I Have This Friend…Who Votes Differently Than Me | I Have This Friend, Part 8

IHTF, pt 8 – I have this friend who votes differently than me

What does my friend think, feel, or believe…

Your friend may have very different views than you when it comes to the economy, foreign
policy, abortion, sexuality, guns, etc. There are issues that, for a Christian, should be non-negotiable (sanctity of life, stance on marriage and human sexuality), and there are issues that can remain open-handed (foreign policy, the economy, views on war, maybe even capital punishment, etc).

It’s important to know how tightly we should hold onto certain issues, what the Bible says about those issues, and how to communicate our views with another human being with grace and kindness.

What does the Bible have to say…

Ephesians 4:1

I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called,

John 13:35

By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

John 17:22b-23

…that they may be one even as we are one, 23 I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.

Romans 12:9-18

Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. 10 Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. 11 Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. 12 Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. 13 Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality. 14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. 16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. 17 Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. 18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.

Let love be genuine.

Abhor what is evil;

Marriage

Genesis 2:20-24

The man gave names to all livestock and to the birds of the heavens and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper fit for him. 21 So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. 22 And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. 23 Then the man said,“This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.”24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.

Matthew 19:4-5

He answered, “Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, 5 and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and holdfast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’?

1 Corinthians 7:2

But because of the temptation to sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband.

Hebrews 13:4

Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous.

Mercy & Compassion for the foreigner

Leviticus 19:33-34

“When a stranger sojourns with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong. 34 You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself,for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.

The Sanctity of Human Life

Genesis 1:26-27

Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness…27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.

Psalm 139:13-14

For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.14 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.

Caring for the needs of the poor
Matthew 25:35-40

For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ 37 Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? 38 And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? 39 And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ 40 And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’

How do I have meaningful conversations with this friend…

Be Christ-like

3 Destroyers:

1. Project a judgmental attitude

2. Choose politics over evangelism

3. Become a social media politician

3 Helpers:

1. Find points of agreement

“As believers of Jesus Christ we are all members of the same political party; we are monarchists who are waiting for their king to return.” – From got questions.org

1 Corinthians 9:22-23

To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. 23 I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings.

2. Remember the Golden Rule

1 Peter 4:11

whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through JesusChrist. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

3. Keep the main thing the main thing

What is one prayer that I can consistently pray for them…

“Lord, help the image of God in me, see the image of God in others. Help me be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger. Help me be a person who doesn’t burn bridges but builds a relational bridge strong enough to share the truth of the Gospel. And help me keep the main thing the main thing. Help me be known for God’s amazing grace in my life and what you’ve accomplished on the cross.”

What next step do I need to take…

1. Start with Scripture to form you opinions

2. Keep the main thing the main thing

3. Inspect the bridges that you are building with others