Christian Negativity

I believe as Christians, we are called to be kind to one another. We should not be the one's out there talking badly about another Christian. And yet, when politics come into play, that seems to go by the way-side. Negative ads everywhere are bad enough, do we really need to be wasting our precious time spent together talking negatively about another person?

People all over the country are having discussions with each other about politics. How many of those conversations are more negative than positive? We tend to live in a world where people choose their candidates based on who is the "lesser of two evils." Shouldn't we be voting on someone who we support, rather than someone who doesn't bother us as much as the other guy? I know it is hard when you don't agree on all topics with a candidate, after all, it is nearly impossible to completely agree on every topic with anybody! But I encourage you to find the issues that matter the most to you and support the candidate that most lines up with that rather than spending your time worrying about the candidate that most disagrees.

Christian churches and organizations are no small players when it comes to negative campaigning and that is sad. Personally, I don't think churches and Christian organizations should be worrying about politics (they should be worrying about bringing people to Christ!) When they do find their way into politics, they should be a positive beacon of light in the otherwise dark negativity of election season. Unfortunately, these organizations tend to concentrate on telling Christians which candidates are more against their "Christian values." Take for example this letter from four years ago made by Focus On The Family (no strangers to promoting negativity in Christianity themselves, just ask the homosexual community) titled Letter from 2012 in Obama’s America. They sent this out to persuade Christians to not vote for Obama because of all the bad things he would do and how he would hurt America. Of course, non of their fears actually came true.

I heard from a friend about a month ago that their pastor challenged their congregation to go the rest of the election season without talking negatively about a candidate. Challenging? Yes. Impossible? No. There is now one week left before the elections, and I think this is a good idea for all of us Christians. Talk all you want in support of the things your favorite candidate is proposing, but stay away from talking negatively about the other candidates. Christians speaking negatively about another person (never mind another Christian) reflects poorly upon you, and more importantly upon Christ.