Somehow we keep allowing injustice to be called “politics.” I wonder if that's so we don’t have to call it sin. But sin doesn’t hide behind political jargon or even ballot boxes. Our overly personalized view of sin numbs us to the reality of how it impacts real lives. Epstein files. Broken and biased systems. Greed at the top. Children left behind. God help us not forget that when we shrug and say, “That’s just politics,” someone else is paying the price.
A cartoon brought tears to my eyes this week. The cartoon has a group of children holding signs that say, “Pleez Stop herting us!” and “Violence against children not nice.” The children have bandages over their heads, arms and legs. One child doesn't have legs. There looks to be an explosion behind them and a group of adults beside them. The adults have this to say: "Poor kids just don't understand politics."
How we would like to think that is only a cartoon. Our children don’t need a committee or a debate. They need us to act. Jesus didn’t always wait for a perfect plan. He saw suffering and stepped in. He also said, “Whatever you did for one of the least of these, you did for me." (Matthew 25) 
What we do or don't do matters to God, and has a real effect on other people.
These are not moments to stay comfortable. God’s kingdom is not neutral. It centers around justice and mercy and a love that moves, following the guide of the Holy Spirit. Every vote, every act of compassion, every refusal to turn away is a holy response to a world in desperate need.
Wake up!
See sin clearly enough to name it and resist it. Act against it. How can we let our politics keep us from our sacred call to love our neighbor? I imagine God’s heart breaks when vulnerable people suffer and God's people remain silent.
Stay blessed...john | 
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