That was the title of our sermon today. Now, our church never addresses politics. They don’t carry those voting guides, they don’t mention politics from the pulpit. Ever. So I was really, really curious.
The mantra at our church has always been: In the essentials, unity. In the non-essentials, liberty. In everything, love. (It’s a thought put into words by a 17th c. Lutheran. I can’t remember his name, sorry.)
Pastor Ben said we hold two boxes in our hands–one for the essentials; one for the non-essentials. And the only thing in the essentials box is: Jesus died on the cross to forgive us our sins and give us eternal life with God. Period. Nothing else. Absolutely every other thing, no matter how big, goes into the other box. Everything. Period.
He asked us to shout out our biggest concern in the election, and there was a cacophony of noise: abortion, economics, marriage, etc. Then he asked us to shout out the name at whom every knee will bow, even Barack Obama and John McCain. We confessed a crystal clear: Jesus.
Ben said, “The question isn’t ‘Who’s Right?’ but ‘What box does this issue go in?’” Ouch! Really, what box have you put your concerns in? What have you added to the essentials box that doesn’t belong there?
If you’d like to hear Ben’s message you can listen online or download the mp3 file here. It’s worth the time.
If you’d like to read more truth about God and politics, visit Heather.
On Tuesday, vote with your heart, your head and your hands in full submission only to the Lord.
6 comments
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November 3, 2008 at 11:17 am
Grafted Branch@Restoring the Years
I sorry, I just can’t get myself to agree with your pastor that voting for a man who supports a woman’s right to commit infanticide at will goes in the liberty box.
November 3, 2008 at 1:20 pm
Mrs darling
Coming from an eternity security standpoint I can see what your pastor is saying but it sorta oversimplifies it because there are big issues that God has destroyed whole cities for and that He has called an abomination. I think those should be in the essential box!
November 3, 2008 at 1:54 pm
Heather
Awesome post.
November 3, 2008 at 3:53 pm
aswewalk
I think what he meant was, first and foremost we vote according to our Christian faith. What is important to GOD? What lines up with God’s character? Then, consider the other things.
In my mind it boiled down to this–FIRST consider the life God created; then chew on taxes.
We have a lot of brand new believers in our congregation–hundreds upon hundreds of baby Christians, just getting started on milk. This whole notion of voting according to God’s plan was quite new to most of them.
Maybe it’s just not deep enough to address more mature believers. My husband said he’d liked for him to have delved into what IS important to God. He was not completely satisfied with the depth of the teaching. I think the teaching might have been fine-tuned for a more mature congregation.
Thanks for your thoughtful, respectful comments.
November 3, 2008 at 5:28 pm
Heather
I think Pastor Ben’s sermon was thought provoking. HOWEVER, when preaching about essentials and non-essentials, it should be made clear what is essential to God and what isn’t, especially to new-believers. We seasoned believers can draw clear views on what is essential from the Bible. Therefore, things such as the sanctity of life, the preservation of marriage, etc, are clearly outlined. These are essential. If the bible spells it out – it’s essential to God. I had a lot of trouble during that sermon thinking of an unborn life being taken in the womb as a non-essential. I got the point he was trying to make, but again found myself frustrated at all the gray areas that come from that pulpit, when they should clearly be black and white. But of course, drawing the line between Christ (dare I say religion) and politics is a very, very sticky situation. Therefore, I believe the bullet-proof vest worn by Pastor Ben might have proven a wise decision.
November 3, 2008 at 9:50 pm
aswewalk
Heather, you and Mrs. Darling make a good point–there are things that are essential to God. And if we’ve accepted Jesus as our Savior, we need to have His heart for those things. Therefore, some things move into our essentials box simply because they bring life from God, and are in His essentials box. Well said.
I’m looking forward to voting tomorrow. I keep thinking it’ll all be decided tomorrow night, but hubby said it won’t. He thinks there will be recounts and maybe appeals, and, God forbid, repercussions depending on the outcome. Keep praying through it all.