I know I had said I do not like to post on politics, but being here in Kenya has given me a different perspective on a lot of things. I do not have the time now to go into it all (I am posting from my phone), but I heard a great quote on the radio here. “Politicians are like bananas, they hang out together, they are all yellow, and none of them are straight.”

Searching over the commands of Jesus, I find they are made mostly to the individual. He was not concerned about a community, it was all about a one on one relationship with God.

It is completely within God’s power to visit the sick, feed the hungry and clothe the naked. He has armies of angels and He owns the “cattle on a thousand hills.” So why is the command to do these things given to the individual human, to me? Because His commandment is not so that people will be visited, fed and clothed, but that I will do it, and in so doing, I am changed (just as I am changed by prayer). They, too, will be changed, by receiving the love of God. However, that is not the significant part, angels could also show God’s love. Yet He chooses me, the individual, to accomplish His noble calling.

God certainly speaks through circumstances and other people, but decisions should not be based on what “they” are doing. There is no such thing as a “social gospel.” I ought to respond to the will of God in my life. That will motivate me to reach out to others, but not because they need it, because the love of God and His Spirit compel me to do it. Serving God does not mean finding like minded people, it means serving God. Most often that will be with like minded people, but they are not my motivation.

I cannot view the world as the world views itself. I cannot make judgments based on worldly wisdom. I must follow Christ’s example and God’s will for my life. I am only (yet ultimately) responsible for myself.

I put this in the Politics category because it has a lot of obvious political implications.  I know this sort of thinking will upset a lot of people, so all the more reason to put it there.

After reading over my last politics post, I realized that I perhaps painted with too broad a brush. Politics should be, like anything else, a calling. If God has called you to politics, it is a sin to sit by the side and do nothing. If He hasn’t called you, then it is a sin to be involved.

Also, please know, especially today on Memorial day, that I am very grateful for the freedoms that I have. I do not take them for granted. I am very thankful to all those men who felt the calling to defend the freedom of their families, but even more for those who stepped into the line of danger for strangers. What a reminder they are of what Christ has done for us, sacraficing all so that we might be free.

May God truely bless the USA, and may we, as his children, try to bring glory to His name.

My brain is still stuck on the politics issue. My father commented how he liked the blog because I did not talk about politics…. sorry Dad.

Why is politics important to a Christian? I still do not think it is. Following on the last post, I do believe that some people are called to it, so to them it is important. However, to the vast majority of the rest of us, it is only a terrible temptation. We want to be involved because we can. If you are a Christian living in North Korea, there really isn’t a temptation to get involved in politics.

Some may claim that we need to protect our freedoms. I would reply, “Why?” What is it about our freedoms that make it better for us to relate with God? I think our freedoms have made us lazy in that relationship and we take it for granted because it is so easy. I never realize how much I love my wife until we face something difficult. When everything is running along swimmingly I take her for granted too. There is nothing like some hardship to separate the wheat from the chaff.

Some others might claim that without those freedoms we would not be able to share the gospel with others. My experience is limited, but I would venture to guess the gospel has pretty good market penetration in the United States. Most people have either heard it, or are unwilling to hear. Compare that to the growing church in Iran or China, where they can be hung or shot for believing.

Politics is really just an extension of culture. Culture is an extension of what people hold as important in their own hearts. I guess this should not be a hard train to follow.

A little while ago I wrote about how I feel towards politics. As I mulled it over, I asked myself the question, “What if everyone felt like me, what would happen politically?”

Well, a lot like sports I think that some people are called to the political discourse, but not everyone. At least at this point in my life I know that that is not me. Politics is definitely a tool that God uses, but I believe that a lot more people are involved in it than really should be.

The real way to affect change is by changing hearts. Hearts are not the realm of politics, but of the Holy Spirit. You want to see your community change in an incredible way? Bring them good news, the good news of salvation in Jesus Christ.

Politics is like sports. I care who wins, but in the end its really just a bunch of guys with lots of money putting on a show.

One of the real surprises (at least against the conventional wisdom of the time) was that Christ, the Messiah, was not the least bit involved, or even interested in politics.

What is my role, as a Christian, in politics? I believe my vote is my voice, so therefore I believe that I must vote my conscience because of what that “says.” However, I do not think the outcome of elections really has any role to play in my life. I will continue to serve and worship the God whom I love, whether I am granted that “freedom” by my government or not. Who am I to say that God wants us to have it easy all the time.

In fact, most of the really committed people I know of live in places where being a Christian is illegal and subject to the harshest of punishments.

Richard Wurmbrand spent a large portion of his life in Communist Romanian Prisons for his faith. He started his ministry preaching to invading Nazis, then to the “invited” Russian troops. He once said, “It was strictly forbidden to preach to other prisoners…it was understood that whoever was caught doing this received a severe beating. A number of us decided to pay the price for the privilege of preaching, so we accepted their terms. It was a deal: we preached, and they beat us. We were happy preaching. They were happy beating us, so everyone was happy.” A man I who I hold in high regard, and he was a man utterly unconcerned about politics.