Wednesday’s Column: Third’s Words
Gary Pollard
In this volatile political climate, many Christians face some uncomfortable dilemmas. Is party line a salvation issue? How do we handle seemingly irreconcilable differences? What do we do going forward?
Rather than delving into those questions, I’d like to focus on the attitude of the early church, which faced internal division–Jew/Gentile controversies like in Acts 15, opinions over cultural matters as seen in I Corinthians 8 and Romans 14, and external pressures.
In keeping with the spirit of the early church, let’s focus on the following list.
- We must focus on and grow our own spiritual culture, independent of our earthly nationality (while observing Romans 13).
- We must be faithful Christians who value being righteous, no matter the cost.
- We must manage our concerns and worries by spending MORE time with each other and developing our faith.
- We may need to see ourselves less as Americans and more as Christians. If we remember that our kingdom is the church first, we will be far more united.
- Be awesome citizens. When outsiders hear about us, it should be that we never cause trouble, we are loyal to each other, we are selfless, we help people, we have strong families, we rely on each other, we are pleasant to be around, we are dedicated to our faith, and we love people who treat us poorly.
- We must remember that priority number one is heaven. Everything else is second.
- We must avoid talking or posting on social media about non-salvation issues that can and do create division or offense, out of courtesy and respect for each other (Romans 14.1-4; 13ff).
If these are the things we worry about and focus on, no political division or any other heartburn-inducing unpleasantness can affect us. Besides being happier, we’ll be a stronger church!
The Preacher Pollard Blog 
So thankful to be a christian only!!! Thanks for this wonderful post and reminder, always!!!
Amen!