A House Divided

I’m a political push-over. I hate…would even go so far as to say, I despise, politics. Not to say that I don’t have opinions and convictions. Anyone who knows me well would laugh in your face if you said that. It’s just when it comes to politics, unless it is something I’m FIERCELY for or against, you probably won’t ever hear a word from me. I won’t post about it on FaceBook, I will shrink from discussions on it, and my thoughts will stay inside my head.

You know why? Because more than anything else in the world, policy divides the church. That fact saddens and discourages me beyond what you know. I already have family members that can’t discuss politics together; the church is supposed to be different. We are united by Christ. We have more common ground than anyone else in the world and yet sometimes the smallest, dumbest things get between us. And so to me, it’s not worth it. I will let everyone else’s opinion rage before I bring mine up (which is NEVER the popular one lol) and cause an argument. As much as depends on me, I want to live at peace with others in order to proclaim the Prince of Peace.

I guess that’s really my main issue. Believers get so caught up in government conspiracies and policy debates, that we lose sight of Christ. Forget politics, are you living a holy life? Are you loving God so fully that it flows to your neighbor? Are you using this time to witness to those around you or are you spending it debating on FaceBook? You cannot be both chasing after YOUR rights and chasing after righteousness so which is it, church?

Friends, this is written from a heavy heart. Would you pray with me for believers across the globe as we strive to serve Christ? Would you pray that we love those whose opinions are different than ours so that we can show our loving Father? Would you pray with me for our leaders as they make difficult decisions for our country and other nations? And most importantly, would you pray that God would be glorified by the attitudes and actions of his people during this time?

 

Hello New York

Do you ever have those times when you think of a blog idea and then that wise voice inside your heads say, “Uh, bad idea…better not.”? But the idea nags and nags and eventually you find yourself at your laptop typing it out in spite of the wise voice? That would be this post.

I’ve been hearing a lot lately about righteous anger. And I’m a little tired of it to be honest. I understand where Christians get this from. Ephesians 4:25 says (quoting Ps.4), “Be angry and do not sin: do not let the sun go down on your anger.” And so you hear often about how you can be angry and not sin and I even heard today how sometimes we are commanded to be angry. People will use Christ as an example and talk about how he cleansed the temple and how God gets angry.

ENOUGH. I looked through the Bible and as far as I can tell this is the only verse that even comes close to “commanding” anger. I can quote several for the opposite. I also can’t think of a single time in my own life that my anger didn’t lead to sin, whether that was actually an action or just thoughts. I think for humans it is very hard to be angry and not sin. So let’s look at this verse in its context (the whole chapter would be best but for space…):

“Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil. Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need. Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.” Eph. 4:25-32, emphasis mine

I find it really interesting that immediately after saying, “Be angry and do not sin” the Bible warns us that anger gives the devil an opportunity in our lives. It further tells us to put anger and bitterness away from us and to be tenderhearted (not an American trait for sure) to each other.

That being said, I really do understand what believers mean by righteous anger. Being angry at the things that anger and grieve Christ. But I think we use it as an excuse WAY too often. Anger can easily lead to sin and bitterness which is why Ephesians says that all anger should be put to rest at night.

Why all the angry talk? Most of my good friends have been really angry recently. New York’s decision to allow abortions up to birth has blown fuses in believers around the country. And they haven’t been shy about expressing it.

Before I continue, let me outright declare that I am pro-life. I despise abortion and it kills me to no end. I volunteer with my local pregnancy center. I believe all life is God-given, is precious, and worth fighting for.

But I DO NOT believe in hating those that believe otherwise. I have been utterly shocked by my friends’ responses to New York. The sarcasm, bitterness, and rage has been rampant on social media. A good friend of mine commented on Facebook about a New York senator, “There will be a place in HELL for you!” and I sat there in shame as I read it.

This is not righteous anger. This is rage leading to sin. This is hatred and bitterness, all of which the Bible clearly condemn. How we have responded to this event tells unbelievers whether there is hope in the church (and in Christ!) for them or not.

SO

Hello, New York. Hello, abortion-minded women. Hello, post-abortive women. Hello, men that have been hurt by abortion. My name is Kimmy. I am a believer in Christ and I stand on the truth of his Word. I am pro-life and therefore I believe every. single. life. is precious. You might not agree. You might be hurting from a decision made in your past or you might be contemplating a big one right now. Whatever the case is, YOU need Christ as much as I need him. He gives the hope and life that you are so desperately missing. And I am sorry if Christians have ever made you feel unwelcome. You are welcome here, with me. Let’s talk.

 

Robbing our Affections

I’m going to be honest. This post has taken me a while to write because I really had to do some reflecting aaaannndd it was super convicting for me. In my previous post, I talked about things that stir up my affections for Christ and make me love him better. But the hard truth is there are also things that rob us of our love for our Savior.

The more I thought about it, I realized that the things that really distract me from keeping my focus on Christ are small things, not giant, glaring holes in my faith or anything.

