Politics... More Than A Party

"I'm not into politics."

It's so easy to say.  And I did, whenever the subject surfaced. It hardly pricked my conscience either, I confess, for a long time.  In fact, I probably said it with a touch of haughtiness.  After all, politics is a world of greed and corruption, and lately the equivalent of celebrity banter.  I am not obliged to care about the world of red vs. white; policies and amendments; men in suit and tie, saying one thing and meaning another... Right?

But becoming an adult citizen- and more importantly, a mother- I have both willingly and unwillingly entered into the world of politics.  I have started to pay attention to what laws affect my income, my values, and my family.  I have begun to realize that I have been wrong about politics...

I am into politics- whether I like it or not.

Because no longer is politics some foreign language I don't care to translate.  Because no longer is politics just the background noise in the news.  Because politics are people.  And when I say I don't care about politics, I am in a round about way saying that I don't care about people.

Call it Republican. Call it Democratic.  Call it conservative.  Call it liberal.  But each ruling, each regulation- they are affecting real live people.  People whom, as a believer in Jesus Christ, I am called to care about.

What are the implication of this newfound conviction?  I can't say exactly. Except that I have to care now.  Because it is about more than a vote.  A party. A stance... It is about, you guessed it... People!

When I hear the candidates go back and forth about immigration reform, am I remembering that each Mexican, Cuban, and Syrian refugee is a PERSON?

When I vote on insurance policies and business taxes, am I recognizing that behind these laws, fighting to save their small business and provide for their family, is a PERSON?

When I witness the government's response to the murderous form of business Planned Parenthood participates in, do I remember that each woman and baby that walks into a clinic is a PERSON?

It's true that politics can be corrupt.  Overwhelming. And seemingly hopeless.  But I pray God would help me do my part to pray, decide, vote, act, and love in politics.  I pray I would remember that each soldier in America, and each Iraqi casualty is a person.  I pray that I would remember every welfare enrollee and every millionaire in this country is a person.  I pray that I would remember each president and each picketer is a person.

 They are all people... people who need Jesus. And it's our job to point them to our Lord.