Are you a Christ-follower who is struggling with the political climate of our nation and the world? Do you wonder what Jesus would say about it all? Are you tired of Christians from each political party telling you that what Jesus said in the Bible supports their side only? 

ME TOO! 

When I was about 18, I left organized religion - not because of any of the above, but because my dad was my minister, and he was also an alcoholic. My stomach couldn't handle the hypocrisy of my dad's message, so I left. 

What kept me away from organized religion for the 35 years after that was mainly because of the questions I used to open this essay. I was disgusted to see the hypocrisy of religious people who pointed fingers at a political party or even another denomination within their own religion, and then acted in un-Christlike ways themselves. I was quick to get into discussions about organized religion and to bash it by pointing to my bad experiences with it. The word “hypocrisy” came up a lot in those days. 

The tide started to turn for me somewhere around 2005-ish...I cannot pin it to a certain day, time, or moment, but I can say that after a lifetime of being highly involved in arguments and discussions about politics, religious traditions, and entertainment, I started to shy away from throwing my opinion into the ring of every issue. I started going deeper within myself through reading, writing, prayer & meditation....and I started listening more. Maybe because I was at a crucial point of my own recovery from addictions and the family disease of alcoholism, and I could finally see the real me (warts and all) in my spiritual mirror, I realized that my opinion about everything didn't always have to be heard or shared. And I also realized that I, myself, was also a hypocrite a lot of the time (even if it was the thoughts I had that I never shared!).  

About 15 years ago, when I was struggling with forgiveness, a dear friend introduced me to Andy Stanley via his sermon series on that same topic. After listening to that sermon series and reading his book, Enemies of the Heart, I was hooked. I was still not interested in exploring organized religion, but at least I was willing to listen to his messages as they were posted each week on the “Your Move w/Andy Stanley” broadcast. His teachings and his communication of the Word to his congregations have been the best I have come across over the years (and believe me, I have listened to A LOT of different voices via podcasts, YouTube, and other social media platforms). One of the things I have always appreciated about Andy is that his message is always on point – and that point is Jesus. He has not shared his political beliefs while speaking his messages about Jesus. I have no idea where he stands on specific political topics such as immigration, the economy, abortion, or tariffs. Furthermore, I don’t know if he thinks soccer is a real sport, or if he likes Harry Potter novels. What I do know is this – Andy loves to learn and teach about Jesus. And that’s all I need to know. Listening to his messages over the years and following some of his suggestions have helped me to be a better Christ-follower. 

No matter which side of the political aisle you travel on, if you're anything like me, then all the back-and-forth finger-pointing, shaming, and picking apart of the opposing political party that we've been seeing all over social media has become sickening to you. Might I recommend that you give yourself a little break from it all and listen to Andy Stanley’s 3-part series entitled: Talking Points: What is Jesus’ Take on Politics? Originally aired 5 years ago this month, its message stands firm today, and it is well worth the 90 minutes it will take you to listen to all three! (See link at the end of this essay for the first of the three available on YouTube for free!)

Finally, I will share one more piece of wisdom that has made its way to me via several close friends and mentors throughout my years in recovery circles. It is a remarkably simple thing, but I have found it to be crazy difficult to do at times. That said, I have seen it save relationships from destruction, and keep me from hurting people that I care about unnecessarily. And here it is: Learn to pause.

Before I react: pause
Before I give advice: pause
Before I comment (on social media or in person): pause 

I’m not talking about the 10 second countdown that we often see played out in television sitcoms, I’m talking about a real pause – sometimes for a few minutes, but other times hours or days if needed. I have found that the more intense my internal reaction or need to share my opinion or comment is, the longer I need to pause. 

Believe me when I tell you, I have said and done a lot of stupid things. In fact, as social media was becoming a major thing in my late 30s and early 40s, I spent a lot of time being grateful that it wasn’t around to record my actions in my teens and 20s! Even today, as I write these words, I know there will come a time again when I will say something stupid or thoughtless, or post an inappropriate comment or opinion online. We all will because we are human. 

What “the pause” has helped me to recognize is that it is not always my job to correct others, point out their mistakes, or call them out on the carpet. I may not think that a certain political leader or religious guru or celebrity is behaving appropriately today…does that mean I need to go online and tell the whole world? No. It just means I am seeing a type of behavior that I am learning is quite unattractive and/or unacceptable to me. Instead of telling the world how stupid it is, I’m going to pause and learn from it; even if it’s simply learning how I don’t want to be, I can learn from it.  

And isn’t that what life is all about…learning how to become who we were always meant to be?

Thank you, Andy Stanley.  And, THANK YOU to all my wise recovery friends who have taught me how to pause.