How can I be a follower of Christ and have my views align more with the political Left than the Right?
Through a series of essays, I have tried to explain why I tend to be more Left-leaning these days. I have discussed abortion, social services, the LGBTQ+ community, and immigration. I have repeatedly spoken about Christ’s care for the poor and marginalized. There are many other issues worthy of consideration, but at least for this season, I have reached the end of what I will offer as an answer to the questions posed to me about my faith and political stance.
I am worn and have little left to offer at present on these matters. After the election, I will continue to write. I will write for the church – calling her to resume her place as a city on a hill, a light in the darkness, a refuge for those who suffer. I will write for those who are afraid to speak - who believe they are alone and think they would be rejected if they were truly known. I will write for the oppressed, and I will write for me.
For this election season, I offer one final word. I would be remiss if I did not speak about racism.
I come humbly to write these words, knowing I have little to say. I know so little about systematic racism. I understand more today than in days past, and more in those days than days farther before. Always, I have offered what I have, always I have known my offering is small. I have so little to offer on this topic, and yet I cannot leave it out of the conversation. I present today what I have offered before – a small piece of my story.
There came a point this past year when my heart could no longer be reconciled to my place of work and worship, and it was at that point I had to go – go and reconcile my heart.
In the quiet space formed in the wake of COVID-19, I heard voices I had not so clearly heard before. The voices of the ancestors of those we brutally brought to our land with violence, labeled less than human, and forced into slavery for the insatiable greed of those who oppressed their way to power. These voices have been begging us to pay attention, and we have largely ignored their cries.
In the stillness of a pandemic, we began to hear like never before. Their cries grew louder, calling on us, those of us whose light-colored skin have permitted us to ignore their agonizing pleas, to stand up.
And some stood. Some stood up, but the white church remained eerily silent.
The church by and large remained silent, and I did not understand. The tension between myself and my work life grew, and soon I found myself unable to reconcile myself to my public silence. The disparity between who I was and who I was expected to be had grown.
It is for the sake of Jesus Christ and the masses oppressed by those in power (the very people Jesus welcomed, loved, and stood alongside) that I left my church position and am openly voting for Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden. Four months ago, I remained publicly silent on issues dear to my heart out of respect for my employer, refusing to publicly disagree with the doctrine and authority of the church which had hired me to care for the spiritual wellbeing of its children – a church which cared for me and my family.
I love the children and families whom I have come to know in my work as the Director of Children’s ministry. I loved sitting in holy space with the kids each week. I loved offering the kids a spiritual formation path which took their faith seriously and gave them the freedom to make their own deeply personal meaning from the stories of our scripture. I loved the journey I took to arrive at what was for me such sacred space. For me, this work was meaningful and personal.
But as much as I loved the people and the work, violent turmoil had been building within me to the point of regular physical distress. The love of my work could not cover the pain I experienced at the hand of my own silence nor the way my life-force had been powerfully suppressed by my own pretending.
I could no longer pretend to belong to a place where I knew I did not. And I could not stay silent anymore, even for the sake of the beloved children in my spiritual care.
My voice and my vote may be quiet and small, but today it is what I have to offer – my two small copper coins. It is for the sake of all who suffer at the hands of the powerful that I speak. I will not suppress my voice. I will continue to fight for the oppressed of this world with whatever I can offer. I will boldly tell the listening world why I, a follower of Christ, have united my vote to a party and people who fight for the downtrodden, the oppressed, the overlooked, the ignored, the written-off, the poor, the weary, and all who hunger and thirst for righteousness.
The Evangelical Church has done extraordinary harm to people of color, and I can no longer remain united with the right-winged Evangelicalism which has become nearly synonymous to the Republican Party.
Historically, women, children, minorities, and persons with disabilities have been treated less than human. Many on the political Right make the claim that this has already been set right, but the recent influx of stories, history, and information about our nation’s treatment of African Americans makes it clear this is not the case.
Our country’s deep roots in treating heterosexual white men like the ultimate expression of humanity is still powerfully felt today by those who are not heterosexual white men.
Any party which suggests there is no systematic racism today should be held in suspicion, along with any white man who claims to be flawless in his treatment of minorities, women, children, and persons with disabilities.
I am not saying all Christians should always vote Democrat, but I am countering the widely held ideal that white Christians must vote Republican. Most of us understand that a political party and a religion are not the same thing, and I am not trying to suggest the Democratic Party should be the only party for Christian people. I am suggesting we take a careful look, and that those of us who claim to follow Christ should never forget the disenfranchised and should never stop listening to their stories.
My friends, these are difficult times. Let us not forget to love one another. Let us grow in our ability to listen to those who are different, to hear their stories, to understand their perspective.
It is in understanding that we create the space to heal, and our country is desperate for healing. We cannot rely on the powers-that-be to provide the answers. It must begin with us. We must listen. We must seek to understand. We must conduct ourselves with passionate grace and fiery love – a love that lays down self for the sake of the other. Let us burn like a blaze – not to kill, but to give heat and life necessary for all to live.
"Frankly, there isn't anyone you couldn't learn to love once you've heard their story” -Fred Rogers
You can find my post about the Democratic Party and Immigration HERE.
You can find details about taking Trauma-Sensitive Yoga Classes with me HERE.
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