What Happens When Politics Replace Jesus?
How to measure your life by God's standards, not party platforms.
Has your church ever disappointed you—or even angered you—because something it taught or did conflicted with your political convictions?
The answer, if you are anything like me, is “yes and it is really irritating when that happens.” That has gotten me thinking about how we measure what is good and right in our common life as a country and as individuals.
Recently, I saw a post from a pastor that noted, “People frequently quit their church because it doesn't match their politics, but rarely quit their politics because it doesn't match their faith." It’s uncomfortably true. Political allegiances or cultural preferences too often drive our beliefs and actions, rather than letting the Gospel shape our politics and cultural preferences.
Drifting From the Plumb Line
We’ve recently been walking with King David, a man who started his journey fully aligned with God's heart. Like many of us, David didn't set out intending to stray. But gradually, political expediency, social acceptance, and pride led him astray. He began measuring decisions by convenience and popular opinion instead of God’s standards, causing devastating harm to himself and others.
This isn't just David’s problem—it's ours too. We're constantly tempted to replace God's standard with something easier, more acceptable, and less costly (and not just in monetary terms).
Amos and the Danger of Prosperity
Around 760 BC, God sent the prophet Amos to the prosperous northern kingdom of Israel—a society experiencing wealth but riddled with corruption, injustice, and spiritual emptiness. Sound like any other society you may have heard of?
Amos received a vision of God holding a plumb line—a tool builders use to check if a wall is straight. God declared:
“I am setting a plumb line among my people Israel; I will spare them no longer.” (Amos 7:8)
Israel's leaders had built their lives crookedly, prioritizing wealth and convenience over God's justice. Ignoring the poor and hoarding wealth (Amos 8:4; 2:6), they violated their covenant responsibilities (Deut 24:17–22; 26:12–15). In essence, they were cheating on God and each other, trading mercy and righteousness for self-indulgence.
Not Left or Right—Gospel
This isn't about left-wing or right-wing politics—it's about the Gospel. Progressive and conservative platforms both fail when they ignore the poor, exclude others, or neglect care for life from conception until natural death. Political virtue signaling can't replace the Gospel's call for real mercy.
Even calls for justice or freedom miss the mark if compassion and accountability aren't balanced. The Gospel demands both caring deeply and challenging each other toward holiness and maturity. Virtue signaling and posturing allow self-indulgence to dominate our lives.
Beyond Paying Taxes
You don't get credit in heaven simply for paying taxes and assuming the government will handle everything. As followers of Jesus, we're called to make God's Kingdom present here and now.
When Amos confronted corruption, the priest Amaziah tried to silence him, perceiving Amos as a political threat rather than a divine corrective. Isn’t that our temptation too? When truth challenges our comfort zones, we label it as “woke” or “right-wing extremism” instead of confronting uncomfortable realities.
Practically Aligning with Jesus
God’s plumb line isn't an Old Testament relic—it’s the Holy Spirit’s ongoing work. Paul prayed for believers to live worthy lives, empowered by God's Spirit (Colossians 1:9–14). Aligning our lives with Jesus requires intentional effort and supernatural grace.
Consider the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25–37). Two respected religious leaders passed a beaten man, choosing ritual purity over mercy. Then came a Samaritan—an outcast—who compassionately cared for the man. True Kingdom compassion often emerges where we least expect it, beyond our cultural or political comfort zones.
Jesus' message is clear: the Gospel's plumb line is compassion, radical love, and actions crossing all boundaries. Gospel alignment transforms our morality, politics, and relationships. It means willingly quitting our politics when they conflict with our Savior.
How to Practically Measure Your Life
To measure if your choices align with the Gospel, ask:
"Does this make sharing Jesus easier or harder?"
"Am I honoring the freedom and responsibility Christ calls me to, or am I bound by partisan loyalties?"
One day we'll stand before Christ. Will our choices reflect His grace or our agendas?
Whose Plumb Line Are You Using?
Are you measuring life by the easy, crooked line of cultural conformity, political expediency, or pride? Or by Christ's demanding, life-giving standard?
Remember David: his drift caused great pain, yet grace restored him when he realigned with God. That grace waits for you today, ready to empower and restore you whenever you choose to realign your life around Jesus.
Let’s commit today to quit our politics whenever they don't match our faith—not the other way around.