God Running is a place for anyone who wants to (or even anyone who wants to want to) love Jesus more deeply, follow Jesus more closely, and love people the way Jesus wants us to.

A Few More Thoughts About Politics

In our last post we left off with Jesus commanding us to give our whole selves to God. (If you’re interested you can read more here: “Paul and Politics–Acts 22:30-23:1-5”.)

Since we published that post, a few readers have come to me with questions about Christianity and politics. So I felt compelled to share a few more thoughts about following Jesus–and politics.

I want to start where we left off in the last article. Jesus commands us to give our whole selves to God. Christ wants all of you and all of me. Sometimes, some of us are attracted to Jesus and the love of Jesus and we want Jesus, and we even want all of Jesus. But we don’t want to give all of ourselves back, to Jesus. We want to give ourselves to Jesus, except for our pocket book, or our entertainment choices, or our porn habit, or our pride, or our grudge against that one person or group of people who wronged us. Or . . .

Our politics.

But Jesus wants all of you and all of me. He doesn’t want us holding back. So our politics absolutely should be formed by Jesus’ teachings and the teachings of his disciples. Even if it means going against the grain of our culture or our government.

In Exodus chapter 1 we see the Hebrew midwives defying Pharaoh’s orders and keeping the Hebrew male babies alive. (Exodus 1:15-22)

Moses’ parents also went against Pharaoh and hid him for three months to prevent Pharaoh’s administration from killing him. They even made it to the Hebrews 11 hall of faith for doing so: “By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents, because they saw that the child was beautiful, and they were not afraid of the king’s edict.” (Exodus 2:1-2, Hebrews 11:23)

Jeremiah kept telling the Israelites to peacefully go with the Babylonians to Babylon, against the orders of King Zedekiah. They threw Jeremiah in a pit for his disobedience, but he persisted. (Jeremiah 38:1-6)

Herod ordered the wisemen to inform him of Jesus’ location, but they disregarded his wishes. (Matthew 2:1-12)

And consider this from Acts chapter 5: “. . . and when they had called in the apostles, they beat them and charged them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. Then they left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name. And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they did not cease teaching and preaching that the Christ is Jesus.” (Acts 5:40-42)

Jesus’ teachings on divorce, and marriage, and anger, and murder, and loving our enemies, and oaths, and retaliation, and lust: they were all contrary to the Jewish society of Jesus’ day. So Jesus and all of Jesus’ disciples who followed his teachings were living against the grain of their culture. (see Matthew 5)

So, while we must be for the success of our community, regardless of the culture of our community, as Daniel was in Babylon, we have to follow Jesus and give ourselves to Jesus, and that includes our politics.

Be Careful About Rage Baiters

Always, always, always, but especially during this election year, be on the lookout for rage baiters. They’ll put a controversial edgy topic out there–that doesn’t even have to be true–but it’s sometimes true, or partially true, or at least plausible. And their goal is to evoke emotion because that’s one of the most effective ways to attract an audience. (By the way some streamers try to do this with theology and Bible criticism too.)

These people need conflict and controversy to grow their audience. To quote the Deep Thought computer from Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy:

“So long as you can keep disagreeing with each other violently enough and maligning each other in the popular press, and so long as you have clever enough agents, you can keep yourselves on the gravy train for life.”

Stay away from the rage baiters. (Personally, I like to get my news from 1440.)

If you’re interested you can learn more from Tobias Rose-Stockwell’s excellent article: “This Is How Your Fear and Outrage Are Being Sold for Profit”.

Be Careful About Those Who Tell You to Keep Jesus Out of Politics

This is tricky, because as I’ve said a thousand times, our love for Jesus and our love for people should dwarf our political views. That’s certainly true and that was certainly true of Jesus. So we should always be for the greater good of our country and our community and full of the love of Jesus for people. But during this election season I’ve been noticing some who are saying Christians should keep quiet about politics, while at the same time, those same people, who also claim to be Christian, are not keeping quiet about their own politics. These people know what they’re doing. Some of them have written books, and some are even politicians.

