Amanda Sylvester
In general in the church, politics seems to be a topic that is avoided like the plague. And, quite honestly, I don’t understand. Jesus talked openly and honestly about politics. If you are following Jesus and doing everything to honor and serve Him, it’s okay to have a conversation about how you view politics or what’s going on in the political world. Actually, when it comes to talking about having these conversations with Christians you’re close with, I think it’s important!
Remember: It’s okay to disagree. And probably a good idea at the outset to agree to disagree when it comes to politics.
In general, I try (as much emphasis there as possible) to frame my worldview through the lens of Scripture. Therefore, when I view a political issue a certain way, it’s because I believe that Scripture addresses the scenario from that viewpoint.
I was trying to figure out what I wanted to write for my “Real World Issues” post for two weeks and I could not decide. So, being me, I Google searched “today’s top news.” I want to give you a few of the top stories (not headlines, just things that are going on, in case you forgot). The trump travel ban is in the Supreme Court ( I wrote this part a week ago). Today, President Trump is taking time out of his schedule to speak to boy scouts in West Virginia (top headline). Meanwhile, 10 people were killed in a potential human trafficking situation in which 39 people were being driven (likely from the US/Mexico border). Yet, people continue to ignore the fact that human trafficking is a serious issue in the US.
Maybe, and I hope, I’m wrong, but maybe, just maybe, the headlines that we click on are an indication of where our hearts are at. So what headlines are you clicking on?
And are you willing to discuss politics when they come up instead of ducking, covering, and running? It’s important to know where you stand and to be able to legitimately discuss what you believe. That doesn’t mean you should be looking for a fight, but some political conversations could open up the doors to discuss what you believe, and more importantly, why. That’s a ministry opportunity.
This is just an intro post to many more Real Word Issues post to come, but I knew that I needed to preface those by saying that we should talk about politics through the lens of Scripture.