Politics with Honor
By Joy Adams
Merriam-Webster’s dictionary defines compassion as “sympathetic consciousness of others’ distress together with a desire to alleviate it”. When I am hearing someone else’s political opinions I am listening not for the weak point in their argument, but I am listening for their heart.
My heart’s desire is for community. Not in a sense that we all agree on everything, but in a way where we all value each other.
My oldest son is in first grade and at his public elementary school there is an amazing sense of community. In a recent parent meeting there was debate in regards to school safety. Some parents argued that the school should have a fence surrounding the entire perimeter of the school and that no one (parents included) should be allowed on campus (before, after, or during school) without first checking into the office. This would have parents picking up and dropping off their students at the perimeter gate which would remain locked during school hours. Other parents, argued that having their kids attending a school that was on perpetual lock down creates a prison like feel and would remove the strong sense of safety and community in which the school is known for. Concern was also raised about the safety of the kids if a dangerous person was to come on campus, how would the children get to safety if they were in fact locked inside with the potential threat?
I left this school safety meeting amazed at the civility and honor in which parents presented their viewpoints. Their
passion for the safety of their children was evident, but their passion was not at the expense of the other parents’ need to also have their ideas and comments heard. In fact after the meeting, I witnessed two of the more out spoken parents, each with opposing views, approach each other, shake hands, and thank each other for their participation in the meeting. Wow, to see disagreeing adults act with honor was so refreshing.
I crave to see this type of honor among disagreeing adults in the realm of politics. Instead I see friends who are intelligent and otherwise loving and kind, name calling politicians, belittling the supporters of such politicians, and completely disregarding any idea that comes from the opposing camp.
I taught high school for nine years and my husband is a Marriage and Family Therapist by trade. Within these professions being an eternal optimist is the key. The second we believe that someone is beyond saving, it becomes true, a self-fulfilled prophesy. Not that the person is truly beyond saving, but that we no longer are granted access to be a part of the transformation. Because let’s face it, we don’t allow people who lack honor and integrity towards us, to speak into our lives. If this is true in our own lives, how much more is it true in the lives of those we wish to influence?
In the Bible King Saul, the first king of Israel began his reign with a very high approval rate. But in the end, his reign was not one of integrity to God or his people, but one of personal vendettas. (1 Samuel 8-31). On the contrary, King Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon was so full of himself that he had a statue made in his image raising 90 feet high and announced immediate judgement (death by blazing furnace) to anyone who would not bow down and worship his image. He had no fear of God or man and yet he consistently promoted those with integrity and wisdom. By the end of his days, this pagan king was praising the God of heaven. (Daniel chapters 1-4.)
The lives of King Saul and King Nebuchadnezzar serve as reminders to me that governmental leaders are first and foremost human. Secondly, their lives remind me that we all have the ability to change for good or for bad.
Hypothetically, if I lived in Bible times and was given the choice to elect King Saul or King Nebuchadnezzar, I would have chosen King Saul, and later would have been disappointed in his performance as king. On the contrary, I don’t think I would have ever chosen King Nebuchadnezzar, but in the end, he consistently choose to surround himself with wise counsel and the same man who once ordered his subjects to worship him, now worshiped and gave credit to the God of the universe.
What is my point? I have a few:
- We should care more about people than political affiliations.
- We should care more about people than we do platforms.
- We should allow people, including ourselves and our elected officials, the freedom to grow and change, rather than keep ourselves and others imprisoned by past actions, beliefs, and affiliations.
- We should live our lives in such a place of honor that if ever given the chance to have audience with a king, our lives will have built the bridge to allow us the freedom to speak truth in love. Just as Daniel of the Bible did to King Nebuchadnezzar (Daniel chapters 1-4).
Are you passionate about the platform closest to your heart? Great! Be passionate in love.
Are you passionate about truth in a world where “fake news” abounds and every broadcast seems to have an agenda? Awesome! Share the truth in love.
Does your background (religion, country of origin, etc.) make many political topics very personal for you? Beautiful! Share your story with love and allow others to do the same, even if their story brings them to a conclusion different from yours.
If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
1 Corinthians 13:1-7
I love politics and I am passionate about my platforms, however I will not use my assumed correctness as an excuse to behave badly. I will NOT assign Biblical insults to human beings such as “Antichrist” or “Jezebel”. I will NOT lobby for someone’s financial ruin by taking part in an organized boycott. And I will NOT break the bonds of friendship over differences of opinion, because I know that relationship and agreement are not synonymous.
No matter what happens November 6, 2018, or even November 3, 2020, please:
…clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.
Colossians 3:12-14 *emphasis added
I choose to do politics with honor, compassion and dripping with love. I invite you to join me.
Happy Election Week!
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I love your mind and heart Joy, this was perfectly worded and full of wisdom. Thank you.