Some of this is repetitive. I kept waiting to post it because stuff kept happening, so I had more to say. I fleshed out some points I've made before. It just kept getting longer so I just need to get it out there. There are some hard words, but please know they are shared with the Love of God.
I try to avoid talking about politics, just because it is so
damaging to relationships. To be
completely honest, it’s also just so stupid.
So instead, I decided to write about spirituality, which is
very comforting to me, and its application to politics. I am also writing to a specific audience: the
people that I actually know, and who know me.
This is for my friends that I “grew up with” spiritually in the
church. If you are not among these
people there will be a lot of stuff you may not understand. I may get out into the theological weeds in
some spots, so if you have questions please ask. I am sure there are things you may not know
about me that have led me to this point in my life, and they may require some
explanation. If that’s the case, then we
should talk.
Here's the bottom line: too many things have happened, and
continue happening in the world today, that have caused me to look at the
responses of a lot of people that I know and question their motivations and
justifications for supporting it.
I suppose I should start by explaining how I came to the
point in my own life where I started to reevaluate my own positions on things. Several
years ago, I started to notice a shift in the attitudes many of my friends had
toward each other. There were more
arguments, more “lines in the sand” statements, more intense political views. I started seeing more divisions in family
relationships, and longtime friendships would often end bitterly. These were within relationships where people
frequently professed their great love for one another. The fractures almost always centered around
political beliefs. I realized at some
point that this was occurring within a group of people I used to call “family”.
I also realized that I had ceased to be a part of the group.
My separation was gradual.
I no longer had regular contact with them, so views were not reinforced
on a regular basis. I was exposed to
more people I cared deeply about who had differing viewpoints. I realized that I was just so tired of
the way we were all treating each other.
Anger is so exhausting, and I was tired of being angry. I was tired of being told what others thought
I should do, or believe (which changed frequently). I kept hearing about who I should hate (my
God doesn’t do that, why should I listen to a man who tries to tell me
that?). I found myself examining my own
life more intently in light of what Jesus said and did, rather than what others
said and did.
Sadly, I found that these were often in direct opposition to
each other.
And then politics found religion.
I began to realize that I had allowed my politics to inform
my faith, rather than allowing my faith to inform my politics. The reality was that it went even deeper than
that. My faith needed to have nothing to
do with my politics. If I, as a
Christian, am determined to follow Christ, then I need to live as He asks me to,
without any thought as to the political will of the moment. Political views are different between
countries, movements, people, and moments.
They are all in a constant state of change.
Christ never changes.
I discovered that Christ was inviting me to draw closer to
Him, and asking me to try to learn to love as He does.
It was hard at first.
I would make an effort to engage one of you in a political discussion,
convinced that you would see the truth of how God wants us to practice a
merciful faith. It would devolve into
politics, and I would devolve with it. I
reverted to anger and outrage and dissected you and your argument in a very
unloving way. Please forgive me for how
I said it, if you are one of those people.
It is difficult to be angry and merciful at the same
time. Possible, but difficult. Being right is meaningless without love. I’m not implying that I am always right, but
Jesus is.
Jesus never spoke of, or encouraged, living in a manner
other than what He taught. There was no
“left/right”, or “conservative/liberal” stance.
There was God’s way, and that was it.
That was all He was concerned with.
While the world was busy dividing everything up into neat little piles,
and labeling everything, we started to ignore what He had been telling us.
I have had numerous discussions with Christians from both
sides. The extremists on the right
insist that I’m becoming liberal. The
extremists on the left insist that I’m becoming too conservative.
You all say this when I’m quoting Jesus.
There are things we need to be aware of in this context:
1.
There are more than 2 sides in the issues we
face.
2.
Of the 2 sides in power, neither is always right
or always wrong.
3.
We don’t have to agree with or support every
issue either side says is important, or even acknowledge that an issue is as
important as they state.
4.
Disagreement with one side does not equal
automatic agreement with the other.
5.
Both sides can be wrong at the same time.
6.
Jesus is always right and He does not care about
the 2 sides. He only cares about ALL of
us.
Both of the sides that we think are available to us have a
complete lack of desire for anything that resembles self-examination. Before you agree with that statement, make
sure you apply it to yourself first. We
all want to make sure the other side admits to doing something wrong before we
admit to it ourselves, because “they started it”. Could we be more childish?
One side gets upset that the other does something
wrong/illegal/unconstitutional, and then uses it as an excuse to do the same
thing. From a worldly, non-Christian,
perspective, this is just the way it’s done.
