Any conversations about the Kingdom in the spirit of mutual love and respect are right in the eyes of the Lord. God calls us to live with each other in community. And that means being able to talk openly without judging and learning from one another and encouraging one another.

Which values are godly and which ones are ungodly? Abortion and homosexual rights, to me and to all who submit to the Lordship of Christ, are deplorable. But what about war? What about the killing of people overseas, even in the name of defense? Even in the name of protecting our rights and freedoms? Much less for economic reasons? What about the growing gap between the rich and the poor? What about a platform that completely ignores the poor and those unable to provide for themselves the basic necessities of life in the interest of keeping our economy running? I do believe God weeps over every baby who is aborted. Scriptures tell us that God also weeps over the widow, the orphan, and the stranger in the gate. I also believe our Father weeps for every soldier killed in senseless battle: Iraqi, Afghanistan, and American. And for their spouses and children. There are many, many parts of both the Republican and Democratic platforms that fly directly in the face of the teachings of our Christ.

What do we do with our Christian brothers and sisters who prayed to our God in the name of Jesus that Obama would be elected President so this nation would turn its eyes back to the Lord and take more seriously the teachings of Jesus, to stop the senseless killing and war and to work harder to bridge the gap between the unbelieveably wealthy and the destitute? What do we do with them? Do we say they’re not really disciples of Jesus because I disagree with them politically on which policies and platforms are more Scripturally-based than others? Or more important on an individual list of priorities?

The more I study our Scriptures and the more I reflect on this country whose message and culture opposes the Church at every turn, the more I’m convinced we don’t live in a two-party system. I don’t see two parties anymore. I see one huge, giant, corrupt system of anti-Christian, anti-Kingdom thought and philosophy. So, what’s the answer? Vote for the lesser of the two evils? Probably. That’s what I did.

Some say that we can’t stand by and allow this country to be overrun with evil secular forces out to destroy our whole existence. I say this country, its culture and its message, IS an evil secular force out to destroy the existence of the Church. And the New Testament says the same thing.

The problem, as I see it, is that we equate God and Country when the two are actually opposed to each other. We honor killing other people to protect our rights as some kind of Christian value when, in actuality, that idea is anti-Christian. America is all about rights. The Kingdom of God, of which we’re citizens, is all about totally giving up our rights. America is all about independence. The Kingdom is all about complete dependence on God. What drives our economy and, thus, our politics and, thus, what shapes our country are greed and consumerism and lust. The messages in the culture of this country are those of sex and violence and noise and individualism. And all of those things, and many more, couldn’t be more directly opposed to our Christ and his Kingdom.

Some say our rights in this country have nourished our faith and our families and our commitments to Jesus. I’d argue just the opposite. I believe one of the main reasons God’s Church is getting weaker and weaker in this country is because we have so many freedoms and rights and luxuries. We’ve compromised God’s Church by our unholy alliances with this world.

God’s Church in Europe did stand by as Hitler and his men murdered millions of innocent people. The Church did nothing. The Church even taught that God’s people should do nothing. The reason is because the Church was so tied up in and with the earthly politics and systems of the nation.

And I wonder about God’s Church in America. How tied up are we in the politics and systems of the USA? So much so that we justify evil in the name of God and country?

There’s nothing easy about this. It’s a difficult message to hear. And it’s difficult to preach. I pray for God’s continued mercies on his people and his Church. And lots and lots of grace for his gospel preachers.

Peace,

Allan