Well, here we are! Another divisive political season is among us. And it is time for us as the church to check ourselves and ensure that the Holy Spirit keeps us in step with our actions and behaviors as so many other forces are vying for our attention and time. Our scripture passage today comes from the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus tells us to do to others as you would have them do to you. And this rule alone sums up the Law and the Prophets. If we are honest with ourselves, we all want to be treated with dignity and respect. We want people to always give us the benefit of the doubt. We never want to be judged off of our worst moments. We, as Christians, all desire kindness and grace from God and others. Now, if that is what we would like given TO us, it must also be our Christ-like response TOWARDS others.

         Does this mean that I do not speak up for what I believe in? No. We can all debate policy, ideas, justice, and laws. We should stand up for what we believe in. But all too often, we do this with anger and rancor, using harsh language against those who think differently than us. There are a lot of examples in our politics and news that call the other side names that are demeaning, mean, and darn right unchristian. We can have our views. But we still need to be people of goodness and kindness.

         When you look at our country, it is easy to assume that we are consumed by division – there are red states and blue states. In fact, there is evidence that people are moving to different parts of the United States based on their political affiliation. To surround yourself with people who only think exactly like you on political issues is not healthy. I learned this in my theological thinking. It was easy for me, growing up in Northeast Ohio at a conservative, fundamentalist, non-denominational church where I believed all Christians thought just like me. It wasn’t until I moved to Lynchburg, Virginia, that I noticed a different brand of Christianity that was far more into politics than I was used to. There was a very divisive tone used from the pulpit against anyone who thought differently than a conservative Christian Republican. This was the heyday of Jerry Falwell, leading the Moral Majority. While I was at college there, I was taught exactly how to think about the faith from a conservative point of view and how anyone who thought differently was wrong. Looking back, I wrestled with what I believed to be indoctrination as opposed to teaching me how to think critically about the Bible.

         Then, I moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan, to attend seminary. It was there that I was taught that the Bible was far more complex and nuanced. It was one class in which we discussed the different views on hell and the afterlife. The professor explained that there were four different views on hell, explaining how each theological position was supported. After he was done, I immediately asked which view was the correct one and why the others were wrong. The professor said that that was not up to him to tell us; it was something we all had to wrestle with and come to terms on our own, knowing that there were good people throughout church history who believed in each of the four views. This blew my mind! This was the moment that my mind was opened and given permission to think for myself.

         Years later, as a youth pastor, I attended one of my first youth conferences. At this conference, the main speaker encouraged us to consider attending some of our breakout sessions by choosing topics and speakers that may not necessarily align with our thinking. Once again, this was huge for me. It would be easy to hear speakers who only affirmed exactly what I believed. However, I chose to hear from others who had a different position on topics than I had grown up with. This practice helped me to see that there are good people who believe in Jesus and have different views or takes on issues that I was blind to see from a one-size-fits-all view.

         The point of these stories is that life is far more complex and nuanced than we realize. It is naive to think that we could isolate ourselves with only people who think exactly like us, and vilify those who don’t. Yet, if we subscribe to certain talk-radio hosts, podcasters, or cable news networks, it is easy to fall into that “us vs. them” mentality of seeing the world in only black and white, or in our case, blue or red categories, when the reality is that there are many more shades of purple in our political spectrum. When we have real, honest conversations with people, we find out that we have far more in common than we do with what keeps us apart.

         Let’s consider the disciples for a moment. Whether you realize it or not, the Bible is very political, especially when we consider some of the disciples. We find a list of disciples whom Jesus called in Luke 6:12-16. It says:

Now during those days he went out to the mountain to pray; and he spent the night in prayer to God. ¹³ And when day came, he called his disciples and chose twelve of them, whom he also named apostles: ¹⁴ Simon, whom he named Peter, and his brother Andrew, and James, and John, and Philip, and Bartholomew, ¹⁵ and Matthew, and Thomas, and James son of Alphaeus, and Simon, who was called the Zealot, ¹⁶ and Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.

          I want to point out two specific disciples who followed Jesus. Jesus called Matthew to follow him while working as a tax collector. Back in the days of the Gospels, Israel was under Roman occupation. Rome would hire out Jews to help collect taxes from the oppressed Israelites. For many people, this was seen as an act of betrayal to the Israelite nation. On the opposite side of the political spectrum was a group called the Zealots. These we people who were violently opposed to the Roman occupiers. They would see the tax collectors as betrayers worthy of death. This is where the disciple Simon was coming from. He was a zealot. Knowing this, what was Jesus thinking about inviting these two into the inner circle of his disciples? They were polar opposites on the political spectrum in Israel at the time. They have been taught to hate and vilify each other. Yet, there was something about Jesus that transcended their politics and gave them a greater purpose. They were able to see each other as brothers in Christ and work together as Jesus’ disciples. They subscribed to a higher purpose that transcended their political views.

