Thursday; September 26

How does the world look at Christians?  It is easy to become defensive about the perception the world has of us and, while sometimes it is unjustified, there are other times when we bring some of the negativism on ourselves.  Take, for example, their perception of us when it comes to politics.  I get the feeling that some of the American public looks at believers in Jesus as being out of touch … blinded by certain issues … filled with vitriol aimed at those who disagree with them.  While most of us usually have a good handle on our emotions, it is easy to get riled up in political arguments.  The problem with this is that our critics have trouble justifying our message of love when we are intolerant of certain social and political segments.  Now, please do not misunderstand me – I believe there is a difference between right and wrong and we must always stand on the side of what is good and righteous – however, when it comes to the game of politics, we need to understand the role we play.  Interestingly, this is not new to 21st Century American politics, it appears to have been an underlying challenge throughout history.  When the Apostle Peter wrote to the 1st Century church he told him to submit to his governmental leaders – then made an interesting observation, “For such is the will of God that by doing right you may silence the ignorance of foolish men. Act as free men, and do not use your freedom as a covering for evil, but use it as bondslaves of God. Honor all people, love the brotherhood, fear God, honor the king.” (I Peter 2:15-17).  In essence when we show honor to those who rule over us, we tone down the rhetoric that can cause division within the church and contempt from the outside world.  Sure, we have the freedom to vote our conscience and be a part of making our nation a better place, but when we do it in the proper way we remove the fodder for criticism – both of us individually and of the Lord’s church. 

Think About It!

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