Who Are You?
Brothers and sisters, I could not
address you as people who live by the Spirit but as people who are still
worldly – mere infants in Christ.… You are still worldly. For since there is
jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like
mere humans?
– 1 Corinthians 3:1, 3
Are you a Democrat or a Republican? Maybe you’re an
Independent? With what brush do you label yourself? And with what brush do you
label others?
In Alabama, we have long judged people on the basis of
their college choice. Alabama or Auburn? It is a sometimes ugly feud that dates
back long before I can remember. College football reigns.
Increasingly, I’ve seen the same thing in our political
views. It’s way beyond our state’s borders and appears to permeate our nation’s
core. We judge people based on the box they check rather than the whole of
their person.
I’m really not sure how it happened. Somehow, we began
to believe that Republicans were Christians and Democrats were heathens. And we
behave accordingly. We used our broad brush to condemn and antagonize those who
should have been our comrades.
It’s as though the Republican party chose two issues
and loudly proclaimed that anyone who didn’t agree with their ideology was not
a true Christian. And all the Christians just lined up in mob form and
proclaimed the same.
On the other side, the Democrats chose other issues
and loudly proclaimed that anyone who didn’t support compassion and a helping
hand was not a true Christian. And all those Christians lined up in mob form
and proclaimed the same.
The truth is that where we stand on political issues
has nothing to do with our salvation. Jesus told us clearly that He is the only
way. Belief in our Risen Christ is all we need to be saved. It’s not about
works or political opinions. Don’t forget that.
Beyond that, neither party has it all right or all
wrong. But we’re so busy pointing fingers and spreading hate and discord that
we can’t see the work of Satan in our midst. He is dividing God’s people and we
are allowing it. We are so focused on being “right” that we’re missing God’s message
of love.
Sure, there are serious issues before us now. But we
can be kind as we debate those issues. We can understand that Christians don’t
always get it right. And we can acknowledge that sometimes we’re the ones who
don’t get it right. Ouch.
Paul was admonishing the Corinthians for their
infighting. They were taking sides. Who supported Paul? Who supported Apollos?
What difference did it make? Paul reminded them that it was really all about
Jesus. We need that reminder today.
The church in Corinth eventually ceased to exist. Did
the Christians destroy themselves? Aren’t we doing the same thing?
Peter tells us that love covers a multitude of sins.
If we focused on our part, if we loved without reserve, how much better our world
would be. If we stopped trying to be right, how much stronger our faith would
be. If we ceased to paint people with a broad brush, labeling them based on
politics rather than heart, how much more like Jesus we would be.
