A Thread of Compassion

There are masses of people who are searching for truth, and we, as Christ's ambassadors, can be conduits who hold fast to His truth and communicate it with compassion. Mark 6 states:
32 So they departed to a deserted place in the boat by themselves.
33 But the multitudes saw them departing, and many knew Him and ran there on foot from all the cities. They arrived before them and came together to Him.
34 And Jesus, when He came out, saw a great multitude and was moved with compassion for them, because they were like sheep not having a shepherd. So He began to teach them many things.

People sought out Jesus because He represented hope to them and He told them the truth - when this group saw Him withdrawing, they sought Him out.  And, look at His response: He was "moved with compassion."  He saw them as sheep who did not have a shepherd.  Many wander today, without a firm foundation, with no hope for their lives, with no truth that can be an anchor for them.  The teachings of Jesus offer answers, His presence offers joy and satisfaction, and people can come to know His love as they see it lived out by His people.

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Elements of the demeanor of the Christian are found in Ephesians 4 - we can read:
31 Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice.
32 And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ forgave you.

The 2018 midterm elections are coming up soon, and I trust that you are registered to vote and that you are considering your choices - a number of statewide elective offices in Alabama are up for election or re-election, including the entirety of the Alabama Legislature.

And, while we look forward to 2018, there are still studies that take us back to 2016 and that statistic that has been widely publicized that over 8-in-10 white evangelicals voted for Trump.  This has been sliced and diced and even weaponized by some in the Church, causing division among some, which is an unfortunate by-product of a selection based on the choice between two flawed individuals, a choice with which many Christians were not satisfied.

A new survey by the Democracy Fund Voter Study Group demonstrates that people of faith are certainly not monolithic, and that a greater degree of church attendance will yield a more compassionate approach to other people in a variety of areas.

It should come as no surprise that the views toward racial minorities among those who voted for the President improve relative to church attendance. For instance, the summary says:

Specifically, favorable feelings toward black people increase from 48 percent among Trump voters who never attend church to 73 percent among those who attend more than once a week — a 25-point increase. Similarly, favorable feelings toward Hispanics and Asians increase from 63 percent and 60 percent, respectively, among secular Trump voters to 72 percent and 80 percent, respectively, among churchgoing Trump voters.

The language seems to presume that all Trump voters were white, which is certainly not the case.

And, the attitudes toward religious minorities change relative to church attendance.  The summary states:

Trump voters’ attitudes toward religious minorities, including Jews and Muslim Americans, also warm according to church attendance.

For instance, very devout Trump voters are 17 percentage points more likely than nonreligious Trump voters to have favorable feelings toward Jews (85 percent vs. 68 percent).

This is consistent with the Biblical mandate to love everyone - while we may disagree on religious viewpoints and practices, we certainly can affirm the person who possesses those views.

The survey illustrates a concern for ethnic diversity among people of faith. The summary says:

Eighty-three percent of Trump voters who attend a religious service more than once a week say it is “very” or “fairly important” to accept people of diverse racial and religious backgrounds to be “truly American,” compared to only two-thirds (67 percent) of nonreligious Trump voters — a 16-percentage-point difference.

There are a number of policy issues examined in this survey - immigration is covered, and it is an issue that doesn't seem to be as important to regular churchgoers, as opposed to those who don't attend, even though, "nonreligious Trump voters are nearly 20 percentage points more likely than churchgoing Trump voters to oppose a pathway to citizenship for the undocumented, to want a border wall, to support making the legal immigration process more arduous, and to believe illegal immigration drains the economy." On the border wall, though, based on the language, it has to do with the degree of priority that a person favors making it.

The compassionate thread continues in areas of poverty and volunteerism.  The summary states:

Religious Trump voters are more concerned about poverty than are nonreligious Trump voters. Trump voters who attend church at least once a week are nearly twice as likely as secular Trump voters to say that poverty is a “very important” issue to them (42 percent vs. 23 percent).

But, the more frequent churchgoers are not necessarily in favor of government solutions, including entitlements. We can read this: "Trump-voting churchgoers are more likely to favor repeal of the Affordable Care Act (89 percent vs. 76 percent) and to oppose government 'doing more' to reduce income differences between rich and poor (71 percent vs. 58 percent) than their secular counterparts."

And, the summary states: "Indeed, religious Trump voters are more likely than nonreligious Trump voters to do volunteer work. For instance, while 61 percent of very frequent churchgoers among Trump voters volunteered at least once in the past 12 months, only 20 percent of secular Trump voters did." That data is from "the panel baseline survey of the 2012 Cooperative Campaign Analysis Project (CCAP)."

So, what do we glean here? I think by and large, there is a challenge for people of faith, and specifically Christians, to be known for our compassion. We are to be firm in our convictions on upholding Biblical principles, but we can communicate and act in a rational and understanding way. We should be characterized not by our anger, but by our devotion to Christ and upholding His Word.

There is also the notion of separating the person from his or her performance. For instance, we should be civil toward those who believe differently than we - we can disagree, but not in a divisive manner. We can build relationships while holding true to our beliefs.

Finally, we realize that we are not defined by our politics. There are those who want to look at evangelical Christians as a monolithic voting bloc, and that is simply not the case. Ultimately, while we are called to be involved in politics, we have to make sure our policy choices are influenced by the Scriptures. Also, within the Church, there are some who have a tendency to say that speaking out on public policy is "too political." I think this is often applied to those who hold to a Biblical standard on sexual issues, such as opposition to the LGBTQ agenda. We don't have to shy away from political involvement, as long as it does not supersede our walk with Christ.