It happened again. I saw on my Facebook feed a religious individual (a bit frustrated by the rancor and partisanship shown in political discourse) who noted that when a Christian argues politics on Facebook they immediately alienate potentially half of all who read the post.
This is not entirely true, as Facebook and other social media sites tend to polarize audiences. In other words, most of the time your views are shared by those who read them. The other side has their own “confirmation bias,” being affirmed by their own readers. That’s why you typically receive more likes and attaboys for your post than people who disagree.
But this is not always the case. What disturbs me is when I see Christians confidently affirming their political views thus causing rancor when others actually do disagree. It may be claimed that the Christian behaves him or herself with love and deference, but arguments are still spawned. And while the example of good humor is laudable, the fact that you are the one who started the discussion in the first place is hardly defensible.
It has been joked in the past that anything can be discussed except for politics and religion. The reason for this is obvious. They both cause arguments. They seldom change minds. The only difference between the two for the Christian is that you don’t have to do one, but you do have to do the other! The disciples of Jesus testified to this when they were arrested for preaching Jesus. When they were told by the Jewish leaders they had to stop, hear their words: “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard” (Acts 4:19-20).
Before your next post, consider the actions and words of Jesus. He was not political at all. He didn’t have a “party”, Pharisee or Sadducee (or Essene). His response to those groups never had anything to do with policy or power, only what God said was right or wrong. He called them out for their hypocrisy, for their denial of the resurrection, for their unrighteous judgment, not for their politics.
When Jesus was baited into taking a political position, “Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?” (Matthew 22:17), despite the evil of the Roman empire, He refused to involve Himself in the civil matters. “Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s” (22:21).
The next time you have an issue you need to let people know about, forget the politics of it. Instead deal with the morality of it. Or how the doctrine of Christ addresses the issue. Be sure that if there is an argument it is not because they reject what you say, but what the Lord has said. If they are antagonized it is not because of your views regarding the politics of the day, but because you have expressed the word of God on an issue, and the gospel is the “aroma of death” to them (cf. 2 Corinthians 2:16). It is a matter of first things first!
