I've been told that if you want to stay
out of trouble, never talk about religion or politics. This is a
blog post about both.
It is not a blog post about how or for
whom you should vote, and it is not a sermon about where you should
go to church. Instead, it is a thought about how our religion should
affect the way we approach our politics.
Four years ago, I wrote a post on
Facebook titled “My favorite quotes from Barack Obama Supporters.”
It was a biting and sarcastic collection of quotes and paraphrases
that I thought demonstrated the foolishness of the ideology
supporting then-candidate Obama. I set the privacy settings to hide
the note from a friend of mine who was the source of several quotes,
and I went to play dodge ball.
When I checked Facebook later, I was saddened to find that Facebook's privacy setting was not
as effective as it should have been. This friend had discovered the
note and was very hurt by what I had written and the tone behind the piece.
That night as I deleted the note and
apologized to my friend, some words began ringing in my ears.
“Speaking the truth in love,” the words said. Where was that phrase from? I wondered. The phrase continued to repeat in my mind.
“Speaking the truth in love.”
The next day, I Googled the phrase and found it. It is in the book of Ephesians, Chapter
four:
That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ.
I started to understand why those
words, whose source I could not name, came to my mind repeatedly.
“Speaking the truth in love” is about coming to Christ rather
than be distracted and caught by ideas that are tossed around and
exchanged with “cunning craftiness” and the intent to deceive.
Specifically, I began to think that
“speaking the truth in love” means putting forward what we
believe in an attitude of love. It means that we say what we believe
is true without succumbing to the temptation to treat other people in
an un-Christlike way.
Looking back on my Facebook note, I can
say that I still stand by nearly everything I said in that note. My
opinion of policies and politics have not changed dramatically in the
past four years. But I vehemently disagree with and regret the fact that in that specific instance, I demeaned real people and mocked their reasons for supporting
their candidate.
I am tired of hearing people say unkind and demeaning things about people who differ from them
politically. Even though I plan to vote for Mitt Romney, it hurts
especially when I hear unkind things said about people who support
the reelection of President Obama, because some of my best
friends are enthusiastic supporters of his. They are not evil
people. They are not stupid. Instead, they believe that the actions
he has taken as president have made, or will lead to, a more just
America with a more robust economic future with more hope for more
people. I disagree with them on those points and on interpretations
of facts, but I don't have to agree with them to see them as respectable, good people with valid views.
George Albert Smith, who was once the
prophet and leader of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
(Mitt Romney's church) once said, “Whenever your politics cause you
to speak unkindly of your brethern, know this, that you are upon
dangerous ground.”
Dieter Uchtdorf, a current leader in
the church, had this to say. (Although he speaks about sin and
sinners, I think it can be equally applied to the way we treat people
whose “sin” is to hold a different political belief.)
I am not suggesting that we accept sin or overlook evil, in our personal life or in the world. Nevertheless, in our zeal, we sometimes confuse sin with sinner, and we condemn too quickly and with too little compassion. … We cannot gauge the worth of another soul any more than we can measure the span of the universe. Every person we meet is a VIP to our Heavenly Father. Once we understand that, we can begin to understand how we should treat our fellowmen.
Then there is the commandment of Jesus
himself: “Love your enemies. Bless them that curse you,” he said.
He also counseled, “By this shall men know that ye are my
disciples, if ye have love one to another.”
I have room for improvement.
Occasionally as I firmly express my political views, I use sarcasm,
try to be witty, or express my views in ways that could be seen as
offensive to some who disagree with me. In these last few days until
the election, I will be speaking out (or, rather, “typing out”
since most of these conversations will be online) more. I hope that
I, and many others, will remember to speak what we see as the truth
with an attitude of love, not with condemnation and not with name
calling. And no matter who wins the race for president and other
offices in this country on November 6, let us all move forward and
work together to solve the country's problems—problems which cannot
be solved by anger and meanspirited politics.
