I know posting political rants gets some out of bed in the morning, but I’m not sure most are helpful.
On the one hand, I get it. The statement routinely attributed to Edmund Burke, “the only thing necessary for evil to triumph is that good men do nothing,” warns against passivity. We reason that we need to use our voice and speak out. Surely saying something is better than nothing. On the other hand, as many of have learned, most rants (including our own) just contribute to the noise. Or worse, our attempt to keep it classy and constructive gets co-opted by someone, and a fight ensues. Pretty soon, our original post is lost, having morphed into a feeding frenzy (Gal. 5:15)– sometimes between people we don’t even know! And Facebook’s algorithm is designed to pull us into that fight. Not fun…
As someone who’s served in Christian ministry for a good part of my life, I get especially embarrassed at how many evangelicals represent themselves on social media. But what can I say that is humble and helpful, or not just seen as virtue signalling? Anything?
I’m thankful that some take the time to say something well. That’s why today I want to share a recent post from my oldest son, Matthew (pictured above with his youngest, Adelaide), on false binaries. May his wise perspective be embraced widely:
“The use of the words “libs”, “Dems”, and “the left” by my fellow Christians in particular defies explanation.
We, Christians, are often called “not of this world.” This means we don’t conform to standards that the world sets up. This applies to things like marriage, sexuality, grace, life, etc. We all know this. This also applies to artificial political buckets like Republican and Democrat. Republican and Christian are not synonyms. Democrat and not-Christian are not synonyms. Why? Because Christians are not of this world, and the ‘categories’ of Republican and Democrat ARE of this world.
There are bad Republicans and bad Democrats. There are good Republicans and good Democrats. Of all the people on this planet, the CHRISTIANS should not be the ones to fall for the asinine mental trap of acting like all the “libs” or “the left” think the same way or the same thing.
Take myself as an example:
– I hate abortion. Does that put me on the right?
– I am fervently anti-Trump. Does that put me on the left?
– I am very against pro-transgender policies. Does that put me on the right?
– I really like gun control. Does that put me on the left?
– I am part of the “evangelical vote.” Does that put me on the right?
– I think ICE wrongfully executed Alex Pretti. Does that put me on the left?
– I voted for Bush, McCain, Romney, and even Trump in 2016. Does that put me on the right?
You see how this false binary of left/right breaks down? And you think I’m the only one who doesn’t fit neatly into the boxes of “left” and “right”? We are supposed to think like CHRISTIANS–not left and right.
Only God can judge hearts. – 1 Sam. 16:7
Divisiveness is literally a sin. – Prov. 6:19
We are to LOVE our enemies. – Matt. 5:44
We should be slow to speak. – James 1:19
What we say should be edifying – Eph. 4:29
We are not of this world. – John 15:19, Rom. 12:2, and more
I’ll stop there.
/rant”