Politics & Religion

It’s been a spell since Ernest Lee wrote anything and after some prodding, he has decided to try and write some drivel down.

Old Ernest Lee was taught to never discuss POLITICS and RELIGION. “It stirs people up,” Ernest Lee’s late dad would say. For years, I didn’t. I avoided talking about the two things that defined my values, my belief system, and what was important to me. Why did the Greatest Generation not discuss Politics and Religion? Here is my take:

(1) NOBODY WANTED TO OFFEND ANOTHER PERSON. That is a really worthy goal- to try and live as peaceably with your fellow man as you can. Paul told the church at Rome in Romans 12:18: If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men. Too many people now want to intentionally offend anyone who doesn’t agree with them. They pick fights. They view those who don’t as cowards. That attitude is a direct violation of Scripture.

(2) THEY RECOGNIZED THE TEMPORAL NATURE OF POLITICS! People who take politics so serious and get so riled up believe they can change the eternal decree of God by knocking one more door or making one more phone call. Those old timers in Ernest Lee’s day recognized they had a responsibility to be involved in their government, but GOD WAS IN CONTROL. The ‘works’ based crowd today think if they pray hard enough and work hard enough, they can change the mind of God. If they could, then He wouldn’t be God. Ernest Lee has heard political types talk about their activism as though it was changing eternity. Careful, there- God made one eternal DECREE and He hasn’t had to make adjustments because some politician won or lost an election. For more on the eternal decrees of God, go to: https://www.the-highway.com/decrees.html

(3) RELIGION AND THE GOSPEL ARE TWO DIFFERENT THINGS! Religion is defined as: the belief in and worship of a superhuman power or powers, especially a God or gods. Many of the old timers in Ernest Lee’s day didn’t have a clue there was difference between the divine redemptive plan (the Gospel) and religion. James says in 1:27:  Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world. That is a result of the working of the Holy Spirit in a believer’s life after regeneration- pure religion. John MacArthur has a three part series on Belief that Behaves that would benefit every believers. Here is the link: https://www.gty.org/library/sermons-library/59-9/the-belief-that-behaves-part-1

Ernest Lee discusses both politics and religion with a variety of people. Some he agrees with- others he doesn’t. In each exchange he attempts to exercise respect for a differing opinion. Ernest Lee doesn’t know everything, but he knows who does and it ain’t any human being on this earth today. No true believer should avoid discussing their values and personal convictions. While keeping quite might keep the peace, it doesn’t reveal to a lost world why a believer holds those convictions.