A Foundation of Unity for God's People

If we don't first discuss the call to unity and our current state of disunity before diving deeper down the political rabbit hole, then we will have a house built on sand.

I love debates. I read once about how an Enneagram 8 feels intimacy with someone when they’re willing to enter into hot-topic conversations, and that is 100% true for me.

Growing up, I loved engaging in serious conversations with grown-ups and acting like I knew what was happening. I vividly remember trying to evangelize to my incredibly smart grandpa who also happened to be a doctor. I brought a magazine over to his house one day that had a striking picture of a solar eclipse to discuss the truth about creation with him. With all my young confidence, I stood my ground—of course I knew the different arguments for creation and still found faith in the Genesis account.

Up until I was 12 years old, my grandma lived next door to us, my aunt next door to her, and my grandpa and step-grandma next door to her. It was a very fun setup—I could run next door for ice cream and Disney Channel or a few doors down for the biggest toy box in the world.

My dad’s family was (and mostly still are) staunch Democrats. My parents, on the other hand, have always been (in my lifetime at least) passionate Republicans. Thanksgiving was fun.

While that was written somewhat tongue-in-cheek, the reality is that watching my family get so heated about political discussions growing up created a hatred within me for our political system. And that’s when political discourse was much more tame than it is now!

When I turned 18 and registered to vote, I adamantly chose the Independent party—not knowing anything about it other than the fact that it wasn’t blue or red—simply because I couldn’t ethically take a stand with either side of the aisle. These two parties have caused such division in our nation, and more importantly, in families.

Every time I read about the life of Jesus, I am more convinced that neither party in our two-party political system is inherently Christlike or representative of the way that Jesus called us to live. I recognize the transition of these parties and their stances over time. The pendulum has swung on policies where everything seems to be shifting left.

But we should be less concerned with political policies and more concerned with faithfulness to the gospel of Jesus.

My greatest concern in the disunity of our nation right now is how it has taken root in the disunity of God’s people—the church. Far too many churches are taking a political stance on one side or the other, and it’s not only pushing people with differing beliefs out the door but spewing a false gospel.

As I mentioned before, I highly recommend reading Don’t Hold Back by David Platt. He emphasizes how the American way of politics has torn us away from the truth of the politics of Jesus.

“The problem is not just an American dream that has consumed our lives but an American gospel that has hijacked our hearts.”

When our loudest comments (online or with family) are about how a politician can save our country instead of how God saves our souls, something is out of balance.

But let’s not leave this to he said, she said. Let’s see what God has said about this matter of unity.

“Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.”

Philippians 2:1-4

The complication of the political system is that it doesn’t value human life first. Whether you want to admit it or not, our American government is not first and foremost aligned with the gospel of Jesus which claims the good news that all people are made in the image of God and are deserving of love. We, the people of God, in turn, need to be the ones who express the love of God through every action and interaction we take.

While I do believe every political stance we vote for should have backing in Scripture at some level, I am more concerned with how we discuss those topics with others, especially non-believers. We are called to be of one spirit and one mind with those who share in the Spirit of God, but we are also called to love everyone.

How are we to love those who vote differently from us and also don’t believe in God, if we can’t even seem to wholly love those who do believe in God but vote differently from us?

Even if you go to the extreme and consider your political opponent as your “enemy” (which I don’t think Jesus would agree), you are still called to love them.

“‘You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven.’”

Matthew 5:43-45

I wonder what would happen if Christians took the gospel and kingdom of God as seriously as they address the political landscape as we walk every day on this earth. Would more people know they are loved? Would fewer people be oppressed? Would more people have a chance at redemption? Would fewer people suffer loneliness?

How to Approach Political Discourse with a Posture of Unity

Books and books are written about unity of believers, so I could continue this for a whole series, but my point is how to keep the unity when engaging in political discourse. Because if at the end of the day, someone heard and understood your political stance but felt further away from you because of how your talked to them, that is not a good witness of the love of Jesus.

We must remember we represent Jesus in every step we take, word we speak, and post we share.

Here are some simple tips I recommend considering before or while you engage in any political discourse this season and beyond. You might just find that these tips direct you to a whole new stance of a faithful political perspective.

1. Take the plank out of your own eye first.

   • We like the term “Pot calling the kettle black” and really, this concept is biblical. In Matthew 7, Jesus discusses the matter of judging others and calling out sin. While it is important to hold our brothers and sisters accountable to God’s standards, we must do so with ALL humility.

