On Christ the solid rock?

 Some Christians are choosing to find solace in politics

“On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand.”

That refrain from “My Hope Is Built On Nothing Less,” written by Edward Mote in the early 1800s, still rings true today for those of us who profess belief in Christ.

Well, it should, but based on my perceptions of the evangelical community throughout 2016, there is nothing farther from the truth.

FAITH — The 2016 election cycle has created a rift within the Christian community. Photo credit: Caroline Sellers

FAITH — The 2016 election cycle has created a rift within the Christian community. Photo credit: Caroline Sellers

From Franklin Graham’s vehement support of Donald Trump to Deborah Fikes’ stepping down from her position as a board member of the National Association of Evangelicals to support Hillary Clinton, it seems as if the refrain of some of God’s people is “On America the not-so-solid rock I stand.”

I hear so many professing Christians talking about the importance of voting — or in some cases, not voting — that it sounds as if they think America is their salvation. If Christians actually believe Christ is their salvation, why do they have so much fear for the future of their nation?

I, just like any other American, care deeply about the state of our nation. I hope it changes, and I will do all I can do as a citizen to push the country in the direction I think it needs to go, but is the health of our country worth the health of our souls?

Just this past week as an RA, I had to deal with two students on my hall arguing over whether it was biblical to vote for Trump. The issue wasn’t the discussion but the heart behind it.

I could see that neither of them were willing to see the other’s side. They both firmly believed their opinions were biblical and were ready to argue them to the death.

I’ve even seen myself involved in the same arguments. As someone who initially refused to support Donald Trump and then decided not to vote at all, I often found myself not able to understand how a Christian could support a man of Trump’s character.

But in the same breath, how can a Christian refuse to “render to Caesar what is Caesar’s,” as President Jerry Falwell often speaks of?

Even as pastor Darryl Scott preached Friday in Convocation on why Christians must refuse to compromise their beliefs and values in a culture that is pressuring them to do so, a message ending with his wife telling the crowd why Trump is a Christian and deserves their vote, I noticed a disconnect. There were screams and applause, certainly, but there were those in the crowd who refused to support the speaker because of his support for Trump.

Why have we, the church, allowed politics to divide us as much as it has? I think we have forgotten the important distinction of where our citizenship lies. Our American citizenship falls secondary to our heavenly citizenship.

Throughout Scripture, we see over and over again that kings and kingdoms will fall, but God reigns forever.

He was God when Israel was in captivity to Egypt. He was God when Christians were being persecuted, thrown into coliseums with lions and burned at the stake in Rome. He was God when the Catholic Church murdered countless non-believers in the name of “religious crusades.”

And he will still be God whether Trump or Clinton become president.

American Christians must decide on which rock they stand, and fast, before they realize what they’re actually standing on is quicksand.

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Gee is a copy editor.

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