I was recently disturbed to know that a Christian young person I talked to, aged 19 years, from the USA, was going to vote for Donald Trump!! It shocked me, I was disturbed by the very thought. It got me to wondering how many more people in the US who are 'Evangelical Christians' will also be voting the same way. There seems to be a culture in the US amongst Christians who are 'Republicans' out of tradition and loyalty. The same goes in the UK with 'Conservative' Christians. The amount of Christians in the US who still believe in the Old Testament principle of an 'Eye for and Eye a Tooth for a Tooth' by murdering murderers is shocking. Also the amount of 'Republican' Christians who believe the way to defend themselves is to carry a murder weapon is also distressing. These are the very people who Donald Trump is carefully targeting, in his attempt to make out that he is also a 'Follower of Jesus'. It's a scary thing that Christianity is being confused with being 'Republican'. Of course we have to be political as Christians, we have to get involved in politics to make a difference for Jesus in this world, but we must not confuse being a Christian with having a certain political stance. We must look closely at the policies of any 'Political Party' and see if they align to the beliefs of a true follower of Jesus. Don't ever align your beliefs to a political party just because all the people in your church do or you family do.
The same is equally true in the UK. A shocking amount of Christians are aligning themselves to the Conservative Party out of tradition. The Labour Party used to be known to have a Socialist stance which can't possibly be right for Christians, they say. So middle class Conservative is the only option for a Christian surely. Look closely again at the their policies and pray for God's guidance. The Conservative Party are making the poor suffer when Jesus said we are to 'look after the poor, widows and orphans'. The Austerity that is thriving under this Conservative government is corrupt and in my humble opinion goes against Christian principles. I am not trying to say that any other party is much better as every party has a certain amount of corruption going on its politics. What I am saying though is don't just stay with a party and vote for them because you think its the Christian thing to do. So many Christians so naively vote without much thought because they mix up 'middle class culture' with Christianity.
As Martin Luther Jr. said 'The time is Right to do what's Right' and we have to be so careful as Christians that we make Godly decisions its the only way we will make a difference. Don't just ignore politics thinking that religion and politics don't and shouldn't mix. Jesus call us to be responsible citizens and he wants us to make decision that will 'make a difference' for His good!! It is our responsibility as Christians to make sure our political views line up with our Christian beliefs and therefore we have to know who, and what we are voting for at every election or referendum. We can not continue to adhere tom vote for and support one party out of tradition, loyalty or naivety.
