All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. - 2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NIV) For three quarters of the fifty-first National Football League Super Bowl title game, the Atlanta Falcons built up a healthy lead. In one of the greatest "chokes" in history, the Falcons gave up 19 points to the New England Patriots in the very last quarter, sending the game into a short overtime where the Patriots drove downfield almost effortlessly to win the game. It was a comeback for the record books; a tense and entertaining game that will undoubtedly be watched and replayed and analyzed for years to come.
Yet for most of us Americans, the game's outcome was inconsequential. We may have picked a side (I pulled for the Falcons, if you're curious - Juuuuuulio!), but today, life goes on, and Super Bowl LI was just a good excuse to hang out with friends and family and watch good football. Today is another Monday. But Super Bowl LI also marked a reprieve from the nearly incessant political discussion inundating social media and has - quite likely - invaded our places of work and even our houses of worship. Many of us have probably picked sides much more passionately in American politics than in the NFL, and many of us have been guilty of airing our grievances with other viewpoints much too aggressively (I am chief among them, I must admit). Yet there are many believers, seeking to "reach across the aisle," that will "agree to disagree" with other believers on wrongful political views on biblical morality as if they are merely two different football teams inconsequentially playing a game. These people unfortunately mistake blind acceptance for unity. While their intentions may be noble, the result is not "unity" or "diversity" or "multiculturalism." It's division. I hold many political opinions that are not expressly handled in Scripture. I could give data, research, or concrete figures to bolster my argument in favor of them, but that does not mean I always have a legitimately scriptural or moral responsibility to do so (in fact, aggressively arguing these points may in fact serve to drive others away when we are actually given the opportunity to share God's truth). On many others, however, I certainly must vocally stand in opposition: abortion (Psm. 139:13-16), the sexual revolution (1 Cor. 6:12-20) and the indoctrination of amorality through the "science" of evolutionary hypothesis (Gen. 1-2), just to name a few. On these issues, I will continue to strengthen my stance and refuse to compromise one inch. That's not to say that I encourage or condone verbally attacking or belittling or actively discouraging other believers who have compromised in those areas - they need prayer and loving correction through the Holy Scriptures, not condemnation. And far be it from me to encourage anything other than long-suffering, forgiveness, and love toward unbelievers! I weep with mothers caught in the shame and guilt of abortion. I show kindness to and extend grace to the gays, lesbians, and trans-gendered. I hurt with those lost and wandering in moral relativism, drowning in meaningless philosophies, constantly-shifting societal norms, and illogical politics. These people are deluded by society, by media, and by their sinful nature. The Holy Spirit is the solution to their spiritual condition, which is a result of the saving work of the gospel, not a well-formed political argument or needless anger and judgment. However, on God's Word and its truth we cannot disagree. With those who would try to "agree to disagree" on its power, rightness, holiness, and completeness, we must continue to disagree. Perhaps on some political issues we could stand to be more open to listen and more apt to research, but on issues that are handled directly within the words of Scripture, we must always obey God rather than man (Acts 5:29). We must remain careful of our tone, our approach, and above all, our own flesh; but we have an obligation to "preach the Word, be ready in season and out of season, reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. (2 Tim. 4:2, ESV). To my brothers and sisters in Christ who have taken political stances that normalize sin as right and good, and either practice it themselves or approve of it in others who do, I will forgive, I will love, I will pray, I will encourage. But in a spirit of gentleness and of love, I will continue to disagree.
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Clifton J. Gardner lives in Birmingham, Alabama with his wife, Courtney. He is a Registered Nurse, musician, and writer, as well as an active member of Ezra Baptist Church in Oak Grove, Alabama. Archives
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