From natural disasters and global tensions to assassination attempts, this election season has been unprecedented. With the election weeks away, people are unfriending others on social media and in real life. Families are literally being split up. All because they differ in their political stance. The division only seems to have intensified as we get closer to November.

I am not going to tell you who to vote for. I am not going to tell you who not to vote for. Instead, I am going to tell you why we must change our attitude to a Kingdom mindset this election.

Abortion, immigration, gun control, and foreign policy are just a few of the issues that are causing division this election. While Trump and Harris’ debates have been televised as they vie for the presidency, friends, co-workers, and families all across the country have similar heated arguments thinking that they have to win over others for the sake of their political party or the cause they are passionate about.

Similarly, as Christians, we often find ourselves trying to defend a candidate, issue, or cause. We often think we have to argue or win an argument because there is a difference of opinion. We don’t! The first thing we need to do if we are to have a Kingdom mindset this election season is to love.

Love our enemies

Whether it is politics, religion, or other divisive issues, the most important thing in all of this is to love others even if and when they don’t love you or agree with you. As believers, we need to be led by love. Matthew 5:43-44 says, “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.  ’But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”  It is a good reminder that we need to love our enemies or people who don’t like us and spitefully use us. It needs to be our attitude and posture that we love and encourage people who don’t agree with us or talk about us behind our backs. Anybody can love their friend, but the real challenge is to love our enemies.

I have had many conversations with white supremacists. In these conversations I was very interested in learning their perspective — why they feel the way they feel. In the process, my goal was to express the love of Christ to someone and dispel their false ideas and perspectives.

It can be challenging to love our enemies. One of the things that I have found helpful is to ask questions and have a conversation with them. As I do this, I often find that I have quite a bit in common with the person. Be a learner! We need to avoid being the type of person who tells others why they are wrong and why we think we are right. Instead, think of how you can approach others with questions seeking to learn more about them. James 1:19 talks about being slow to speak, slow to anger, and quick to listen. We need to seek to learn and not just teach or tell all the time. You might learn something and have a different perspective. We need to be willing to get a new perspective on things and understand why people believe the things that they do and why people think that way.

Live what you believe

As we love others with God’s love, it helps us to live out what we believe. You don’t always have to convince everyone what you believe. It is more important to live it out. That doesn’t require you to prove anything to anybody. It just means that your actions are going to be consistent with your beliefs. We often think that we have to win arguments to prove something when we don’t. Instead, we just need to live it out.

Jesus wants us to be loving and encouraging to people. Because at the end of the day, the goal is not to convince people to vote one way or another or to vote for one candidate over another. The only way that people are going to do that is to experience Him through our lives and the grace that we exhibit.

Firm foundation

As you vote this election season, I want to encourage you to pray and get firmly rooted in the Word of God. The best way to make any decision is to be directed by the Holy Spirit. In order for us to do that, we need to take time to daily study the Bible. It is important for us not to make decisions based on feelings and emotions or someone we like or don’t like. We need to ask ourselves, “What does the Bible say?” It is a good challenge for us to spend time daily in prayer and Bible study.

Neither the Democratic or Republican Party is going to usher in the Kingdom of God. Instead, we need to fix our eyes on things above. We are seated at the right hand of the Father. We need to have our mind on things above not below. That is how we build the kingdom of God and not a political party.

The next two Sundays at the Rock Church we are going to be looking at Kingdom Conflict and how to navigate life with Biblical wisdom as our foundation. We invite you to join us in person at one of our campuses or online.