America's Ideological Civil War

There's been a lot of marching and anger these days. America is drowning in oikophobia and an irreparable economy. Social media sways the actions of corporations, celebrities, and government. We are in an ideological civil war.

The problem? We have become right against left, and we are afraid of each other. We hate each other. We have discarded a culture of discussion, rhetoric, and respect, for one of irrational fear of each other. All the while the politicians that we side with use us for their own gain (yes, this applies to both right-wing and left-wing politicians). The right wants to dictate the country on the ideals of an imaginary, idealistic past (the rosy "good old days"), and the left wants to dictate it on the ideals of an imaginary, unreachable, and impossible future. The right responds by either apologizing for existing or throwing all grace aside and becoming the exact stereotype their opponents accuse them of being. The left responds by screaming extremism, injustice, and sin by association by their ideological punching bags. And both are driven by an irrational insistence that their side is always right.

Take the Muslim Ban, as it's currently labeled right now. For a good while, I didn't know who to believe because I know both the liberally-driven mainstream media and the little conservative pundit websites are both going to paint stories instead of deliver facts. We argue over politics like we argue over sports teams, choosing to verbally defend our side to the expense of kindness and consideration and reason instead of looking at facts. And now truth is subjective, facts are subjective, and everyone we dislike is Hitler. Christofacism is the latest label getting used on the internet to refer to the Right (because all right-wingers are Christian, white, and male or brainwashed), and everyone on the left is a Snowflake (because all left-wingers are whiny, entitled Millennials). Every sin committed by the opposite side is unforgivable and every sin on our side is excusable. And even then, we can't figure which story is right, because the media (both right and left) is not concerned with delivering facts but rather telling you what you should accept as facts. America has reduced itself to one big cultural comment section, both sides screaming their infallibility. You're whiny. You're hateful. You're privileged. You're a leech. You're delusional. You're ignorant.

And both sides insist the Bible sides with them.

Where should Christians fall in this mess?

I think it's time we take a step back. A step away from the noise of the world and into God's Word. Stop saying "Jesus would agree with me" and maybe instead look to agree with Jesus. Perhaps instead of investing so much into the idol of politics, invest in your church. Yes, politics have importance, but we as a nation are so caught up in the noise and drama and hot air that we are forgetting what should be our priorities: Christ and His church. In Him we find truth, in Him we find love, in Him we find reality.

I challenge you to invest twice as more into your church, whether that be time, money, energy, or prayer, than in your online arguments and political campaigns.

I challenge you to be more concerned with the things of the Lord than the things of man.

I challenge you to care more about the church than about your country.

I challenge you to remember that the nations will rage and the peoples plot in vain, but the Lord sits in heaven and laughs. 

Now, did I say you shouldn't care about politics or America? No. But until we get our priorities straight and our eyes and hearts in the right place, we will only continue to yell at each other in a "I'm the one who is right" insult war instead of working for God and country.