From a Christian perspective, it doesn’t matter who did the
wrong thing first. What matters is who
steps up to do the right thing first in the face of it.
Because the fact that I sinned, is never a valid
justification for you to sin.
Nor is it a justification to hate someone just because you
sin differently than me.
When you use scripture to justify your own sin, yet condemn
someone else, you are condemning yourself in a way that I find disgusting.
And to make it worse is the fact that deep down, you know
what you are doing wrong, and you do it anyway.
You seem to think no one notices, but there’s a pile of vomit sitting
right there for everyone to see while you come right back to lap it up like the
dog you just became.
One of the issues we as Christians must face is this: whose
authority should we currently live under, and whose do we actually
live under?
Each of you will apply what I’m saying to everyone but
yourself. At the risk of repeating
myself I am speaking to BOTH sides here, not just the one currently in
power. Politicians who use the gospel to
justify a political position are misusing scripture for their own ends. They all sound good doing it, but ultimately
reveal that it’s merely a political goal.
Some are more obviously superficial about it than others, but it’s all
the same thing. The fact is, everything
Jesus taught was meant to be applied on an individual heart level. It applies to each of us individually, not to
a government or institution. Yet, for some
reason, we insist on applying it to larger groups. I believe this is an attempt to avoid
personal responsibility for our beliefs.
We just hide behind a bigger crowd, and try to use the mob mentality to
our advantage and call it Christian. The
result of this is politicians twisting scripture to justify a political group’s
position.
It is impossible to justify any group’s position, or even
existence, by applying Jesus words to it.
His expectation is that you as in individual will heed His teaching,
apply it to your own heart, and treat everyone within your circle of influence
the way He commands you to, if you are truly a follower of His. This is how we change the world.
When Trump was elected the first time, I thought he would
shake things up enough to shake us out of what I thought was kind of a
stupor. We, as a people, were just
bought, and the truth is, both sides are bankrupt. Each side thinks they are completely right,
when the reality is both are, at best, only partly right. Both deny the possibility that there is
another way.
This condition is exacerbated when we give power to a
textbook classic narcissist. Which is
exactly what we did, both with Trump and Biden.
When He posts a picture portraying himself as Jesus, or the Pope, or any
other holy authority, doesn’t that give you pause? You should see that as horrifying, but many
of you try to explain it away as a trivial thing. I’m pretty sure if you saw one your relatives
doing any of the stuff he’s doing right now you would have them committed for
treatment.
When he seeks to use scripture to justify his sin, and then
demand that we not only accept it but also join him in it or be persecuted,
then I have kind of a problem with that.
Romans 13:1 is so often quoted as a justification to support
his actions. “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For
there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been
instituted by God.”
One of my first questions to you is this; did you feel that
way when the guy you didn’t like was in power?
More importantly though is the fact that it is always taken
out of context. Everyone who quotes this
scripture forgets about Romans 12 where we are told, “Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is
good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor.” V9-12
Or v14-21 “Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not
curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who
weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but
associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. Repay no
one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight
of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with
all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath
of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the
Lord.” To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is
thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning
coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with
good.”
Keep in mind that he was speaking to the Christian church
who were actively being severely persecuted by the Roman government. He wasn’t telling them to go along with
government laws or actions that contradicted what God said. He was exhorting them to support each other
in the face of the evil that they faced.
We are to submit, but obeying something that goes directly against God’s
command is wrong.
Paul himself openly defied the Roman government and spent a
good portion of his life in prison because of it. He defied them, but he willingly bore the
consequences of honoring Jesus’ commands over man’s laws.
It doesn’t matter what political position you hold or what
the government says is right. What
matters is what Jesus is telling you is the right thing.
So, when He says to “love your enemies, and do good to those
who hate you”, He is saying “love your enemies because you were once My enemy
and you are here because I love you.”
Loving your enemy can be difficult when you decide someone with a
different opinion is an enemy, because it means you have a lot more work to do
than if you just started out trying to love people instead of seeking a
division. It also means when you see a
government agency shooting someone in the back while laying on the ground, maybe
condoning the act or defending it doesn’t actually live up to Jesus’ teachings.
It doesn’t really matter, in the end, what the government
does. What matters is what you do, if
you claim to follow Christ. Are you
doing for others what He did for you? Remember
the Lord’s prayer?
“and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our
debtors. And lead us not into
temptation, but deliver us from evil.
For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly
Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their
trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” Matthew 6:12-15
He was telling us to do what He did for us.
There is a natural progression in the teachings of Jesus
regarding our relationships with others, whether they are Christians or not.
