By: Nicole C. Schroeder
During this election process, I found myself questioning fellow believers’ relationships with God because they did not share my political views. Sometimes it felt as if believers cared more about unborn babies than the men and women who were being murdered in the streets. As a result, a part of me became insensitive to the cry of those unborn babies. (I know! Shame on me.) In fact, I’m ashamed to admit it, but I’ve often asked myself this question: How is it possible for a Democrat and a Republican to attend the same church and serve the same God?
The Republican or Conservative party appears to focus on induced abortions, which is a deliberate termination of a pregnancy, and a sin against God for the record. To drive the message home, some pastors and Christians alike have coined the phrase, “The shedding of innocent blood.” Now let me be clear, it is not just a phrase, it is one of the seven abominations of God. Look it up! It’s in Proverbs 6:16-19. Now what an image? What a powerful gut- wrenching message to deliver to the body of Christ? For when God called Jeremiah to be a prophet, he said, “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you, before you were born, I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations” (Jeremiah 1:5 NIV). Wow! God has blessings attached to us before we are ever born. That truly takes my breath away, and it gives me a deeper understanding of why so many will go to the ends of the Earth to fight for unborn babies.
The Democratic party appears to focus on civil rights. The dictionary definition is “the rights of citizens to political and social freedoms and equality.” One of the most prevalent concerns for me is police brutality against minorities. We cannot turn on the news or log onto social media without reading a report about the latest victim at the hands of the police which is a sin against God for the record. A defenseless, unarmed man or woman should not lose their life at the hands of the police. For Proverbs 6 tells us that there are six things that the Lord hates, but seven that are detestable to him. One is hands that shed innocent blood (Proverbs 6:17 NIV). Others include a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, a false witness who pours out lies, and a person who stirs up conflict in the community (Proverbs 6: 18-19 NIV). Wow! It only stands to reason that God would call his people to action when He sees his children being wounded and killed by their brothers and sisters – His children, as well- unnecessarily in the name of justice. (By the way, when our Father calls us to action, Satan calls his people as well, and that is why we have looting and riots in the streets.) Think about it! 1 Corinthians 14:33 states, “For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.” Satan’s desire is for believers in Christ to focus on the looting and rioting, just like he wants believers to focus on the corrupt police officers. If we point fingers, we will not be able to position ourselves to pray for one another. You see, he wants us to disregard each other, but God wants us to carry each other’s burdens. We can’t let the devil use us! We have to stay focused on the will of God.
So, if we acknowledge the fact that induced abortions and racial injustices are both sins against God and that he died for our sins, so we could be forgiven and have an opportunity to spend eternity with him, when will we schedule that long overdue “come to Jesus” meeting? When will we acknowledge the fact that we are all called according to God’s purpose? When will we acknowledge the fact that there’s enough work in the Kingdom for all of us? After all, if some are called to preach, and some are called to teach, why wouldn’t he call some to speak boldly about induced abortions and some to speak boldly about racial injustices in our world? Why wouldn’t he call someone to organize protests all over America when one of his children is murdered in the streets? Why wouldn’t he call someone to stand on a street corner and hold up signs to protest induced abortions when a son or daughter’s life is taken before it ever begins? Why wouldn’t he condition our hearts to show compassion toward mothers who feel as if they had or have no other choice but to abort their unborn babies? Perhaps that love could be the very thing she needs to make a different choice, not ridicule and judgement, but love and long term support. Why wouldn’t he condition our hearts to sympathize with brothers and sisters who are hurting and feel oppressed? Perhaps, if black and brown brothers and sisters knew that their white brothers and sisters cared, they wouldn’t feel as if they don’t matter and real changes could be made.
The problem is we’ve allowed Satan to divide us. (To my future brothers and sisters in Christ, I am talking to my current brothers and sisters right now). We’ve allowed the enemy to condition our minds to think we must choose one transgression over the other, but that is not true! Jesus is love, and if he is truly living within us, we should show love and compassion toward all humanity. After all, Jesus said that everyone will know that we are his disciples by our love for one another. Read it! It’s there in John 13: 35. What he said to Simon Peter on that day applies to us now. Everyone will know we are Christians by our love, so regardless of what happens after the election we must choose love. 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 provides a clear definition of what love is.
In summary, a Democrat and a Republican can attend the same church and serve the same God because He calls us according to His purpose. Some may be called to save unborn babies. Some maybe called to save black and brown lives. It doesn’t make our callings any less important than the other because the same God who called us gave us the ability to stretch across party lines and love one another, just as Christ loves us.
