Faith and Politics

In one of those too-weird-to-be-true-but-yet-it-is moments Kamala Harris just dissed on Christians everywhere. In one of her recent rallies a young man yelled “Jesus is Lord” causing her to adopt a smarmy look and retort, “Oh, I think you came to the wrong rally”. Empowered by the jeering laughter of her supporters she followed with, “I think you meant to go to the smaller rally down the street”. The audience howled and guffawed. She looked so proud.

Reality set in as the story went viral. In one fell swoop Kamala Harris told Christian voters their faith based political views were not welcome in her camp. Misinterpretation? You decide. I have.

Christians everywhere should take note how their faith is either revered or reviled in politics.

While serving in the State Senate I frequently sponsored pro-life bills. I recall more than once being accused of the dastardly offense of mixing my faith with my politics. “Say it ain’t so Phil! You didn’t really act like a Christian in the political realm did you?!” Well, I hope I did!

I was not elected to be less than who I am. I ran as a conservative, a patriot, and an unabashed believer in Christ. If my faith makes me who and what I am I would be a hypocrite to leave it at home.

Dr. Ben Carson recently headlined the Alabama Policy Institutes annual dinner and included his own thoughts on faith in the public arena. “It is said that there are two things we should never talk about in public: politics and religion. But those are the two things that we must talk about because those are where we are being attacked.” Carson said. I would also add that we absolutely unequivocally should talk about them together: Faith AND politics.

Truth and common sense combine to say we must mix our faith with our politics. Vote our faith. Vote with faith. Pray for our candidates. Pray for our governance.

Christians everywhere should unapologetically mix their faith-based values, traditions and principles with their politics. In the absence of Christian voices in the public arena the vacuum will be filled by those who believe just the opposite, even by those would mock and remove our ability to live out our Christian worldview.

Christians must care who makes and enforces the laws that govern our country. It’s very simple: either we as Christians speak out about our faith, or those who don’t believe will speak out about our faith. I would rather it be us than them.

But despite the freedom to do so a recent study by pollster George Barna determined that inexplicably thirty-two million self-identified church-going Christians are expected to sit this election out. For one reason or another they just won’t make it to the polls. Fully 68% of them said it is due to “a lack of interest in politics and elections”. It’s just not their bag...just doesn’t get their attention….just not into it.

Dr. Jeff Myers, president of Summit Ministries recently opined that it is not about knowing all of the candidates or all of the issues. He gave a very succinct set of principles that Christians can weigh.  “[C]onstitutional principles” like “life, liberty, [and] property,” because those “are the three things the Constitution said it’s developed in order to provide”,  Myers said. He elaborated, saying that when a Christian struggles with knowing everything they can at least lean on “…which candidate for any given office is going to be most likely to lessen the evils that occur around life, liberty, and property? … That is going to help inform my decision.” Myers is right.

It is not about knowing everything about politics. It’s about being a good steward of this nation. We have been entrusted with a nation that gives us great freedom, including the freedom of worship. If we as believers abdicate our role as stewards by deferring our right to vote a faith-based worldview we are no better than the unfaithful servant in Matthew 25 who took the resources given him by his master and buried them in the ground instead of investing them wisely. He just sat on it. He did nothing to advance the cause.

Stewardship of that with which we have been entrusted is not only sought, it is expected. What will we do with this country we have been given? Will Christians take bold action to grow and shepherd it. Will people of faith be good stewards of America. Or will we sit on our haunches and just wait to see what happens?

I don’t want to be the one who realizes in the end that I squandered an opportunity to advance our nation’s capabilities, enhance our strength, and protect life, liberty and property.

The Christian faith is not based on works. I believe that. Salvation is assured through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Yet there are two parts to being a Christian: making him Savior, and making him Lord of our lives. Salvation is assured but lordship is our witness. In James 2:18 (NASB) we’re told that faith and works go together as the visual reminder to the world that we believe. “But someone may well say, “You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works.”

Voting is works. Sometimes Christians need to be busy being Christians, in real and practical ways.

Faith and politics go together like a hand in a glove. Get up Christians. Get busy, and go to the polls and vote your faith. Vote like your faith depends on it. Your ability to openly practice your faith without fear of loss of life, liberty and property actually does.