Voting Differently Doesn’t Make Us Enemies

A Letter to My Christian Brothers and Sisters, 

Pull up a chair. Grab a cup of coffee. Let’s have a chat. 

I don’t know about you, but I’ve been a little concerned over what I have seen the past few years. I have started to wonder what those who don’t believe think when they see us. I wonder if they see people who love their Lord and God and neighbor above all else, or do they see people who will drop someone the second they find out they voted differently? 

I wonder if we are worshiping more at the foot of God, or the altar of our political parties? 

As a writer, I prefer to stay away from the topic of politics. When I was a child, I was taught not to talk about sex, religion, or politics in the company of others, and especially never at the dinner table. 

Interestingly, I think these topics are really some of the most important we can talk about with our close friends, but I understand why they were once avoided. They are touchy topics that can ignite a passion in someone and cause faces to turn red, voices to rise and the room to be filled with discord within minutes. 

I obviously don’t shy away from writing about my faith. It’s woven throughout most of my writings, but I do shy away from politics. Because I have seen the division and I have seen the discord and I don’t want to take part in it. 

But at the same time, in the back of my mind, I have wondered what if my readers knew how I voted? Would that information cause them to abandon my page in a second, or would they be okay with it? 

I would like to think they would be okay, but I honestly don’t know. 

Things have been tense and they have been hot for quite some time. Things that seem like they should not be associated with a political party are now political. 

And it makes me sad. And it frustrates me. 

Friends, will they know we are Christians by our love? Or will they run from us the minute they hear about our faith? Are we showing love above all else? Or are we so caught up in our political party, and liberal or conservative leanings, that we are forgetting to see our brothers and sisters as they are – children of God who deserve our love and our kindness. 

Regardless of how someone votes. Regardless of how someone leans in their political views. They are children of God. 

We need to remember this. 

Voting differently doesn’t make us enemies. 

We don’t have to agree, but we can still be kind. We can still show respect. 

I think of Jesus and the example He set when He was here and I wonder how He would respond to us today. Have we made idols of our parties? Are we worshiping the golden calf of Republicans and Democrats? 

Maybe we need some tables overturned today. In our hearts and our minds. 

Maybe it’s time for us to look at each other first as brothers and sisters and children of God. Maybe it’s time for us to remember the two greatest commandments we have been given.

“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”

Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” Matthew 22:36-40

Brothers and sisters, we may not agree, but let’s not make that the first thing we think of when we encounter someone. For those of us who have accepted Christ, let’s not forget what matters most to us. Let’s not get lost in the murkiness of the world. Let’s stop treating half of the population like they are our enemies. 

Let’s stop dismissing people just because they think differently than us. 

Let’s show the world we are Christians by our love.