“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and
with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your
neighbor as yourself.” And he said to him, “You have answered correctly; do
this, and you will live.” Luke 10:27-28
Everything depends on loving God, and then loving your
neighbor as yourself. It is no mistake that when He was asked “who is my
neighbor?”, He told the parable of the Good Samaritan who essentially risked
his own life to help a potential enemy. This is the commitment to others He
calls us to.
He also said, “Lay down your life for your friend”.
“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have
loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life
for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you.” John
15:12-14
He also says, “Love your enemy”.
“Woe to you, when all people speak well of you, for so their
fathers did to the false prophets. “But I say to you who hear, Love your
enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for
those who abuse you.” Luke 6:26-27
I have always found it telling in this instance, that
someone had to ask “who is my neighbor”, but no one needed clarification on
“who is my enemy”. We never question
what we don't want to hear. We have
already defined our enemies, but we have made a choice not to love them
as Christ loved us when we were His enemies. Everything He did was meant as an example for
us to imitate.
And I cannot forget that when He said, “So whatever you wish
that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the
Prophets.” (Luke 7:12), He made it clear that the first move in any
relationship is always mine. I have the choice to do what He says, or what I
want.
Doing otherwise prevents others from reaching Christ.
When did you lay down your cross and tie the millstone
around your neck?
When did you gain the authority to determine who you sell
grace to that He gives for free?
There is a quote I often see on t-shirts lately. It’s actually one of my favorite verses, but
it is taken out of context and truncated.
It typically reads, “Do justice, love mercy, walk humbly”.
The actual verse is from Micah 6:8 and it reads,
“He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the
Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly
with your God?”
To remove the reference to God in this passage completely changes
its meaning. It must always be before
God. In His presence. He is the bringer of justice and the giver of mercy. We
have no power in this equation. The only thing we have is the choice
of how we will respond to how God uses His power and participate with Him.
Justice is not our prerogative. It is what we are all subject to.
We are commanded to exercise Mercy in relation to Justice,
because of the Mercy extended to us which allows us to walk in Humility before
God.
We are commanded not to judge, because we are not qualified
to do so. In order to judge someone, the
judge needs to have authority to impart and enforce the law on which the
judgment is based, and then mete out the penalty. This is also the reason why God says,
“Vengeance is mine. I will repay.” (Trump says, “I am your retribution.”) The law is fulfilled when the penalty is paid
““Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not
come to abolish them but to fulfill them.” Matthew 5:17.
Jesus came to fulfill the law by paying the penalty of death
with His own. You do not have the
authority to judge, enforce, or fulfill the law. You are not qualified. If you call yourself a Christian, and have
truly accepted that He has fulfilled the law on your behalf, the only thing you
are qualified to do is extend to others the same Mercy shown to you before you
knew Him.
I am humbled by the sins I commit against Him and his
forgiveness of them, not by the sins you think I have committed in disagreement
with you.
So, the progression here is this:
If I love my neighbor (who may be my enemy), and I love my
enemy (who may be my neighbor), and I lay down my life for my friend (who may
once have been my enemy), it is quite possible that I will be called to lay
down my life for the one who was once my enemy.
Just like Jesus did.
We celebrate Easter every year, remember? Do we kill Him every time, or do we accept
His mercy?
A question that truly puzzles me is why do you need to call
yourself Christian at all? If you want
to be dictators, why do you bother to try to say you are subject to a God of
love?
We often fear being loved. Accepting God's love means
we also need to share God's love. I fear sharing love because loving
makes me vulnerable. Because He loves my
enemies, I don't want to be vulnerable to them, so I fail to love.
In the parables I am the prodigal who left, I am the victim
in the Good Samaritan, and the hardest thing to realize is that I need my
enemies help. I need to love my enemy enough that they will care for me. That's
what God is calling me to.
Most of my immediate family are multi-racial. The current administration is engaging in
many actions that target those of other races without regard to our own laws,
or whether they are citizens or not.
I love my family more than my own life, and I’m very
protective of them. With many of them
being multi-racial they are not all “white”, so there’s a distinct possibility
in this current state of affairs that they might get caught up in a “police
action” of some type. If this happens, I
will stand between them and the government.
Ultimately my question to you is this: When the time comes
where I am called to stand in that gap for my family/neighbor/enemy/friend, and
I, your brother in Christ, am laying on the ground bleeding out, will you be
the one who binds my wounds, or the one who counts the bullet holes and says,
“He shouldn’t have got in the way.”
©Dan Bode 2026
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