American Politics – chris cribari blog

Photo Cred: (1) | Updated: 2/3/2024

Sermon Prep

Similar to the previous sermon I shared, this was a season where it’s a more melancholy time compared to the mountaintop experience of the honeymoon high. Again, lots of great and good changes happened in this time too. We were apartment shopping and began getting ready to move, which was amazing! We were in the beginning stages of our marriage and that was wonderful as well. I was in a men’s morning small group with my father-in-law that I loved.

And yet the work environment was escalating. Around this time we had a meeting with a C-suite executive at my former company and that permanently muddied the waters of trust. It was one of those meetings that was supposed to reassure people they weren’t going to be let go in the New Year and yet afterwards everyone had the same thought: we’re being laid off next year.

What only added to the distrust was the mixed messaging we heard from those in higher-up meetings and what was told to us directly. Rarely was it the same thing we heard. This was a long month for me.

Now back to the sermon prep, I think all of the sermons from this series in particular feel surface-level. None of them I think were good messages and I think with hindsight I can now see why. For starters, I wasn’t invested and diligent enough to grasp these Scriptures fully. I was too invested in saving my skin in the final quarter of the year and overwhelmed by the pressures of the season to be faithful in this area.

The other reason is more forgivable and that would simply be a lack of life lived to exposit these critical passages in the Bible. How can your average 20-something American preach on the meaninglessness of life? I was barely 25 then and as I’m almost 27 now, I don’t know if I can properly express what one of the wisest men on Earth meant when he wrote these things.

Lastly, I’m a meditative teacher. I can’t pray, prep, and present a sermon within a small window of time. I’m not gifted like other preachers in that way. I have to dwell and remain with a passage of Scripture before I ever share it. Otherwise, I never get to the meat of the message. Speaking of meat, here’s the notes from this sermon:

Sermon Notes

Opening Line

I love political ads. They’re so fun.
We live in an unjust society with a political system poisoned by the power-hungry.

Intro

Read Ecclesiastes 3:16-4:3, 5:8-9

Transition To Main Point

Justice and politics is meaningless without Jesus.

Main Point

Justice is meaningless
Ecclesiastes 3:16-17
Life isn’t fair, but we know it should be fair.

We’re just like animals
Ecclesiastes 3:18-22
In the animal kingdom, the law of the land is reciprocity and revenge.
We want what’s just for me, not justice.

Politics is meaningless
Ecclesiastes 4:1-3, 5:8-9
We were made for the Garden of Eden, but live in the Garden of Gethsemane.
Broken order bleeds chaos.
Checks and balances enables oppression.

Why It Matters

Without Jesus, chaos cannot be brought to order and wrongs cannot be made right.
With Jesus, we can make sense of justice and politics in our world.
Read Isaiah 55:6-9, 57:15b.

“Seek the Lord while he may be found; call upon him while he is near; let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the Earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts… I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the Spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite.”
Isaiah 55:6-9, 57:15b (See also Psalm 103:11)

Today, Jesus is gentle and lowly to those who suffer in our broken world.

One day, Jesus will judge evil and the wicked as he commands chaos into order.

Final Thoughts

Given the current political climate and polarization in the world, a sermon like this just doesn’t cut it. Yes, there’s good stuff here and yet I wasn’t empathetic enough to those who have been harmed by systems that suppress them. I didn’t take the care again that these messages require.

This series isn’t my favorite that I’ve been apart of at Reunion Church, although I remember our Table Talks going great so there’s that. But even in my nitpicking, the message was shared and that’s what ultimately counts. Not my feelings but rather my faithfulness in sharing God’s word. With that, Godspeed and Jesus bless.

Footnotes

https://www.pexels.com/

Photo Cred (1) | Updated: 9/23/2019

So I’ve been asked several times by others my opinion on politics and I usually never give them an in-depth answer to those questions. From police brutality to immigration, I’ve been asked what my views are on many political topics. What I usually do is provide possible solutions, but never really say what I believe on a given subject matter. Not that I don’t care about politics, but I’d rather have an opinion after personal research before going public with my view on any given topic.

What I mean by that is I would rather look into an issue on my own before giving my opinion on anything political due to the vitriol reaction that seems to be the only response that anyone can give online. When it comes to subjects that I am not sure where I stand, I’d rather talk it out in-person. When I do have a firm idea of where I stand on an issue, then I’ll usually go about talking on that issue online with no hesitation.

With all that said, I do not side with one of the two binary American political parties (Democrats and Republicans) or any political party for that matter. I believe in voting for individual people, not for a political party. I have no allegiance to any political party and I do not think I ever will.

Honestly anyone who is running for political office that is associated with a particular political party means very little to me. This is because during the campaign trail, a candidate will promise lots of great stuff and then when they get into office they only get about a third of it done. Even then, what is actually accomplished is corroded by donors, PACs, Super PACs, and any other special interest group hoping to get their hands on a new bill or law. There are just too many cooks in the kitchen and that affects every branch of American politics.

If I had to summarize my political worldview in one sentence, then I would say that I am for life, liberty, and the pursuit of God. Now let me explain each part of my political worldview in more detail. Let me start with why I am for life.

Life

I am for life in many regards. I am for the protection of endangered species, marine conservation, protecting national parks, and environmentalism in general. The more we do as a species to protect the environment, the better our lives will be for future generations to come.

