Can I be a Politically Correct Christian?
Have you ever tried to be politically correct, but really felt disingenuous? How do we people please but live out the truth or live gracefully? Recently, I had that exact predicament. How can I be a politically correct Christian? I want to share what God shared with me, with you.
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links for your convenience. We may receive a commission if you click a link at no additional cost to you. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Please check out our privacy policy for more details.
Is being Politically correct Biblical?
No one likes to enter into a conversation and talk about a hot button issue, but the reality is that sometimes those talks do come up. An organization that I am apart of does a lot of volunteering and recently, we were looking at venues to offer our time to.
Well, without even thinking about a hot button issue, I had looked into helping out at a Biblically based organization that is right in the line of fire for the Lord.
It hit some of the leaders buttons in the organization.
Right away, I felt the heat. It literally made my heart pound as I faced the reality that this group may be worried about being politically correct Christians versus biblically correct Christians. Just like any other political conversation, a line in the sand is drawn and people take sides. #awkward
But I don’t want to force my beliefs on others, so now what?
Let me share that I am a passive agressive, people pleaser. I hate to stir the pot or watch someone else do it. Conflict makes me cringe and sick to my stomach for the most part.
However, I knew this was something God was calling me to draw attention to. I prayed and prayed for His wisdom, as I felt like the only one standing for the truth.
He will baptize you in the Holy Spirit and fire, whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly cleanse his threshing floor, and will gather the wheat into his barn; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” Luke 3:16-17 WEB
As a group, we sorted out the details and those who felt lead to serve, were able to serve. Those who didn’t, didn’t.
I realized after the many polite and calm conversations with the other leaders that God lead us through a sensitive issue with Him in our chats. There is no way that we would have been able to negotiate all the details without His answers.
what God taught me about being politically correct
In this situation, I realized that being politically correct isn’t Christ-like. Christ, Himself was thrown under the bus by the masses over and over. He wasn’t in the “in” crowd.
Jesus said offensive things to high powered Jewish leaders. He called them out; He wanted them to change. Jesus went against the grain.
It made me realize that He hasn’t called us to say, “Eh, you do you.” He called us to show the way He set before us.
When it is politically correct to sin
Recently, I saw a saying that said, “If the Bible calls it a sin, your opinion doesn’t matter.”
A light bulb went off… The current culture supports us in sharing our opinion and how we feel. Most of us share almost daily on blogs, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram about how we’re living our lives and how we are feeling.
It honestly doesn’t matter if I am “Pro This” or “Anti That”, what did God say about it?
Am I in His Word enough to know His thoughts on it? If not, I will be thrown by these conversations.
Do you have a Bible you understand? If not, check out my list of the Best Bibles for Every Age and Understanding.
Politically correct Christian: i will answer for my actions
My biggest fear as we creep up on the end times is that I will be fooled in any way by the devil or shaken.
As I said, I hate conflict, so during these conversations with the other leaders, I had dissonance… I have been with this organization for years and have made a lot of wonderful friends. However, I knew what God has said about this issue. What to do, what to do…
Then, God had someone come on the Christian radio station I was listening to and share her testimony. She was a quadriplegic who just wanted to give up. In her story, she shared that she was sick of the sponge baths from others, the difficulties and the pain. She told the Lord that she just wanted to go to heaven and have it all be over with.
Next, she shared that He reminded her that in Him all things are possible and she does have the strength to make it until He is ready to take her home.
In that moment, it was clear to me that God was sharing hope with me, too. He was telling me to keep my head up and stay the course. (If only He always talked to us through the radio, am I right?!)
How do we judge the controversy?
So, what is a practical way to judge those controversial issues? If we can’t trust our own gut instincts or upbringing on them, how do we know?
When I disagreed with my friends/the other leaders in this situation, it made me realize that I had to take all of my personal experiences and views out of the equation and theirs. Step back and read the Bible.
What do the Ten Commandments have to say about it? Do my views conflict with any of the commandments, then that’s the wrong view. End of story.
Even though I want to trust my own opinions or that of my friends, I can’t.
I know some people think the Bible is outdated. I think we are just so far from God that it doesn’t look like the truth anymore.
Politically Correct Christian: How to reach the opposition
First of all, everyone’s version of politically correct is subjective. Let’s face it. We’re all a bunch of sinners with no compass without the Lord Jesus Christ.
So, a sin is a sin whether or not it is politically correct in a group of sinners or not. The Bible needs to be my guide, not the current culture.
These “sides” and controversies are God’s way of preparing our hearts, minds and ways to become more righteous and prepare us for heaven. He is separating the wheat from the chaff.
If you want to be of any influence on someone who has the opposite view of you, live for Christ and in His love. Stay loving and stand strong, have faith and pray!
The best part is that we don’t have to worry about changing their mind and hearts, God can do that!
If you’re wanting to learn more about gracefully interacting with other Christians when you can’t agree, read what Chris VanderWeide has to share here.
I love this! We should weigh everything against Scripture and what God has said, not how we feel <3
Amen, Brina!
Hey Jenna, Ultimately, the Word of God is the be-all, end-all. Unfortunately we live in a time when people are offended at whatever a Christian has to say. But we don’t have to answer to those people. In the end we’ll stand before God. We know that we’ll face criticism, but Jesus told us we would. The best thing to do is stand for the truth and pray that we can be a positive influence and witness.
Oh, this is a real challenge in our world today! We want to be kind and gentle with our words, but we also want to stand for truth. I think you hit the nail on the head here, it’s not about our personal perspectives, it’s about what God says is truth!
Thanks, Katrina… It was stressful, but God is faithful!
Great post! I’m regularly teaching my students that we have to know God’s truth and stand by that regardless of what culture says. Unfortunately, it’s difficult for these young teens to recognize the truth when they’re bombarded by lies that are called truth.
Yes, that is so true (and sad), Beth… We have to diligently be in the Word to know the truth, or it will easily be fooled.
Loved this! It’s so hard for me to navigate this as well and I hate conflict, too! Everything put against the backdrop of God’s Word is the best place to land. Thank you for these awesome insights!!
Thank you, Erin!! I agree conflict is hard and I have to pray for courage…
Two thoughts, Jenna…I’m currently reading “The Jesus I Never Knew” by Philip Yancey and, of course, he talks about how Jesus is not kind and sweet Mr. Rogers but was a real radical in his time. So , I sat up and took notice when you mentioned that Jesus didn’t worry about offending leaders. I wonder if God is trying to tell me something…
The other thought is sometimes it’s hard to know what the truth is. Yes, I read and study the Bible, but I’m no theologian and so I rely on others that I trust to interpret some of the really tough issues. For example, the whole LGBTQ debate. It’s hard to know what’s right when both sides use convincing arguments, sometimes using the same scripture! I’ve prayed about this countless times and all I hear is that popular saying “You just love them, I’ll sort them out later.” So that’s what I’m doing.
Thank you for the provocative post!
Thank you for sharing, Nancy! It is hard… I find myself digging in deeper until I hear His voice. 🙂
“I know some people think the Bible is outdated. I think we are just so far from God that it doesn’t look like the truth anymore.”
Ooo-eee! You hit the nail on the head, there. This is an honest, brave, and kind post. Good job!
Thank you, Sara!! <3