Saturday, December 18, 2010

Lessons from Mr. Bonhoeffer

Politics are not the task of a Christian. -Dietrich Bonhoeffer

There's no way to sugarcoat it, so I'm just going to come out and say it: I cannot stand Sarah Palin. Whew, that feels so much better.

I liked her at one point in time, back when she was McCain's running mate in the '08 election. She caught a lot of flak, but I stood hopeful that she would knock them all dead and prove herself worthy of an executive position, because, even though my opinions have changed drastically since then, I thought she had more executive experience than Barack Obama.

But now, as of 2010, I cannot stand her. A book about how awesome she is and a show that makes too many references to the "Russia" pun from SNL has quickly lowered my respect for her.

I cannot stand Sarah Palin.

Is this opinion important? No, because, as Mr. Bonhoeffer stated, it's not my job as a Christian to get deep into politics, which is what I see so many Christians doing. As proven many times over, it ruins our reputation, seeing as how we cling to the Republican Party as the savior of our nation and tell everyone else where they can go.

New flash: God loves Democrats, too. The GOP is not God's hand-picked race. When He looks at us, he doesn't see our blue t-shirts or red ties. He sees us as what we really are: helpless lambs in need of a Shepherd. He doesn't choose by political party, so why do we make it seem that way?

Honestly, if Jesus were here in these times and he saw how the Republicans acted and claimed Him in all of it, He'd find some more tables to turn over.

And if the Right had interaction with Jesus today, they would shun Him, just like the Pharisees did, because he hung out with the "liberals" of that time. And you know how contagious and ungodly those dadgum liberals are.

Jim Wallis had an excellent point. Here's an excerpt from the introduction of his book, God's Politics:

God is not partisan: God is not a Republican or a Democrat. When either party tries to politicize God, or co-opt religious communities for their political agendas, they make a terrible mistake. The best contribution of religion is precisely not to be ideologically predictable nor loyally partisan. Both parties, and the nation, must let the prophetic voice of religion be heard. Faith must be free to challenge both right and left from a consistent moral ground.

"Voting based on morals" is a joke. Find me one moral person on Capitol Hill and I'll be the first to cast my vote for them. Until then, I'll be here at my politically apathetic stand, waiting for prophecy to unfold.

When it comes to this, I'm with Bonhoeffer. It's not my place to get involved in one of the most corrupt professions in the world. I'm here to be a light for Him.

I still don't care for Palin, but what does it matter? My goal to do His work, not waste my time and breath fighting a senseless battle.

And back into my liberal hole I go.

No comments: