Social Network Politics Are Too Much
Theology and Politics from a Conservative, Biblical Perspective
About two weeks ago, I quit Facebook, cold turkey. It was the only way I could do it. I had tried to monitor and limit myself, but that was hopeless. I am now completely free of the “matrix” called Facebook.
It seems that the Lord had been trying to get me to quit Facebook before, but I wasn’t paying attention. That resulted in what I believe to be Him moving again by repeating a situation that forced me to decide what to do about my involvement with Facebook. It makes me think of the passage about plucking out our eye if it offends (Matthew 5:29; 18:9). Of course, Jesus was not speaking literally here although the literal meaning is clear. If something in our life is so offensive to us (and God), then we must take drastic measures to eliminate it. In this case, Facebook was that thing that caused offense and for me, the only way to effectively deal with it was to completely eliminate it.
Unfortunately, slowly over the years, Facebook has become a bit of a “Matrix” where people tend to view life through that lens. The most unfortunate part about it is how vitriolic it has made people against others. Facebook has become the epitome of Cultural Marxism in our day forcing people either into arguments they cannot win or silencing them altogether.
The Lord seemed to use a real friend of mine – someone I’ve known for about 30 years – and because of a difference of political opinion, things came to a head. I had written some comment about how the media completely ignores the many faults, foibles, and even potential criminal doings by one of the candidates for president and chooses to focus instead on the sexual escapades of the other candidate. It was because of that remark that my real-life friend took me to task, pointing out how he was certain I would not leave my wife in a room with that candidate. He finished his mini-tirade with the declarative, “get real.”
This same friend had done this before and I had let it slide. This time, I wasn’t having any so I took him to task. I pointed out that if he – a practicing Roman Catholic – could find a way to vote for a candidate who believed abortion up to the very moment of birth was fine, that was on him. I know many Catholics and most are actually conservative. In fact, many of the Catholic TV programs are on the conservative side of things.
I also reminded my friend of the one candidate’s husband, who had not only committed adultery on several occasions with what became very publicly known affairs, but was also impeached for lying to Congress. There were not enough votes to actually follow through with the impeachment by removing him from office, but he was impeached.
I ended by saying that he had every right to completely ignore my perspective on my own timeline and if he could not do that, he should “unfollow” me. He “agreed” and I don’t know which he chose to do, whether to simply ignore my opinions or unfollow me.
It really didn’t matter though because I made a decision shortly thereafter to get rid of Facebook. I posted why I was leaving and left and I have not looked back. I’m now more relaxed, have more time to take care of things that actually need to be done, and I’m not frustrated by the constant political attacks and banter that goes on there. It’s refreshing.
To show what I’ve been “missing,” a friend from Facebook sent me an article written by Mario Murillo titled, “Gullible Christians are Helping to Kill America.” Murillo makes some interesting points about so-called evangelicals who have come out against Trump, yet seem to make nothing of Hillary. They do so because allegedly, Trump has claimed to be a Christian. But I’ve heard Hillary talk about her Methodist roots and how important the Bible is to her, etc. This seems to have started when James Dobson referred to Trump as a “baby Christian.”
Of course, now the attacks on Trump are fairly relegated to the arena of sexual harassment. This was the same thing done against Herman Cain and others. It’s like clockwork and it’s really all the opposition has when they have nothing else. Again though, no one is talking about Bill Clinton’s adultery or sexual proclivities, but they need to if Trump’s are being discussed. It’s so painfully obvious what the opposition is doing but too many cannot see it. In that, Murillo is correct, but I believe he’s wrong on other counts.
Murillo finished his article by making the following statements:
We could stop this insanity if we unified against real—not imagined evil. If we could see our real duty in this election–if we could get over our false sensibilities and hurt feelings…we could save the country. The great heroes of our faith, who witnessed tyranny would grab us and shake to our core if they saw our apathy and naiveté in the face of this threat.
I am not fretting over the fate of Christianity. I am fretting over my nation. I know Christianity will survive without America, but America will not survive without Christianity. America…as you have known it will not survive Hillary Clinton.
There are a number of problems with his statements. However, I will only say that Murillo – like many others – seems to be ignoring God’s sovereignty completely. It appears to be the age-old problem of Christians who believe that unless we “do” something, God cannot/will not act; His hands are tied. He’ll only do something if we prove to Him by our actions that we want it badly enough. When taken as a whole, it is difficult to come away from the Bible with that perspective, especially in the arena of politics and social mores. Thanks to the error of Dominionism, it happens routinely though.
It seems very clear to me that God accomplishes His purposes even if only one person is available as in the case of Elijah. He also seemed to work easily enough when Pharaoh and his armies stood against Moses (and God). Murillo and too many others seem to believe that only when Christians unite against the enemy can God win and even then it’s a nail-biter. Murillo might deny that’s his message, but it seems all too clear. According to him, God is waiting for Christians to unite and act. Then He’ll take us seriously and help. It’s up to us though.
Will America be better off with Hillary? I’m convinced things will worsen. However, things worsened under President Obama and it seems to me, if nothing else, there were millions of American Christians praying that he would not be elected. God chose not to answer that prayer and things continue to move toward the Tribulation.
Some believe – rather than the Tribulation – life will gradually improve and Christianity will continue to spread throughout the world until the tipping point arrives when Jesus “can” return to physically rule over the world. I believe the Bible teaches the exact opposite. The world will continue to worsen until the Tribulation dawns (the final seven years of Daniels “70 weeks”). When that happens, things will really get bad and Jesus clearly points this out in His Olivet Discourse of Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21. Yet, Christians today act as though He never said that or meant something else by it.
The Tribulation will become the Great Tribulation, which will end when Jesus physically returns to this earth. He will then judge the nations (Gentiles), separating those who are alive and saved from those who are alive and unsaved. As an aside, if the Rapture is not supposed to happen until the end of the Tribulation as Jesus is returning (as some believe), why would there be any truly saved people and still on earth who would be judged righteous? If all the saved people were caught up in the Rapture as Jesus returns, why are there any left who are separated from the ones who are not saved? (cf. Matthew 25:31-46)
At any rate, this world will continue to worsen as the Scripture clearly teaches. Jesus did not say if we pray and/or work hard enough, we can change what’s coming. We do what we can and leave it in God’s able hands. We also accept His inevitable will.
Discussing politics on any social network is counter-productive. Even after this upcoming election is over, the political arguments, articles, and character assassinations won’t stop. Political angst will continue on social networks. If you’re a person who can easily ignore that, more power to you. I can’t, so the best solution for me was to leave.
It is enough that Christians today learn how to follow Jesus on a daily basis. People like Mario Murillo are “fretting over” America. He is concerned about the ultimate collapse of this nation. But neither America or any other nation will fall until God’s time arrives in spite of our best efforts.
Where is Murillo’s concern about the many lost souls who fall headlong into eternity without Christ every day? I hope he is concerned, but one would never know from his article. His stated concern is whether America will survive the coming “holocaust” of another Clinton administration. He thinks Christians are not doing enough, not fighting enough, not motivated enough to want any real change. Those are his conclusions and I believe they are wrong. He appears to completely underestimate God.
Murillo is ignoring God’s sovereignty. What does God want? What are His plans? If Hillary is elected, is it all an “accident” that would not have happened if Christians had not been so “gullible”? I have more faith in God than that.
Folks, we need to stop being sidetracked by politics. We do what we can and then we let it go and not lose sleep trusting in God’s sovereignty. Let’s keep focused on the task at hand…the Great Commission.
Theology and Politics from a Conservative, Biblical Perspective
Source: https://studygrowknowblog.com/2016/10/20/social-network-politics-are-too-much/
