I try not to pay much attention to politics or current events. I have a friend at work who, I am fairly certain, thinks of me as either willfully ignorant or somewhat uncaring about the world at large. Whenever he tells me about the latest plane crash, energy crisis or political scandal that is making the headlines my usual response is something like “hmm” or “oh, really?”
It’s not that I don’t care or that I am unconcerned about the world in which I live. It’s simply a matter of perspective and the difference between mine and his. He’s a professed atheist and I am not. I love the Lord Jesus, read my Bible daily and I try to view him and the world around me through the lens of God’s grace and redemptive plan.
He knows that I am a believer in Christ and that I attend church weekly but as a non-believer without a strong biblical background he doesn’t really understand my point of view. No one can, not unless they are first adopted into the family of God by faith and belief on the Lord Jesus Christ and the washing and remission of sins.
What I would really like to say to him is “God is in control, love and serve Him with all of your heart and leave the rest to Him” but as my desire is not to antagonize Him it comes out as “hmm” or “oh, really”.
I say all of that to say we need to be careful about not getting so caught up in lesser matters. What exactly is a lesser matter, you might ask? I leave the precise answer of that question up to your conscience and the leading of the Holy Spirit but for me a lesser matter is one that distracts from the message of the gospel and the good news that Jesus saves.
In terms of politics do I want a strong believer in the White House? Absolutely, I do. I pray for my country and its leadership often. But I am not open to entering into political debate on my position because ultimately it is going to lead back to my belief in Jesus Christ and in God’s plan for this world and for His people.
In terms of social matters, do I support gay marriage? Well, I believe the act of homosexuality is a sin and I also believe that marriage is defined by the Bible as the union between one man and one woman. However, our lawmakers, the ones in charge, have decided to extend the same rights and privileges to same sex couples as heterosexual couples and now I, as a believer, have a choice in how I will respond. Will it be a response that is filled with care and concern for the soul of each individual or will it be a bitter complaint against the sorry state of our world?
I will insert here C.S. Lewis’s response to a question about homosexuality just because it is such a good one: “I take it for certain that the physical satisfaction of homosexual desires is sin. This leaves the homosexual no worse off than any normal person who is, for whatever reason, prevented from marrying. Second, our speculations on the cause of homosexuality are not what matters and we must be content with ignorance. The disciples were not told why the man was born blind (John 9:1-3): only the final cause: that the works of God should be made manifest in him.” Notice how C.S. Lewis takes on the question of homosexuality? By answering it in the context of scripture and bringing the discussion around to God’s plan. And that is exactly how we should be striving to answer any and all questions about our society and our world.
In short, you can’t expect the unrighteous to live righteous lives and instead of focusing on the fruits of sin and the behaviors of the lost we should instead be focusing on God’s grace and doing everything in our power to point the lost to Him. I’m not condemning those who get involved in good causes and spend their time and energy to make the world a better place but I am saying that if we lose the message of the gospel or if it gets somehow overshadowed by our cause then we have lost everything that this world really needs. And at that point our cause amounts to very little.
The world we live in has issues but the reality is there is only one issue: Sin. And that means that there is only one question that really matters. Everything we do should lead up to and expand upon this one question. “Do you love the Lord and live each day to serve Him?”