I am also pro-life, which means that I am against both abortion and euthanasia. The only case where I would be for abortion is when the life of the mother is at stake, then I would say abortion is okay. This sort of situation can occur due to any number of problems like an ectopic pregnancy where internal, life-threatening bleeding could kill the mother.

I am for abortion in these rare situations because the chances of the mother surviving from said problems during the course of a pregnancy are much higher than the chances of the baby. If I had to theoretically choose between an abortion to save the mother’s life or going on endangering the life of the mother and the baby, then I would advocate the abortion option. Saving one life is better than risking the death of two lives.

I am for life in the justice system. For the equal treatment of all types of people whether in arrests, investigations, prosecutions, or any other aspect of the judicial process. All people were created equal and hence all people should be treated equal with the utmost respect for their human dignity.

I want to see prison reform in the sense that the punishment should equal the crime, but that life should be respected at all costs. Measures should be taken for those that are truly done with their life of crime and want to live in society again in a proactive way. Measures such as more community service and less time in prison for crimes that do not deserve a prison sentence. If people are willing to change their ways, then they should be given opportunity on a case-by-case basis to get their life on the right path.

The death penalty, also known as capital punishment, I believe should only be implemented for certain criminals like child molesters, mass shooters, serial killers, and serial rapists. Because they have lost all respect for other life, I believe that these types of people should not live. By taking their life through capital punishment, we can potentially save the lives of countless others.

When it comes to healthcare and UBI (Universal Basic Income), I believe that we as a nation have the capacity to provide the most basic needs free of charge to legal citizens. Not every expense, but the bare necessities. I’m still working through in my own mind how that could work, but I think there is a way that would benefit almost everyone. I do believe in some form of UBI and universal healthcare being implemented in American society. Yet these two beliefs are not as refined as my other beliefs, so grant me grace in that regard.

Liberty

I am for liberty in a lot of ways. Liberty for all to live however they see fit as long as it does not infringe on the liberties of others. For the sake of time I’ll just share two examples: free speech and marriage. Let me start with marriage.

I believe that anyone can marry whoever they want as they are both consenting and adults. I may disagree with who marries who, but that does not mean that said people cannot get married in America. For instance, an LGBT+ couple should have the freedom to get married whenever and however they want, but that does not mean that I agree with their decision to get married. I affirm everyone’s freedom to choose, but not their choices within said freedom. Nevertheless, two consenting adults in America can marry whoever they love.

Then again, I believe that certain social traditions should not be operated by the government like marriage. I do not believe that marriage should be done through the government in any capacity. It’s a decision between two people and the witnesses chosen to uphold that couple’s vows. The government doesn’t need to be involved in marriage.

I am for liberty in the sense of free speech. I believe everyone should have the freedom to express themselves in any verbal way that they wish. Free speech should only be limited when a minor is involved because certain speech can affect their growth as individuals like verbal abuse or mature subject matter that is simply not appropriate for them to hear at their current age. This stance of mine on free speech applies to both in-person and online communication.

Also, the obvious things like yelling “bomb” at an airport or shouting “fire” at a movie theater shouldn’t be said either. Outside of that, let discourse and discussion thrive through the civil expression of ideas. With proper social cues and standard politeness, anything can and should be said.

Without free speech, I wouldn’t even be able to write this blog-post without punishment from the government. Let that sink in the next time you wish certain speech was removed from society. One of the signs of a healthy community is the disagreement between two people on a belief or idea, yet the respect they have for each other as human beings. Freedom must always be greater than fear. If not, we lose everything.

The Pursuit of God

Now of the three pillars of my political worldview, this final pillar does require some explaining. There was a man named John Locke who argued that everyone is entitled to life, liberty, and property (2). In the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson wrote that we are “endowed by [our] Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” Although I do believe that property should be an unalienable right as it is a basic human instinct to have shelter and that happiness can be a good thing, I believe that the pursuit of God matters more. That’s why I have altered this saying to include the pursuit of God instead of either property or happiness into my political worldview.

For it is in the pursuit of God that one can find the greatest joy imaginable: ultimate meaning, purpose, and value. With property, a basic human need is met, but that cannot replace the inner void within those who have not known God. What is the point of having shelter to stay alive, if you do not know why you are alive in the first place? For me, the pursuit of God supersedes the right to property.

Happiness cannot be the answer either because it is completely subjective. It’s a neat idea, but in practice no one and that includes the government can sustain your desire to be happy. For happiness like all other emotions doesn’t last long. I would rather have lifelong joy pursuing God than situational satisfaction rooted in nothing but my current mood. When it comes to politics, I stand firmly for life, liberty, and the pursuit of God.

In conclusion, these are not all of my views within politics. I haven’t even gotten to the economy, gun control, the minimum wage and maximum wage debate, recreational and medical drug use, transgender military participation, or everything else for that matter. But I think this should give some of you a good idea of where I stand on certain issues.

It’s a work in progress and these views are in a constant flux as I learn more each and everyday, so don’t be surprised if they change eventually. In time, all things will work together for those that trust in God for their life and liberty. With that, Godspeed and Jesus bless.

Footnotes

Tag: American Politics

Ecclesiastes: Justice and Politics is Meaningless | 10-16-2022

Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of God