We can’t be doormats and just lay down and turn a blind eye to ungodly political ideals. Historically, the human race has made the same mistake over and over and over again. And that mistake is “the less than mistake”. Native American human beings are less than I am. Black human beings are less than I am. Chinese human beings are less than I am. Female human beings are less than I am. Child human beings are less than I am. Unborn child human beings are less than I am.

Common to all of our “less than” mistakes is a power disparity. And by far the greatest power disparity of all is found among unborn children. They’re by far the least powerful among all of those who have been persecuted because of “the less than mistake”. And they’re also by far the most innocent.

It’s the same mistake, over and over.

Jesus had a heart for human beings on the margins. And nobody is further out on the margin than unborn kids. As Jesus’ followers we have to stand up for those without a voice. And nobody has less of a voice than an unborn child.

God admonishes us to “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves,” in Proverbs 31:8.

Be Careful About Those Who Tell You to Speak Up About Politics

Yes, I know what I just wrote. But as Ed Stetzer recently said in an interview: “There are ditches on both sides.”

If you follow this blog, you know well what Jesus said we’re to be known for.

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

John 13:34-35

So yes, there are ditches on both sides. On the one hand, we don’t have to be doormats. And we should advocate for those without a voice, even when it goes against the grain of our culture.

But also, Jesus gave you and Jesus gave me a commandment. And you and I are to be known for following that commandment. Following that commandment to love like Jesus is what must define each of our lives.

So we absolutely never want to be in the position where we’re known for our politics at the expense of our love.

I would even say, if you’re unsure, if you’re concerned you might err, err on the side of love.

“Father, please fill the dear person reading this right now with the great deep abiding love of Jesus for You and for those without a voice and for our friends, family, and neighbors. Fill us with Jesus and fill us with Your wisdom during this political season. Help us to always please You in everything we say and do. Fill us with Your Holy Spirit to help us to always please You in the way in which we say things and the way in which we do things. Help us to be Your people, a people known for their love for You and their love for others.

“In Jesus’ name we ask this of You.

“Amen.”

How Pastors Can Lead in an Age of Outrage with Ed Stetzer, interviewer: Carey Nieuwhof

Image of people standing in line to vote via GPA Photo Archive — Public Domain

Available on Google Play Books and on Amazon!

Love Like Jesus: How Jesus Loved People (and how you can love like Jesus)

Love Like Jesus begins with the story of how after a life of regular church attendance and Bible study, Bennett was challenged by a pastor to study Jesus. That led to an obsessive seven year deep dive. After pouring over Jesus’ every interaction with another human being, he realized he was doing a much better job of studying Jesus’ words than he was following Jesus’ words and example. The honest and fearless revelations of Bennett’s own moral failures affirm he wrote this book for himself as much as for others. Love Like Jesus examines a variety of stories, examples, and research, including:

• Specific examples of how Jesus communicated God’s love to others.
• How Jesus demonstrated all five of Gary Chapman’s love languages (and how you can too).
• The story of how Billy Graham extended Christ’s extraordinary love and grace toward a man who misrepresented Jesus to millions.
• How to respond to critics the way Jesus did.
• How to love unlovable people the way Jesus did.
• How to survive a life of loving like Jesus (or how not to become a Christian doormat).
• How Jesus didn’t love everyone the same (and why you shouldn’t either).
• How Jesus guarded his heart by taking care of himself–he even napped–and why you should do the same.
• How Jesus loved his betrayer Judas, even to the very end.

With genuine unfiltered honesty, Love Like Jesus, shows you how to live a life according to God’s definition of success: A life of loving God well, and loving the people around you well too.

A life of loving like Jesus. (Kindle, hardcover, and paperback now available on Amazon and the ebook is now available on Google Play Books.)