There are Things More Important than Politics

Proverbs 17:17

“A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity”

You know when I was young I can remember my mom telling me, “There are two topics you never want to talk about with people – religion and politics.”  I always thought that seemed like a strange thing to say.  Why can’t you talk about those two topics?   As I have grown up I have come to understand that people have personal, strongly held opinions and beliefs about these matters.  Because people take these topics so seriously, conversations, especially disagreements about these topics can very easily become heated, even angry and divisive.  I guess that my parent’s generation decided it was better to avoid these topics than risk losing a friendship.

Now don’t get me wrong.  I am not sure that this was the best way to deal with difficult topics.  People should be able to talk about their beliefs and opinions.  We should be able even to disagree without losing a friendship.  We should be able to disagree without being disagreeable.

That’s what prompted me to write this devotion/blog this morning.  Somewhere along the line we have lost this.  The conversation in our culture, especially around the topic of politics, has become so toxic that friendship are being destroyed, families divided over political opinions.  We have become intolerant of disagreement.  I am not just talking about people defriending or unfollowing people on social media.  I have heard of good friends that won’t talk to each other, won’t even see each other anymore because of political disagreements.  I see this even among believers… in the church.

Could it be that we are all losing perspective?  When our political opinions are so important that we are willing to sacrifice friendship over those opinions- could it be that our opinions have become an idol, a false god in our lives?  Have we forgotten that there are things that are more important that politics?

I love these words from Proverbs 17 – “A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.” Maybe it’s just me, but having a friend is far too valuable to sacrifice them on the altar of my own belief in the correctness of my political opinions.   Relationships, friends, family are some of the most valuable gifts God gives us.   

He certainly places a high value on those relationships.  Indeed He so desires to have a relationship with us… for us to have a loving relationship with each other that He became the “friend who loves at all times.”  He became the “brother born for adversity.”  God was in Jesus “reconciling the world to Himself.”  He came into this world to break down the dividing walls of hostility that divide us from one another… to reconcile us to each other by His cross.  That’s right our relationships with Him and with each other are so important to God that He gave His own Son.  His Son shed His blood on the cross to restore and heal those relationships.  He did that… He loves you and me regardless of our political affiliations and opinions. 

There are things that are more important than politics, than my opinions or yours.  People – the people God brings into our lives to know, to befriend, to love – they are far more valuable.  Jesus once said, “No greater love has any man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.  You are my friends.”  He has been for us a friend who loves at all times… loves us no matter what our opinions.  Now He calls us to place that same high value on the people around us, the people we work with, live with, play with, go to school with… even the people we disagree with.  I think it might help us to remember this. There are things that are more important than our politics.  The people God gives us to love – they are more important.