         And it is this that I believe we are called to as Christ-followers. I know for a fact that we have Republicans, Democrats, Independents, Libertarians, and people who will choose not to vote or write in someone else, sitting right here in our church. But the thing that we all have in common is Jesus Christ and what he has done for us, and what he calls us to be through the Holy Spirit. While we can do a whole sermon series on the nine Fruit of the Spirit, I want us to zero in on the fact that KINDNESS is one of them.

         I am reminded of the passage in Micah 6:8 that says:

What does the LORD require of you

But to do justice, and to love kindness,

And to walk humbly with your God?

So, in Micah, we are encouraged to stand up for justice and what we believe is right, but to do that with kindness and humility, not with anger and demonization of those who think differently than you. Be kind to others. Show respect and love, understanding that we are all created in God’s image.

         I am also reminded of a passage that has greatly impacted my view of God Himself. Paul is writing his letter to the Romans, making the case that we should be careful not to judge others to lift ourselves up. When we do, we are showing contempt towards God and all He has done for us. Paul states:
Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, forbearance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance?

         So, get that and let it sink in: God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance. Of all people who have the right to judge us, it is God himself. If we are honest with ourselves, we don’t stand a chance compared to God’s perfect holiness. Yet, it was His KINDNESS, FORBEARANCE, and PATIENCE with us that drew us in to experience his love and acceptance. God’s overwhelming patience and kindness towards us is truly something to wrap our minds around, especially during this political season. Let us be people who reflect the kindness that God gave to us and lavish it out to others.

         If your family is like my family, you have people on both sides of the political spectrum. And even though conversations at Thanksgiving and Christmas may raise one’s blood pressure a bit, we still deeply love each other and try to show kindness to each other. If someone is in need, our homes and resources are available to each other. Don’t ever shut people out of your life simply because they think or voted differently than you. Instead, let us be people of compassion and kindness towards all.

It is time for us to realize the importance of our faith impacting all areas of our lives. While I am a big believer in the separation of church and state, sometimes I wonder if we are misunderstanding the purpose of that belief. We live in a country where the government cannot impose a specific religion on the people. But this does not mean we separate our faith from our politics in the context of the church. Now, what I am not saying is that we should endorse a candidate or tell everyone which party to subscribe to. But we should allow our faith to be the grid through which we sift our thinking of politics. Our faith should help to shape our thinking on politics. Now, do all Christians think the same way? No. Absolutely not. There are good Christians on both sides of the political spectrum. I subscribe to the fact that both parties reflect good and bad ideas for this country. And it is important that we all pray and wrestle with who we think has a better vision for our country moving forward. But we must ground our thoughts and ideas about politics in the goodness and kindness of God towards us and others.

I’m reminded of what Paul told the Galatian church when they were getting all divisive over what it meant to be a “real” Christian. Paul went after the categories they were trying to force everyone into and said the Galatian believers need to think differently in chapter 3. Paul states:

So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, ²⁷ for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. ²⁸ There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. ²⁹ If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

I would extend this passage to the American church to say there is neither progressive nor conservative, Republican or Democrat, instead, we are all one in Christ. I honestly believe the only thing that will ever save our country, or any country for that sake, is for the church to be the church. The church needs to rise above the anger and hate that is becoming so prevalent in politics all around the world and be the best representation of Jesus Christ to others. We need to be people of kindness and grace towards all.

         Many of the mission trips I have taken teens and adults on connect us with a local church in the area where we go. I do not ask that they make sure we sign up with a church that thinks exactly like us. There have been times we have been connected to a conservative, rural or suburban church, while at other times, we have been partnered with progressive urban churches. My hope is that I can help teens and adults consider different perspectives of Christian thought that we may agree or disagree with respectfully, but we can still keep Jesus central to what holds us in common. For at least one week out of the Summer! We ought to be able to come together and show grace and kindness to each other, understanding that we all come from different walks of life, but ultimately, Jesus is the center of all our lives.

         There is one final challenge that I want to give you for this month. Let’s all commit to praying for our current president and those who are running for president and vice president for the next term. I am not necessarily telling you how to pray. But I am asking you to pray, recognizing that these are real people, many of whom are members of churches, so some of them are brothers and sisters in Christ! The problem is that some of us allow our political views to shade the spiritual reality of these people. All of them need our prayers. We want to see God impact their lives and lead them well. Their success is reflective of our success. Also, we must be reminded again and again no matter who is in the White House, Jesus is still on His throne, and His kingdom will not be shaken.

         So, KINDNESS is our keyword for this month. It is a reminder to you that our faith overrides our politics when it comes to our relationships with others. So, here is the deal: we have t-shirts, stickers, and yard signs for you with the reminder that we are to do unto others by being kind. There is a suggested price for these things, but I would love to see many of you wear your t-shirts this month, put your yard signs out, and stick that sticker somewhere you will see it every day as a reminder that we are to treat all people with kindness and grace. We are neither Republican nor Democrat, but we are all one in Christ Jesus. Let’s make it a practice to live by the golden rule, especially during this time.

May it be so.