The Six Myths Christians Believe About Politics

Posted by Jim_Daly Sep 12, 2012

After nearly a year of toiling away on the project, my latest book, ReFocus: Living a Life that Reflects God’s Heart, will be released next month.

What’s it all about?

I don’t want to give it all away, but if there is one theme woven throughout all the pages of the book, it would be this:

Are we more concerned with shaping (and winning) the debate than we are with shaping and refining our own attitudes toward the world?

If we're going to help win people to the heart of Jesus, it's critical that our own hearts are wedded to His.

In many ways, it’s an age-old question, this matter of what really motivates cultural engagement. But it’s a critical one that we must get right if we are to live an authentic faith.

I’ll be sharing more about the project in the coming weeks, but for now, and on a related note, I wanted to highlight some insight that mirrors many of my own thoughts. Daniel Weiss is a former Focus colleague and the founder and chairman of the Brushfires Foundation. This new organization’s mission is bold and very much needed:

To help people discover and live out God’s beauty and purpose for sexuality and relationships by advocating transformational change at a personal level and equipping transformed people to spark change in others.

During his tenure at Focus, Daniel addressed the dangers of pornography and sexual addiction and worked to help shape public policy that confronted the evilness of sexual sin. As you can imagine this is a heavy-duty and often oppressive subject to tackle. He often encountered people who would rather look the other way for any number of reasons. From that experience, Daniel has culled several lessons, which I’m eager to share with you:

Six Myths of Cultural Engagement

In a society constantly engaged in a “culture war,” a number of harmful myths keep people from connecting with those around them in a healthy way.

Myth 1: Nothing can be done.

Truth: More can be done than we can possibly imagine if we let God lead and follow where He goes.

Myth 2: We must be loud, vocal and visible.

Truth: If we truly want people to hear us, we must be humble, personable and subtle.

Myth 3: Getting angry is the path to success.

Truth: People are only going to join a hopeful cause that emphasizes positive engagement with the world.

Myth 4: We must fight the darkness.

Truth: We must increase the light by presenting the good, true and beautiful story that changes lives.

Myth 5: Success comes from the top down.

Truth: Lasting change begins at the personal level and grows among others as they encounter transformed individuals.

Myth 6: We must change others.

Truth: Only by first changing ourselves will we have something to say that’s worth hearing.

**

Do you resonate with this list? How are you engaging the culture around you? Do you find yourself shying away from "political" talk these days out of a fear of offending somebody? I'm curious: have you seen some positive examples of people effectively engaging culture in a winsome way?

It is time for Christians to exhibit a humble spirit of boldness. It is time to realize that we have nothing to fear as long as we place our trust in Him.

ALSO:  What Do You Tell Your Children About 9-11 and A Child's Ten Commandments to Parents

Follow me on Twitter @Dalyfocus

Follow me on Facebook

Keep up with Focus on the Family on Facebook