Pilgrimage Ponderings
Who Do People See?
I am fortunate, in my opinion, to have friends and family members with deeply held convictions about politics, and I am blessed, in my opinion, that these folks find themselves on both sides of the political spectrum. While it can be uncomfortable at times, I get to hear a lot of thoughts and opinions from people who are much more informed than I am about all the issues.
I guess I am wondering about how Christian people identify themselves and how others see them with respect to deeply held convictions in other arenas like politics. Are we Christians first and Republicans or Democrats second? Or is it the other way around? And do people see first in me the love of God and the world that grows out of my relationship with Jesus Christ, or do they see something else first?
I know deeply committed Christians whose political ideals seem to grow out of their faith, and I know deeply committed Christians who are less articulate about how their faith and their politics are related. And I find this to be true regardless of whether they lean right or left. It does seem to me that in a society that is often clueless about who Jesus is, it is important for those who follow him to be able to talk about how our relationship with him makes a difference in the rest of our lives, and even influences our politics.
(Anon): Calling Jesus Lord means you let your relationship with Christ define every aspect of your life. Naturally, if you truly accept your identity in Christ, it will inform your politics... and I believe that means that one may fall on either side of the political aisle depending on the issue. I don't think most people see it that way, however. I recently made contact with a college buddy who was surprised by my current occupation as a youth minister. He then went on a long anit-Bush tirade--assuming that because I was Christian, I was therefore conservative... and Republican. In the meanitme, I feel that because of my Christian priniciples I disagree with MANY Bush policies. By and large, I don't believe we in the faith community have communicated the Lordship of Christ very well in our decision making. Jim Wallis recently talked about MLK... saying that he never endorsed a candidate, instead he made candidates conform to the civil rights agenda. Maybe we should be thinking the same... and usinglanguage that communicates that. (10/20/08)