Responsible Christian Citizenship

The other day a very strange thing happened to me. I was vaccuming the floor and thoughts of politics popped into my head. And anyone who knows me knows that this really isn't a very common thought to be in my head. (yes...this post is political in nature...if you think you might become offended in the course of reading this post I apologize....it's not my intention to offend. And really I am not taking sides. I am simply hoping to encourage thought). So I started thinking about Republicans and Democrats and the belief among many Christians that being a Republican is the only right and "Godly" choice. Why is this so??

Why has the word "liberal" become equal to "the devil" in our Christian circles? I have always been puzzled with this question. Aren't democrats concerned with issues such as the poor, the environment, the sanctity of life (at least when it comes to things like the death penalty and war), and many other things that line up with what I would consider to be Christian values? The word "liberal" means things such as "tending to give freely" and "favoring proposals for reform." Jesus gave liberally (his whole life) and served liberally. He sought change and gave freely and generously. Why would someone who loves Jesus be afraid of this word?? To me, it has more positive connotations than "conservative." I have always disliked the word "conservative" in the first place because it kind of implies selfishness. It means "of a restrained style" and "tending to oppose change." Is that how we view Jesus? As someone who was happy with the way things were? A person who withheld things from those who needed them? Just some questions to chew on...I think I may have gotten off-track a bit.

Oh yes, back to my point. I think that everyone--but most of all Christians--need to be making informed choices about political candidates. There are any number of things a follower of Jesus should be concerned with when deciding who to support. I think it's pretty sad the way in which the Republican leaders of this country and their campaigners have manipulated conservative Christians into believing that the only two issues that should be of relevance to Christians are abortion and family values. What ever happened to the poor and the orphaned and people dying of AIDS? Aren't they of our concern too? Aren't they the very people that Jesus came to serve and welcome into His Kingdom? They seem to be at the heart of the gospel so I am not so sure we can write them off so quickly.

Politics for a Christian is much bigger and more complex than these two issues. I shudder to think of what other people in the world think when they turn on Pat Robertson and the 700 club talking about how anyone who votes for a democrat is in dangers of the fires of hell. While abortion and family values are important to consider, there are other issues like capital punishment, war and peace, honesty, helping the poor, loving our enemies, giving aid to the sick, taking care of the environment, etc. etc.

I want to be careful of painting Republicans out to be my enemy here. I'm not saying there is a wrong and a right party to vote for. I think our obligation as Christians living in this country goes way beyond party lines. Our obligation lies in knowing what is important to our Saviour and picking leaders that encompass as many of those values and policies as possible. And it will never be a perfect-or easy-choice. The republicans have their own wonderful strengths as well as those areas that they could grow in. The democrats have theirs too. It's imperative that Christians in America be able to make informed decisions without societal and religious pressures or stereotypes. Decisions based on either of these are not good decisions at all.

How does one go about voting responsibly? I'm the first to admit that I am clueless when it comes to knowing what's really going on in our country. I'm clueless when it comes to what political candidates believe and support. With you all as my witnesses I am going to try to work on that because I feel firmly convicted about the need to be responsibly engaged with politics in this country. If I am going to live here I want to be able to make decisions that may help our country be a place where the highest good triumphs.

I started reading God's Politics by Jim Wallis today. I am liking it so far. He is raising these very issues I've been talking about and thinking about. He works for Sojourner's magazine who published an advertisement around election time 2004 urging Christian voters to vote responsibly:

The Leaders of the Religious Right mistakenly claim that God has taken a side in this election, and that Christians should only vote for George W. Bush.
We believe that claims of divine appointment for the President, uncritical affirmation of his policies, and assertions that all Christians must vote for his re-election constitute bad theology and dangerous religion.

We believe that sincere Christians and other people of faith can choose to vote for President Bush or Senator Kerry--for reasons deeply rooted in their faith.

We believe all candidates should be examined by measuring their policies against the complete range of Christian ethics and values.

We will measure the candidates by whether they enhance human life, human dignity, and human rights; whether they strengthen family life and protect children; whether they promote racial reconciliation and suuport gender equality; whether they serve peace and social justice; whether theyadvance the common good rather than only individual, national, and special interests.

• We are not single issue voters
• We believe that povery-caring for the poor and vulnerable-is a religious issue.
• We believe that the environment-caring for God's earth-is a religious issue.
• We believe that war-and our call to be peacemakers-is a religious issue
• We believe that truth-telling is a religious issue
• We believe that human rights-respecting the image of God in every person-is a religious issue.
• We believe that our response to terrorism is a religious issue
• We believe that a consistent ethic of human life is a religious issue

I don't think I could say it any better myself. Amen.