Politics

I rarely engage in talk of politics.  It is not an issue I feel connected to.  I know, I know.  I should care.  The issues addressed in the political arena affect me, affect us all.  But I don't care.  I choose to put my efforts into other interests.  However, I do listen to the news; I read things.

Today I got an email from Sojourners.  Many of the prayers and quotes I post on my status come from emails from Sojourners.  Following this organization has opened my eyes to other perspectives on lots of issues.  Critics will say that they promote a "social gospel" and are too ecumenical.  I get that, and there is some validity to those criticisms.  But I also know that the information I have received from Sojourners has enriched my life and deepened my faith.

The email I received today had some good thoughts on Christians and politics and so I'll share them here.  They are written by the founder of Sojourners, Jim Wallis.

People of the kingdom should not serve politics; but we should serve the common good — seeking the welfare of the city we are in, as the prophet Jeremiah instructed. And we only engage politics when it is necessary to help the common good.

I suggest there are three values that Christians should try to serve in public life, and maybe especially during an election year:

1. The common good, which both parties will compromise in order to win.
2. Civility in our public discourse, which disappears during elections.
3. And, if possible, Christians should try to find some areas of agreement or common ground that they might lift up, even together, despite other political differences.

For me, those areas of common ground could include:

1. Defense of the poor, which neither party will champion during an election year — they all want donors and voters. How policies affect the most vulnerable is always the Christian political question; vital international and domestic poverty programs which allow the poor to survive and prevent their further suffering should be defended by Christians of all political stripes.
2. A particular focus on how undocumented immigrants will be talked about and treated — the biblical “stranger” in our midst — and the urgent need for comprehensive immigration reform. Christians across political boundaries are coming together around the urgent agenda to fix a broken immigration system.
3. Supporting policies that reduce abortion and that support strong families should be points of agreement between both liberals and conservatives, especially people of faith.
4. Protecting religious liberty is a commitment we also share — both at home and around the world.
5. Promoting foreign policies that seek to prevent and resolve inevitable human conflicts, instead of increasing them, should be something that Christians should also support because Jesus called us to be peacemakers.