I am really struggling with this question. As an American Citizen, and especially since the past four years, it seems that conversations surrounding politics are more and more prevalent. I have to admit, it’s not my favorite. I’m not a huge fan of politics, mostly just because I feel that there’s a lot of corruption, people making a lot of money for pushing selfish agendas, and a lack of humility because of the divide in my country.

It can frustrating because I think most people that are super extreme about something are missing out on pieces of life. The Bible is not ONLY for 1 party or the other, it’s not ONLY for “perfect” people that follow specific regulations and social norms, it’s not ONLY for that typical family. I believe the Bible is for ALL people. ALL. Meaning Everyone. Even people that might have different political opinions than us. I also don’t believe the Bible was only written for the USA. It is “God breathed, living, filled with truths, etc.” there are a lot of people in the world. The USA is a melting pot, but we can’t seem to really understand the cultural diversity out there. We are not God, but God knows every single person that has been created in His image and specially designed and loved by Him.

I heard someone say once, “You will never meet someone that is not loved by God”. That is so powerful, because it teaches us the humility that God references so often in His word.

This is where I start to struggle. I understand that God has laws for us to follow, which He also shares is impossible to achieve, and this is why He sent His Son to save us from an inevitable fate because He loved us. We can enter His kingdom by believing this and devoting our lives to following Him.

Side note – God is going to do what he wants either way, this life will continue as He plans whether He has followers or not, but He loves us so much He seeks us out to be with Him so that we can see His grace, which is ever present in our lives. He wants us to have Him to turn to when we are struggling and He wants to share eternity with us, His creation.

Again, “us” refers to EVERYONE.

So back to politics. People talk about the Founding Fathers as “heroes”, but there is SO much that happened way back when. Likely events that we don’t even know about. Let me be clear with my personal thoughts, God used those men to create the country we have now. They were regular people same as you and me, same as Jesus’ disciples, same as David, Moses, etc. All equal human beings, some people are more receptive to God’s Plan, and God can use some people to be prophets. The point is, I do agree that many of the pieces put in place by the Founding Fathers helped shape our country and it’s great that we have done well as a country. I love that we can be diverse and have many different values and freedoms that aren’t present in all nations.

Unfortunately, our politics have become a little “extra” lately. Only more recently, it feels like, are we SO divided. There were 2 parties, which by the way, the Founding Fathers recommended us not do, but that’s besides the point. The 2 parties have never felt this separated. Seems like everything has to be either far Left or far Right. I just have no idea why this is! I’m pretty sure that majority of Americans, and most people in general, feel more like they are in the middle. Why then, is the government so divided?

Well of course it all comes down to money, getting the vote, pushing personal agendas, probably that people in politics are those that are really passionate about one thing or another. This is usually something in one party or the other.

So back to church.

Should we be talking about this stuff in the church setting??

I honestly don’t think so. The Founding Fathers were also the ones that talked about separation of church and state. I know there’s more depth to that statement, and it’s probably pulled out of context like most things are. However, I think there is value to it.

At first, I thought there’s no way to separate church and state because our personal beliefs and values lead us to our political ideas. However, we have to remember that American politics DO NOT reflect Biblical values. Neither party. American politics reflect personal agendas and they use the Bible and those of us that believe in our Heavenly Father to vote for them. People in politics will most likely say and do whatever we want to hear to get the vote.

So, this should not be involved in the church.

This feels like what Jesus was up against when the Pharisees were judging him for not following the “rules”. What I think is unfortunate is that the church is holding so tightly to its systems and personal societal norms, that sometimes the biggest picture is missed.

We have to remember the most important thing is that we are “CHRISTians”. That means we follow Christ and all the values that he shares with us in God’s Word. Jesus did many things that the Pharisees thought were wrong, but Jesus shared that we need have compassion and he lived his life by example teaching others that LOVE is the most important thing.

I’m sorry, but I don’t feel a whole lot of love in politics. I think both sides want the same things with different means to get there, and I think sometimes there’s “respect”, but I don’t feel love. Since that’s the case, why would we want to harp on such things, particularly involving human error and lack of Jesus’ perfection into our holy place of worship?

It’s one thing to point out something concerning to a congregation and it’s another to pass out literature pushing an agenda or sharing personal political belief, even if the church leaders feel very strongly that it’s important. If it’s asked for, then that’s also different.

I do not think political conversations should be had in Sunday school, I do not think they should be shared in emails or small groups, and I think that politics have HUGE faults.

If we start allowing this to trickle in, then we are no better then the things the church is worried about! Harping on these things, worrying about them, meditating on them, that is the opposite of what God wants! In my opinion.

I think He wants us to Be Still. (Psalm 46:10). I think He wants us to Trust Him (Proverbs 3:5). I think He wants us to LOVE ALL OTHERS (John 15:12). I think He wants us to Be Humble (Ephesians 4:2).

And many more.

The fact is, the Bible stands for these things and teaches us to live by His Word.

American politics, will NEVER meet that standard nor will it ever reflect those teachings.

Therefore, it has no place in the church.

Most importantly, the last thing that we want to do is judge others (Matthew 7:3). By sharing a specific political thought, we are essentially saying the other thoughts aren’t valid and you should only listen to this one. If we do that, we will turn people away.

This is what non-believers will see of us because this is all that some non-believers have trust and belief in. Some of them, want to love others and do what they think is right and that might mean they follow a different political party.

If we openly talk about our personal politics BEFORE someone has their heart opened to Jesus and the veil removed from their eyes, we can tarnish what it means to be a Christian and possibly turn someone away from their eternal salvation.

Let God’s Word be what we talk about in church, let us uphold Jesus’ values, and LOVE all people! Let us stop having fear! What one person fears is different than what another person fears and we are not to live in fear because that opens the door to the enemy, which I’m pretty sure is the biggest thing we’re trying to avoid. (Isiah 41:10)

Please focus on these things and pray for those appointment by God, but do not let it consume you away from the Father and His promises.

(These are just my personal opinions, but I implore you to read God’s Word and meditate on Him so He can guide you and Do not be afraid to speak and socialize with people different from you because God made and loves them too)