A double minded man

Like a lot of Americans, I was very passionate about the 2012 presidential election. Even trying to frame this post, I have to fight myself from listing the topics and reasons that I chose my candidate and why I did not choose the other candidate. I read multitudes of articles. I followed the posts of political pundits on Facebook and Twitter. I read and re-posted dozens of memes on Facebook. I engaged in political humor, sarcasm and caricature. Several of my online friends were for the “other guy”, and we frequently crossed foils about the issues, media coverage, and the candidates.

I would vent to my bride about how hard-headed some of them were, and about how infuriating it was trying to convince them that they were wrong. To which, she quietly said, “Honey, did God call you to convince people on Facebook about politics?” WHUFF! (That was the sound of the Holy Spirit knocking the wind out of my sails.)

Politics is important. But it’s never going to be more important than honoring Christ and sharing the Gospel. So if I can’t do both, politics has to be the thing to go.

Some might think that this no longer relevant, as the election is over. However, I have to disagree. The nation is actually fairly evenly split about our political direction. And we are more polarized now than ever. If the right makes it through the next four years and win the White House, the left will be just upset as we are right now.

I pray that I never shy away from speaking Truth. But it must be spoken in love, not anger. The focus must be on pointing to Jesus as the reason for my beliefs. And if a person disagrees, I must choose to love them and respect them. THEN, I'm not being double-minded.