In this election year, it is easy to get all swept away with election-related fervor. “I’m right,” we think, “and those guys are wrong.” We may even get all hot under the collar and do some shouting. Those other guys are fools! Idiots!
But wait. Some of them are believers. And so am I. We need to respect each other because, after all, what we have in common is what really matters.
A friend at church would like to see a serious multi-sided political discussion that starts from first principles: those in the Bible. What does the Bible say about Issue A or Issue B? In order to successfully ponder this question, I need to lose the heat under my collar. And I need to search through my Bible.
I can see that God has twin major concerns, stated together over and over in the Old Testament: justice and righteousness. He wants us to take care of the widow and orphan. Jesus repeated the theme. How do we respond to the poor? in a way that truly helps them?
And how about the wealthy man? Does the Bible vilify wealth? I notice that Abraham was a wealthy man; God blessed him for what he had done, stepping out in faith.
Women’s rights? Jesus shocked his disciples by treating women like human beings in a culture that subjugated them.
And so on. It’s a search for truth. Are you up for the challenge?