   • Before you begin any political conversation, pray that God would remove the plank from your own eye first so that you can see clearly. If you do not begin with clear sight, you will only see the person through your limited lens and not the way God sees them.¹

2. Check for Fruit of the Spirit.

   1. As believers who have the Holy Spirit living within us, we are privy to the fruit of the Spirit every day. We don’t only get one of the fruits or need to pray for the others. You have access to all love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and self-control every day through the power of the Holy Spirit.

   2. As you engage in political discussion, assess what you’re feeling, consider how your words might be received, and what energy you’re bringing to the conversation. Is there disgust? Are you angry? Is there hatred or distrust developing because of your different beliefs? Then step aside and let the conversation end because no good can come from that.

      “If you’re engaging with someone in dialogue and the fruit of the spirit is not present in that dialogue then that conversation is not honoring to God.”²

3. Consult the Scriptures.

   1. Contrary to popular belief, I do not believe the Bible has clear answers for every political issue we face. We’ll discuss the specifics of Jesus’ political stances in a couple of weeks though. While the Bible is not clear on specifics, Jesus is quite clear on how we should treat people, and that goes for how we vote and how we engage with each other.

   2. Don’t cherry-pick verses that might convince someone to vote a certain way. Start with Scripture and allow yourself to be convinced another way if that’s where God’s Word is guiding you. What would happen if you accepted that you could be wrong on some of your political stances and you consulted the Bible with that posture? Maybe God wants to reveal some truth to you that you’ve resisted because it would seem disloyal to your party.
      
      I encourage you to explore that because no political party is truly and fully loyal to God, and our loyalty should be to God first.

4. Get outside your bubble and listen.

   1. It’s wild to me how many of us (with the help of social media mostly) have created our own little ecosystems of belief. According to a poll in 2014 (which I’m sure is much more striking now), “50% of people who claim to be consistent conservatives and 35% of consistent liberals say it is important to them to live in a place where most people share their political views.”³

   2. As believers, this should not be the case for us. We are called to love our neighbors, despite political differences. Look at the twelve disciples. They were about as different as you could get—one serving the government that felt like a betrayal to the people living life together with those who honored the Torah habitually, and still others who broke religious laws. And I’m sure they felt different ways about the Roman government.

   3. We need to be people who are willing to listen to others, believers or not, without judgment and seek to understand first before we seek to be understood. That is one step toward showing the love of Jesus.

5. Allow space for nuance.

   1. I feel like I say this a lot, but it seems true that nuanced thought is dead in our country. But it should not be dead in our faith because the one unifying factor for all people is that we are made in the image of God. As believers, we are unified in our faith in God alone. Outside of that, God allows and welcomes free will. Yes, we need to be obedient to God’s Word, but again, there is room for discussion and nuance even then as it pertains to certain political stances.

   2. NT Wright, in a recent episode on Carey Niewhof’s podcast, explained that “We are working with an oversimplified system that does not allow nuance.”

      
      He continues discussing the matter of a Theocracy, and what the concerns of a Theocracy might be. So many people want the nation to be ruled by believers, for believers, of believers, but that’s not the reality we live in. However, we as Christians do live in a Theocracy, but “we forget what we are called to DO as a theocracy—preach the gospel.”

So many of the podcasts I’m listening to or books I’m reading continuously touch on the matter of believers being disunified because of our political system. This is a far greater crisis, I believe, than who will be in the Oval Office come January 2025.

“The number one ethical call [of believers] is humility and meekness.” (NT Wright)

If your political discussion disparages any human being, whether the person you’re talking to, a politician, or… anyone, then your political stance is in opposition to the gospel of Jesus.

Kamala Harris is made in the image of God.
Donald Trump is made in the image of God.

When an image-bearer doesn’t act or live as such, there can be consequences, but as believers, our stance should always be to respect, love, honor, and dignify other image-bearers, despite and in spite of their shortcomings.

Thankfully, we serve a God who doesn’t hold our faults against us. Other’s shortcomings do not negate the image of God within them; it just might cover it up so it’s harder to see. But we have the Spirit of God within us to allow us to see others the way God does so we can treat and honor them the way God calls us to.

That is our first call as believers—not to vote for a Democrat or Republican, not to convince others that Harris or Trump will save our country, but to love others, honor those made in the image of God, and let the light of God shine through in our conversations, actions, and ballots.

Unity in Christ first lays a solid foundation for nuanced discussion without division.

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3. https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2014/06/12/section-3-political-polarization-and-personal-life/