A REFLECTION OF OUR DISCIPLESHIP

For Christians, perhaps the most distressing aspect of political campaigns is the lying, name calling, mudslinging, and personal attacks that do not help us determine the qualifications and policy ideas of the candidates. Our country has become so polarized that we now divide ourselves off from those who do not share our political views. This division and antagonism between the parties extends even into the church, disrupting congregational life and foreclosing opportunities for fellowship, witness and cooperative ministry.

John Wesley famously advised his parishioners how to conduct themselves in an election: “1) To vote, without fee or reward, for the person they judged most worthy; 2) To speak no evil of the person they voted against; and 3) To take care their spirits were not sharpened against those that voted on the other side.” (Journal, October 6, 1774)

How we engage with each other in the political process is just as much a reflection of our discipleship as the particular conclusion we draw on various issues or candidates. At all times, we ought to embody the Spirit of Christ, treating each other with love, humility and respect.

-- Rev. Thomas A. Lambrecht in an article entitled “Participation in Political Process Is Opportunity and Responsibility”, Interpreter Magazine, Nov/Dec 2016

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