I know not all of those who read my Substack are Christians. However, I feel compelled to write a series of posts about a better way to approach politics, and as a Christian, I must make my case from a Christian worldview, with scriptures from the Bible as the foundation. I hope to write these things in a way that will not offend non-Christians and that Christians and non-Christians alike can find beneficial.

In November, I wrote of the need for a “better way” in politics. I mentioned a four-part framework I think should guide our political activity, especially for those who claim the banner of Christianity. That framework is Purpose, Accountability, Love, and Meekness, or PALM. After some reflection, I’m going to change the order from PALM to LAMP. Why? I think we have to start with love. If we don’t have love, as the Apostle Paul wrote, we are nothing but a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal (1 Corinthians 13:1). I also think love, especially love for people who aren’t our friends or allies, is sorely missing in politics today.

Love is an extremely broad topic, and there are billions of love songs, poems, books, movies, and numerous scriptures about it. For our purposes, I’ll limit the discussion of love to four areas: God, country, neighbors, and enemies.

God

For the Christian, our primary purpose in life is to “love God, and make him known.” For the Christian, our love for others flows from our love for God. 1 John 4:19 says, “We love because he first loved us.”

I’ve come to believe we cannot adequately love others unless our hearts are filled with love for God. Our human nature is selfish, and without God's power to help us overcome it, we’ll treat others poorly.

Therefore, if we, as Christians, wish to see our nation become a better place, to see solutions to the problems we face, or to heal the political divide, we must put God first in our lives.

As it says in Exodus 20:3, “You must not have any other god but me,” and then in verse 6, “But I lavish unfailing love for a thousand generations on those who love me and obey my commands.”

Jesus expanded on this in Matthew 22:37-38 when asked what Moses’ greatest commandment was: “Jesus replied, ‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’^] This is the first and greatest commandment.”

Can a non-Christian love others? Of course. But for us Christians, our love for others must flow from our love for God. It’s the only way.

Country

Christians of various stripes have a wide range of opinions about the United States. Is it a hopelessly irredeemable nation because of the sin of slavery, or is it God’s new chosen nation? I’m sure most of us are somewhere in between those two extreme views.

Can a Christian love America? I think we can and should. But our love of country must come after our love for God. America must not become an idol in our lives. Our love for America must be informed by our Christianity, not intertwined with it. We need to recognize that God may love America, and has certainly “shed his grace” on it, but only so far as its people follow him. In a certain sense, Christians are like exiles. As much as I love my country, it is not truly my home. My job as a Christian is to bring people into God’s kingdom, not into a human kingdom. Thus, Jeremiah’s words to the Jews living in exile impact how we should live:

“Build homes, and plan to stay. Plant gardens, and eat the food they produce. Marry and have children. Then find spouses for them so that you may have many grandchildren. Multiply! Do not dwindle away! And work for the peace and prosperity of the city where I sent you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, for its welfare will determine your welfare.” Jeremiah 29:5-7

If you’re looking for a deeper dive on this subject, let me recommend “In Defense of Christian Patriotism” by Daniel Darling and “Compassion (&) Conviction: The AND Campaign’s Guide to Faithful Civic Engagement,” by Justin Giboney and Michael Wear.

Neighbors and Enemies.

I don’t think there’s much debate in Christian circles about the need to love our neighbors. In the Gospel of Luke, we find a famous story that many non-Christians will recognize as well, the parable of “The Good Samaritan.” Let's examine the story and the lessons I think it can teach us about how we should treat our friends and our enemies.

You can read the full story in Luke 10:25-37, but I’ll summarize it here.

A religious expert, seeking to trap Jesus, asks him how to obtain eternal life. Jesus turns it back on him by saying, “You tell me.” The expert answers in verse 27 with “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.’ And, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” Jesus agrees. But then the expert asks, “And who is my neighbor?”

Jesus responds with the story of a Jewish man who, while traveling, is robbed, beaten, and left for dead on the side of the road. First, a Priest travelling down the same road sees the man, but passes by. Then a Temple assistant passes by the man, also ignoring him. Perhaps they were too busy, or perhaps they didn’t care - Jesus leaves it to us to assume their motives.

Then a Samaritan comes down the road. The New Living Translation refers to this man as a “despised Samaritan.” In those days, there was a long standing rift between the Jews and the Samaritans. I’ve seen it compared to the hatred between Protestants and Catholics in Northern Ireland from he 1960s to the 1990s. They were people who should have viewed each other as ethnic and religious cousins who were essentially at war with each other.

Yet this Samaritan man stops to help a Jewish man. He cleans and bandages his wounds, feeds him, and brings him to an inn where he can recuperate. He gives the innkeeper money and tells him that the next time he comes, he’ll cover the remaining expenses, no matter the cost.

Jesus then asks, “Now which of these three would you say was a neighbor to the man who was attacked by bandits?”

“The man replied, “The one who showed him mercy.”

Then Jesus said, “Yes, now go and do the same.” Luke 10:37

What does this powerful story tell us about how Christians involved in politics should behave? Three things come to mind:

• We should never be too busy or too calloused to help those in need.

• We should see our neighbor as anyone in need, even people who revile us, or we ourselves might revile.

• We should love our neighbor, this new, very broad definition of neighbor, as we love ourselves.

Imagine how much better our political system would be if we were like the Good Samaritan? Imagine how we could address the problems our nation faces if we didn’t see people as enemies but as neighbors in the sense Jesus defines them? Consider the mindset change needed to live and love like that.