Going again from Matt Chandler’s book, To Live is Christ, To Die is Gain:
“No, in fact, the morally neutral temptations are far more apt to rob me of my affections for Jesus Christ, because God’s grown me to the place where those ‘big sins’ aren’t things that appeal to me anymore. But I can easily justify sinfully indulging in things that are non-sins because they are little things, or what the Song of Solomon might call the ‘little foxes’ that get into the vineyard of my worship of God.”

I can think of three things right off the bat that are just like he describes. They are not sins per se, but they do not encourage me to love Christ better and in fact do just the opposite.

1. Rushing. The ABSOLUTE worse way for me to start my day, or end my day, or get anywhere in between is to rush. I’m pretty sure I get this from my Dad because I can’t think of a single time growing up that we were late to something. And we always arrived at church with 20 minutes to spare. When my mornings are rushed, my devotions are hurried, and I start my day off feeling grumpy and frustrated. If I’m going to any event, I will be on time if it depends on me. The wonderful thing is: I know this about myself. I prepare. I wake up with plenty of time in the morning. I set things out the night before and I leave myself ample driving time to get to work. Do things always work out? Absolutely not. And then God has to teach my heart what is the proper way to respond.
2. Politics. Wow I cringed just typing that word. I have seen so many people tear each other down over politics that it hurts me. And while I’m an avid voter, you usually won’t find me discussing politics with anyone. And you will almost NEVER find me discussing it online….except now….and here. I have learned that political discussions don’t lead me to love Christ better.
3. Theological discussions. Did you topple over in your chair? Yeah this was actually the first one that popped into my head when I started thinking about this. Sometimes I get really passionate about theology (which is a good thing!) But sometimes I can get into argume…err…discussions…with people about said theology and it doesn’t end up building up either party. There is a time and place for everything and I have had to learn this the hard way many times.

Now comes the disclaimer. This is MY list. Not yours. Absolutely none of these things I listed is a sin in and of itself; they are just ways that I have found can lead me to sin. They don’t lead me closer to Christ. Now, does it mean if I’m running late, I don’t move faster? Of course not! Does it mean I never discuss theology? Bahahaha! It means that I know how to control my emotions better and have learned when a discussion should be stopped or moved. So the beauty of it is, your list is probably different. In fact, I hope SOMEBODY has a different list because the world would be in a pretty bad spot in all believers refrained from discussing politics! I’m SO thankful for those that can!

Feel free to tell me what’s on your list. I won’t impose mine on you and vice versa. 

 

American or Christian?

My Sunday School class has been doing an in depth study on the conscience recently. Which is fascinating- I don’t think I’ve ever really studied it before. We’ve talked about things your conscience can be, things it can do, how it can be misguided or aligned to truth. And all throughout the study, one particular topic keeps coming to my mind. Rarely does politics ever enter the stage of this blog, so here goes.

Last election, I did not vote for Trump. Now before all my conservative, Republican friends whip out their phones to call my parents and ask what kind of daughter they raised and all my Democrat friends starting cheering, ya might want to hold your horses. The reason I determined, after much thought and prayer, that I couldn’t vote for him, was a matter of conscience for me. It literally would have gone against my conscience to do so. Now I completely understand that is NOT the case for everyone and, while I challenged my friends to think about it, I cheerfully told them that if their conscience allowed them to vote for Trump, then go for it!

I did not vote for Clinton either. I did the unpardonable sin (apparently) in the voting world and I voted third party. Actually I did worse- I did a write in because the candidate I wanted to vote for was not on the ballot in my state. But I did it with a completely clear conscience. And yes, I heard every single argument about how that is wasting your vote and not being a good citizen and all that. Can I just say I have actually never felt as “persecuted” (I hesitate to use that word) in my whole life for a choice based on faith as I did during that time? And all the mocking was actually coming from believers and close friends of mine. Many times it brought me to tears. Really sad. Please don’t ever make fun of someone who is honestly doing something out of conscientiousness. Even if you think they are misguided. Come alongside them and talk things through, but don’t mock them.

But it brings me to my next point. Which is where I might really start to get into trouble. I have often thought that sometimes believers are Americans first and then Christians. *Indignant murmuring starts* Sometimes it seems that our allegiance is to AMERICA! and then to the Lord. Let me ask you some serious questions (and believe me when I say I have already asked myself them):

-Do you talk more about the president or about Jesus?

-Do you get more upset/offended when someone talks trash about your favorite politician or when someone misuses God’s name?

-Are you more more passionate about your gun rights or loving others with different opinions?

-Would you be more upset if someone came to take your gun away or your Bible away?

-Do you brag more about our country or about our Lord?

-What would your FaceBook/Instagram show?

These are just a few of things that I’ve thought through myself that determine where my heart is at. Yes, I am thankful to live in America. It is a blessing. But I am a believer in Christ FIRST and my heart belongs to him above everything else.

 

As usual, feel free to share your thoughts, but if you are going to rant, it probably won’t ever appear in the comments. 🙂 Weird how that works, huh?