Give Yourself to Others …

I admit, I get pretty annoyed when Christians attempt to attribute to Jesus, their own political views. Whether on the political Left or the political right, I think they are wrong.

Just for the record, I’m more on the political right — pretty close to libertarian.

I see the controlling factor as “free will.”  God gave it to us.  It’s what makes us fundamentally different from animals.

From where I sit, Christians on the political Left want government to implement policies around caring for others; but then object, when those on the political Right want the government to implement policies which criminalize “sins.”

The Left wants to institutionalize charitable activities.  The Right wants to institutionalize Christian morality.

I think both miss the point of Jesus’ example.

The emphasis of Jesus’ life was two-fold:  First, conform your personal will to God.  Second, seek with your whole heart and being to life consistent with God’s will.

One of the central reasons for Jesus’ life on earth was to provide the example of how to conform our will and behavior to God’s will.  But at the same time, he taught we need to recognize our inability to conform completely to God’s will.  Such failure is the reason we need redemption.  And our redemption is individual, not corporate.

That is, the government’s success or failure to provide a “safety net” does not affect our salvation.  At the same time, if another person lives inconsistent with God’s will, that does not condemn me — or anyone else.

The issue, from God’s perspective, is whether I am seeking to conform my will to his.  It’s not about how successful I am — it’s about whether I’m trying.  

So, my liberal friends are trying to do what they think is right.  My conservative friends are trying to do what they think is right.  My libertarian friends are trying to do what they think is right.  My socialist friends (I’m not sure I know of any) are trying to do what they think is right.

None of us know, for sure, if we’re doing the right thing.

Give yourself to others, for their good, expecting, nor requiring, anything in return — even if they disagree with you politically.