Right before the recent mid-term election, I sent out a reminder to all my friends and family members, asking them to get out, let their voices be heard, and vote! I got several e-mails from people, thanking me for taking the time to remind them how important getting out to vote really is. Then, I got an e-mail from one of my aunts, which really saddened me. She thanked me for reminding her to vote, "altho" she "didn't need it", she said, but "most of all", she said, "thank you for not sharing your political views with me." I was floored, and a little hurt.
A couple of days later, after sending out an article of hope and encouragement, despite the darkness going on around us, this same aunt sent me another e-mail, telling me to remove her from my "mind and mailing list when it comes to politics." She said that she enjoys hearing about me and my family, but that we are "not on the same page regarding politics" and she doesn't want me "shoving" my views off on her.
Needless to say, I was really upset! This aunt claims to be a Christian, but then I got to thinking about it. This is the same aunt who, after getting married a few years ago, laughed at me for refusing to look at pictures of her bachlorette party, which featured naked, or nearly-naked, men in them. This is the same aunt who has told my husband and I that we, and our children, are "retarded" because we homeschool and believe the Bible so literally. And this is the same aunt who, after using our bathroom on her last visit, laughed because we had a Bible in there for reading material.
Growing up I used to hear people say things like, "Talk about whatever you like, as long as you don't talk about politics and religion!" I got to thinking about this last night, and I was wondering, "WHY are politics and religion such volatile subjects? And why do people, who are so opinionated, try to avoid them?" This morning, it hit me!
Religion is simply our belief system. Politics are part of our religion. Politics and religion define who we really are. Talking about them reveals what's going on inside of us "...for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh" (Matthew 12:34).
Unfortunately, too many people that profess to be Christians today, fit the description of the hypocrite given by Christ in Matthew 15:8, when He said, "This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me."
As a Christian we cannot continue to live straddle of the fence, and expect to get by with it forever. It doesn't work that way. There WILL be consequences! God calls His people out. He calls them to be different!
If you claim to be a Christian, yet you're still living life by the world's standards, maybe it's time to get down on your knees and have a good old-fashioned heart-to-heart talk with God. Don't fall for the satanic lies that being a "good person", being a "church goer", or doing "good works" is all that it takes to get you into heaven. It's not!
Far too often we settle for man's word over God's. Get your Bible out (and when I say that, I mean a good old-fashioned version of the Bible...not one that's been tainted by every ungodly twist and turn, idea, and influence imaginable), dust it off, and get into God's Word. Find out what God has to say about what's right and what's wrong. Find out what He expects from His people, and how He expects them to live. Find out where you really stand when it comes to politics and religion. Then, repent of wrong, and do whatever is neccessary to live out the right!
• Nov. 13, 2006 - Great Post!
Basically, people don't want to be called on the things they are doing that they know are wrong. They don't want to answer to a higher authority. They don't want any one examining them.
It is like the whole Bill Clinton thing with Monica Luewinsky..."what happens behind closed doors...". Well, what you do when no one is watching is what defines your character. We ALL make mistakes...but we need to call them that and know that they are wrong. Sometimes shedding a little light on the subjuect can make all the difference.
Keep on talking politics and religion...before you know it...someone will look at what your light has shined upon and make a change for the better...icart