Pursuing Veritas

This post originally appeared as an AriseU message at Arise Church in Fenton, MO.

Have you ever wondered how you can engage in politics in a way that reflects Jesus? In today’s world, it’s so easy to focus on what policy, party, or candidate we think is best and then turn around to vilify those we disagree with. It’s easy to think and act like my perspective is obviously correct—and that everyone who disagrees is misguided or evil or just plain wrong.

Because of this, something is happening: our division is growing. More and more of us find ourselves frustrated with family and friends who disagree with us. We’re angry they’re so wrong, exhausted by every difficult conversation with them, and unsure of how our relationships can survive the toxicity of this election. So what can we do?

Let me encourage you to take a mere Christian approach to this year’s election. That is, let me remind you that you are called to love God and love people first and foremost, full stop. That means we need to make our politics subservient to our faith, not the other way around. To those ends, let me suggest the following practices for this election season:

Pray for politicians and leaders. Paul reminds us to pray for those in authority (1 Timothy 2.1-2). That means even those politicians we don’t like or think are crazy, We should bring every politician to God in prayer. We should thank God for them. We should ask God to bless them and bring them into His presence. We should ask that they wisely stand for truth and justice. Our first instinct when it comes to politics should be to pray.

Maintain your integrity. I’m not going to call anyone in particular out here, but I follow you on social media. And many of us could do a better job with this. Don’t let the relative anonymity of the internet lead you to post something that you wouldn’t say to someone else’s face. Don’t make slanderous or false accusations about anyone—and don’t share or propagate falsehood either. Remember: you’re going to stand before God someday and give an account of how you acted in this election season. Live in such a way that you’re ready for that moment.

Do your research. Get outside the echo chambers of contemporary political discourse. Don’t just get your facts from memes or social media. Hear a claim and then do some digging, reading, and reflecting. Have you actually looked at the candidate’s policy positions? Is there anything you disagree with your preferred candidate on? Or something the other side’s candidate does better? If you can’t answer those questions, then do more research.

Do not condemn. Stay away from statements like, “someone couldn’t vote for THEM and be a real Christian.” We know not people’s hearts and minds. And Scripture is clear: it’s not our job to condemn people. Jesus tells us to not condemn one another. For with the same measuring stick we use to condemn people, we will be judged by God (Matthew 7.1-2). Instead…

Have a conversation. Talk with someone who disagrees with you. (Need some suggestions? Come find one of your pastors sometime and ask them to point you in the right direction.) When you talk, ask lots of questions—lots of respectful questions. Try to listen for the sake of learning. Try to put yourselves in their shoes and understand where they are coming from and why they see the world the way they do.

Clearly communicate boundaries. Even though getting outside our echo chamber is important, the reality is that we don’t need to have every conversation with everyone about the things we disagree on. Sometimes, we need to establish boundaries—to clearly communicate that we would prefer some things stay off the table when we’re talking with those we love. If you need some boundaries around politics this season, clearly communicate those boundaries. Don’t just assume that your off-handed remark or social media post will do the communicating for you. Consider sending a message like this:

Hey, I want you to know that I love you and that you’re more important to me than whatever disagreements we might have about this year’s election. Because of that, I want us to not talk about politics as a way of maintaining healthy boundaries with each other. Not because we don’t disagree or politics aren’t important or because we can’t learn from one another, but because our relationship is more important to me than our political differences. Would you be willing to honor that boundary for me?

Don’t give up hope. Remember the big picture: the fate of this US election doesn’t determine the course of all history. The Good News of King Jesus will not fall apart because your preferred candidate or party doesn’t win. Keep the big picture in mind: no matter who is president in 2025, God is still in control of the universe, and He still loves you. Our deepest fears and hopes will never be answered by the victory of any political party or politician but rather only by the return of King Jesus. So don’t despair or give up. Keep hoping.