“Spiritual disciplines” are things we do to stay in love with God and grow in faith. They can be things we do alone or together; they can be ways to spend time with God or to serve others. As the people of Sylva First UMC share one of their spiritual disciplines with you each week, we hope it will inspire you to new ways of loving God and growing in faith.
Who will I vote for? What if I wanted to vote for Jesus in 2020? What is my priority? Whom do I serve?
Soon it will be our choice and responsibility to vote. In today’s charged political atmosphere, that feels like a decision of highest importance. Who leads us the next few years? How will the outcome affect our economy? Our relationships? Our personal beliefs?
There is much to be said about the importance of our political decisions. But where do they fit in my life when it comes to what is ultimately important given the priorities that Jesus has given me?
Serving, reaching people for the kingdom, seeing my life in the larger God picture rather than the quickly changing view of what is happening only to me – serving like that can change my world view and perspective on politics.
A couple of years ago I joined a volunteer group called United Christian Ministries (UCM). UCM is a nonprofit organized 30 years ago by our local churches to share some of their responsibility to serve the people in Jackson County that need food, financial, and spiritual support. I thought I understood about service having been part of leadership in many churches over the years. I’m learning that service is about reaching people in simple ways who are needy but who may never cross the threshold of a church. God has provided lessons about trusting Him for outcome and not being anxious about how I can affect the end result. Service is about reaching out to people that I may not agree with, look like, or act like but who Jesus loves at least as much.
That has led me to ask some important questions: How do I react when someone of different political beliefs confront me? Is my first reaction to argue? Is their eternal destiny more important to me than their politics? Whom will I serve? Do I even think about where they will spend eternity? Do I care enough to find out? Why am I more bold discussing politics than listening to the God voice that says that He loves every person the same matter what they believe?
Jehovah Nissi means God is my flag, the banner under on which I stand and live. As God leads my wavering heart, I choose to serve and vote for Jesus in 2020. How about you? What would that look like if we all made that choice?
Steve and his wife, Sheryle, moved to Sylva after retiring. They are an active part of Sylva FUMC and officially joined in 2018.
