Are You Political?   

By Jeannie St. John Taylor

I am not political. Had you asked me thirty years ago which party I favored, Democrat or Republican, you’d have gotten a blank stare. I didn’t even register to vote until I turned thirty. (I confess that only to prove my point; admitting I shirked my responsibility embarrasses me.)

And yet, despite my political-neutrality, several people have recently accused me of the exact opposite. It started when I sent an article on abortion to my Monday Morning Prayer List. Instead of appreciating the well-reasoned arguments in the piece, one friend wrote back and requested I please not talk politics with him. Another two people huffed off my email list demanding they never get anything else from me. Not ever. Not even the Monday prayers -- because I had offended them with political propaganda.

I was stunned. Political propaganda? I don’t think of abortion as a political issue, it’s a moral issue. Isn’t it? It used to be.  

Sadly, without most of us even noticing, moral issues have morphed into political concerns. Isn’t Satan a clever fellow? (Let’s give credit where credit is due.) By grabbing morality and slipping it over into the realm of politics, our enemy has rendered all choices guilt-free. We’re simply making political decisions, don’t ya know. There’s no right or wrong involved; it’s just your opinion or mine. Go ahead and vote on the basis of convenience.

Same-sex marriage, the day after pill for seventeen-year-olds, embryonic stem cell research – there’s no space to list them all, but every one of those ethical and moral issues have become political matters, and as a result morally-neutral. Porn on the Internet is nothing more than free speech these days. See how easy it’s become? Soon more and more issues will be labeled “political.” I recently heard on Fox News about a group working to legalize polygamy.  

It’s all good, guilt-free.

Unless you come down on the politically-incorrect side of a topic. More often than not, that unpopular side is God’s side.

Twenty-one-year-old beauty pageant queen, Carrie Prejean, exercised her free speech rights and spoke politically-incorrect words in the Miss USA contest. She has been publicly reviled around the globe!

Make no mistake, the sharp divide in our nation that has become so apparent in recent elections runs along moral lines even though disguised as political division. Let’s recognize that! Learn what God expects of us. If we recognize that something is politically-correct, let’s stop and analyze it. Ask what God says about it. Is it really political or is it an ethical matter? Let’s…

• Study the Bible until we can recognize right from wrong.
• Pray for wisdom and clear sight.
• Make decisions based on what the Bible says and not on what politically right.
• Look at morals and ethics, instead of voting based on party.
• Speak up for right anytime we have the opportunity. We will suffer for it, but God will reward us in heaven.

We must summon our courage and do what we can to stop evil now. If a young beauty queen can have the courage of her convictions, we can, too. Even if it means friends and family label us “political.”

Jeannie St. John Taylor writes from Oregon. www.jeanniestjohntaylor.com,

stjohntaylor@earthlink.net