Why Being Christian Doesn’t Make Us Republican or "Conservative"

     2 Timothy 3:1-17 (KJV)
3 This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.
2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
3 Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,
4 Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;
5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.
6 For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts,
7 Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.
8 Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith.
9 But they shall proceed no further: for their folly shall be manifest unto all men, as their's also was.
10 But thou hast fully known my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, charity, patience,
11 Persecutions, afflictions, which came unto me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra; what persecutions I endured: but out of them all the Lord delivered me.
12 Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.
13 But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.
14 But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them;
15 And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
17 That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.

      Enough with the name calling and political persecution! I’m not even talking about rights this week. I’m talking about labeling me a “Republican” or “Ultra-Right wing conservative” as the media loves to say, just because of my faith. These days if you’re not right, you’re left. That contrasts greatly with the rest of the new norms in society which says if you’re right according to the Bible, then you must be wrong for the world (2 Timothy 3:1-17). The meaning of words, phrases, and names tend to change dramatically over time. While you may have been able to refer to most Evangelical Christians as conservative 50 years ago, the same application certainly isn’t present today. The whole meaning of the term “conservative” has changed dramatically. While the spirit of rebellion rips this country into shreds, the media is more concerned with making the picture of all Christians around the country appear as Westboro Baptist Church. Does this make us liberal because we are not necessarily conservative according to man’s standard? Absolutely not! There are many contradictions to both ends of the political parties for a Biblical Christian. I belong to only one party affiliation. That party has no biases or political views. It has no committees or board members. There is no speaker and there is no grand jury. There is only one judge and Juror. His name is Shofet (the Hebrew name for God as, “judge of all the earth”). His party is the trinity (Father, Son, and Holy Ghost). This party does not sway in opinion or by social pressure, nor does it change its views when pressured. There are no contradictions or extremes within this party, only righteousness and glory. While absent from the sight of men, this trinity party may not be acknowledged now. However, upon its return “every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord”. His Father is the creator and His Spirit is the witness. His law and standard are His Word. People hate the very thought of us, yet they are intrigued by the mysteries of God. 

      I know you are wondering, “How on earth can there be any contradictions with Christians regarding being too conservative?” To understand this though process, we must first figure out what the original definition of being conservative was. This is where we run into problems. There is no actual definition of a conservative according to most within its ranks. Most of the time, the line is swayed according to the social norms of the time period we are in. Many conservatives 50 years ago considered their standards to be the ten-commandments, but now it’s just being further right than the next left-wing liberal. Personally, I will not live by a standard which tends to change drastically over time. My standard has to be a true line, dividing east from West and North from South. It should never be confused as to what belongs where and who I should be as a person by standard. A good example of today’s conservative values includes lowering income taxes, while at the same time hiking up D.M.V. fees and taxes on your car. These “conservative” economic policies benefit no one except the top 1% of our population. It keeps the wealth where it is thought it should be while those starving and struggling never see even a glimpse of hope. Many people aren’t poor because they chose to be according to my experience, but rather because they were born in it. While America remains a fraction of what it could be as the “Land of Opportunity”, it is a very slim chance that most poor men will ever see one million dollars of income. In order for the sea turtle population to sustain, there has to be many successful offspring from one nest. If there were only 3 eggs laid like some bird nests, this would be an issue due to predators. However, sea turtles often lay dozens of eggs making the chances of survival strikingly higher than that of any species who didn’t in their situation. Our opportunity for success in this country is much similar to the success of a turtle generation. If we intend to have success stories in the future, we need plenty of chances at opportunity to “be free” in “The Land of The Free”. When comparing this standard of practice from today’s conservative to those of the scripture it tells us, “Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will repay him for his deed”(Proverbs 19:17 ESV). This means that we should be willing to give freely and not concern ourselves with how we will make profit because God will “repay him for his deed”. Instead our ranking “conservative” politicians see our welfare system as a burden and source of motivation to get the average American out to the voting polls to cast their ballot for them. If the church was doing what it ought to do in the first place and making the Biblical standard the one for their lives Snap, section 8, and Medicaid would never be necessary. The people of faith could cover all the need there is in our country, but instead we hold to values that weren’t right to begin with. I have always believed in hard work to pay for the needs of my family, however I do not expect that just because I work hard that those who are less fortunate should have to go without. Being lazy and being incapable are far two different things. Today’s conservative politician would like you to believe that our assistance programs designed by the government are handouts to “capable hands”, which may in some cases be true but those loopholes should be fixed.. What hurts me is to hear a good majority of the conservatives in my area who wish to eliminate these programs, but offer no substitute. If we do not want what the government provides for the poor and needy among us, then we need to have a solution as they will never go away (Deuteronomy 15:11). I could call out contradictions one after another, but it is obvious there are too many to be voiced here today. This is the very reason why our standards and even political stance should be grounded on the solid foundation,  “rock” and “horn of salvation” (Psalm 18:2).

