Wednesday, August 14th, 2019

We’ve all been told, “Don’t bring up politics at the dinner table.” There’s a reason why politics can breed such disagreement, and sometimes even break relationships entirely,; that is because often times, political beliefs are clung to as tightly as religious beliefs (or, tragically, have even taken the place of religious beliefs entirely.) These days, nothing is spared the stains of politics – even our faith. In his travels, if Jesus had asked each person he met what their political beliefs were, then maybe we could elevate the importance of politics in our lives. However, as we all know, Jesus never did that. He did not see people as what they believe but instead for who they were. Paul instructed Timothy to “Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies; you know that they breed quarrels. And the Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness.” Today, resolve to stop seeing people as what they believe – or as the things they have done – and instead, choose to love them simply because Jesus also loves them.

“Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies; you know that they breed quarrels. And the Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth,” – 2 Timothy 2:23-25 NIV