“If you don’t stand for something, you will fall for anything.”

Although I am sure that we are all familiar with this quote and the principles that it teaches, it necessitates repeating. All too often we find ourselves standing for things that are not godly and not even good things, probably because someone told us that this is what we should stand for, or even because we failed to think through what it was we were making a stand about.

In Psalm 1 the psalmist declares this:

Blessed are those
who do not walk in step with the wicked
or stand in the way that sinners take
or sit in the company of mockers,
but who delight in the law of the LORD
and meditate on his law day and night.

In what are we standing today? Are we standing where sinners dwell? Or are we standing in the law of the Lord? Now before we answer to quickly, let me rephrase this question a slighty different way: Are we standing in the biblical principles of God, or in political correctness and partisan politics?

Maybe now we don’t answer so easily!

You see, in this country, we seem to find our identity in our political persuasion over and above our identity in Christ. In fact, we often define our faith by our politics rather than allowing our faith to inform our politics.

Case in point: last night, Piers Morgan interviewed Rick Santorum and asked him a really poignant question about his faith and his stance on health care. Piers already knew where Santorum stood politically on this issue, but he wanted to know what his faith had to say about it. Although I am not surprised, Santorum did not answer according to his faith, he answered in accordance to his politics! For Santorum politically, universal health care is a no no. But had his answer been based on what the Word of God was saying, well, I am sure he would have lost his supporters.

But you see, God is a God of justice. We serve a God of mercy and compassion. He tells us, he admonishes us to look after the poor, the widow, the orphan and the alien otherwise known as immigrant in our land. No, the Word does not say anything specific about healthcare, but it says a whole lot about taking care of the poor and suffering.

People in this country, this world are suffering and dying due to injustice, poverty, oppression and exploitation. Are we standing for them? Are we standing for justice? Are we standing for the end of hunger and poverty? Are we standing up for the end of racism, classism, and sexism? Or are we staying silent because the political party we align ourselves with wants nothing to do with it?

We must come to realize that regardless of our politics, that justice is a central theme to the Word of God. When we stand on biblical, godly principles, we likewise find ourselves standing on principles that call for us to be concerned for the least of these. No matter how we twist it, God is a God of justice and stands in solidarity with those that we would so often like to forget exist. Are we standing with him, or are we standing in the path of sinners against him?

Remember to stop by amazon.com to get your copy of Dancing on Hot Coals.