      Being Christian also does not mean being liberal. Being extremely left can be just as dangerous as being extremely right. Being liberal or conservative is not two points of extremes on two opposite corners, but rather a circle of behavior which when leaning one way to far could actually land you right back on the other side.  While I certainly believe in the free will of people as we were created that way for a reason, some libertarians believe that there should be no government really at all. On the other hand some liberals believe there should be so much government ridicule and over-site, that there isn’t any government left to judge. This would cause the exact same outcome happen because the establishments that are there will be preoccupied with policing themselves rather than the people they were created for.
      So what is the Biblical standard for being a Christian in today’s political climate? The answer is within the pages of your Bible itself (Psalms 119:1-12). It seems that after years of study and discussion on these matters, God is good and just. He wants us all joyful, healthy, blessed, and secure in our faith. While receiving salvation by professing faith in Christ as Lord provides us with three of those, the security in our faith depends upon us. To be secure in our faith, we must follow God’s guidelines rather than mans. If we choose the latter it will leave us with shame and guilt every time, thus producing insecurity rather than security. To be a secure Christian is to be a healthy one and we can’t be a secure Christian unless we are grounded by the scripture in our faith. With the 10 Commandments as our main standard of living, we should hold ourselves accountable for our own lifestyles. Looking to solve the world’s direction is not our responsibility, but looking after mankind should be. We should feed the hungry, house the homeless, and care for the widows without being told to or handled via third party through our government. Now instead of caring for our fellow brethren, the funds are siphoned, embezzled, and used for the budget concerns of our politicians; who have conned all of us into voting for them time and time again. The revolving door of politics has us squeezed once again. I believe that the Mark 12:17 scripture goes far beyond taxes into the world of political affiliations. If we as a body of believers held out on voting until they gave the people of God what they desire in a candidate, then they would have no choice but to provide us with the results of our liking. The Christian people aren’t powerless, we do have some leverage. If only we could join together as the old church did in the book of Acts, we would coerce things in a whole new direction for this country. Until then, do not let the affairs of this world swallow your faith. Remain vigilant, hopeful, faithful, fruitful, and fight the good fight until the end of your days. As always, thank you for joining us. God Bless and Shalom!

Philippians 2:10-11 (KJV)
10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;
11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Deuteronomy 15:11 (ESV)
11 For there will never cease to be poor in the land. Therefore I command you, ‘You shall open wide your hand to your brother, to the needy and to the poor, in your land.’
 
Psalm 18:2 (KJV)
2 The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.
 
 Psalm 119:1-12 (KJV)
119 Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of theLord.
2 Blessed are they that keep his testimonies, and that seek him with the whole heart.
3 They also do no iniquity: they walk in his ways.
4 Thou hast commanded us to keep thy precepts diligently.
5 O that my ways were directed to keep thy statutes!
6 Then shall I not be ashamed, when I have respect unto all thy commandments.
7 I will praise thee with uprightness of heart, when I shall have learned thy righteous judgments.
8 I will keep thy statutes: O forsake me not utterly.
9 Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word.
10 With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments.
11 Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.
12 Blessed art thou, O Lord: teach me thy statutes.

​Mark 12:17King James Version (KJV)
17 And Jesus answering said unto them, Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's. And they marvelled at him

Credits:
Images Courtesy of: BuffettWorld.com (Trump) and CNN.com (Clinton).

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