion) taking priority over so many others that depend on the same logic (threat to innocent human life). Thoughts?
I really appreciate this post! It’s easy to catch political fever and I am so thankful for this good word that bring balance
Thanks for this advice. Intolerance should be shunned and resisted in religion and politics both. In this election, the borders between church and state, spirituality and rationality, have become blurred. There is a reason why America, a profoundly religious nation since its inception, established a division between church and state. Perhaps it is similar to the reason why Jesus, the ultimate transformer, acted through the power of faith instead of politics in his own time. Government is a uniquely human endeavor; it is how people create their interdependent society and give shape to their present hopes and future dreams. A belief that a person, religious group, party or nation can invoke God on their behalf [implying that their opponents are less godly or less worthy] is not only wrong but dangerous, because there is no arguing about matters of faith. If religion is mixed with politics, elections become contests of faith, not rational discourse where people voice their worldly interests and preferences. Spiritualism and faith, and intellect and rationality, are fundamental components of the human makeup and condition, and exist side by side. Isn’t it each person’s responsibility to appreciate the appropriate zones of religious and political beliefs and actions, and to act accordingly? To mix religion and politics compromises them both.