The following passage stuck out to me in my devotional reading today.

“Don??t have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels. And the Lord??s servant must not be quarrelsome but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. Opponents must be gently instructed, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will.” — 2 Timothy 2:23-26

Of all of it, verse 23 (which is bolded) stuck out: Don??t have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels. I think it leaped out at me because it’s election season here in the USA and the smear ads are incredibly plentiful. I also deal with people who have tried to pick fights on here (thank God for comment moderation) and who have called me all manner of names because I happen to support President Obama. It’s a hard thing some days to know that people who don’t even know me or who have talked to me are demonizing me.

I’m not saying that those with whom I disagree are the devil — I included the whole part of the passage for the sake of adding context but it did stick with me that I shouldn’t have anything to do with the fights being picked on Facebook and Twitter. I’ve refused to watch any of the debates because I already know how I’m voting and I’ve actually unfollowed people on Twitter during the debates so I don’t have to deal with reading things meant to pick fights. I’m staying away from certain blogs which are incredibly vitriolic toward anyone who doesn’t agree with them politically and I’m attempting to be judicious in anything I post here or on Facebook/Twitter.

Am I perfect? Not by a long shot. I’d love to post my thoughts on Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan but I’ve realized that I don’t think I could do it in such a way as to not come across as one of the people who I deem vitriolic. “Obamacare” has benefited my family greatly and while I may be theologically conservative, I’m socially moderate. Paul Ryan is too extreme for me and I cannot, in good conscience, vote for Mitt Romney. I have people of whom I am incredibly fond who think I’m deluded for supporting Obama. I can deal with that. My life would be pretty boring if I surrounded myself only with those who espouse all my opinions. What I cannot do, however, is get caught up in the nastiness that seems to be pervading this election.

So please, tell me if/when I ever cross the line.

Thomas of Listening for the Shepherd has some more excellent points to make regarding his upbringing in the 47% and how he moved past it. Go read.

You remember my friend Thomas who guest-posted for me? Would you be surprised to learn that we’re political opposites? I mean, *gasp* we can actually work together and come up with some solutions on an issue. Isn’t that impossible in our very polarized country?

I think the reason Thomas and I get along is that at the end of the day, the two of us truly respect each other. We might doubt the other person’s sanity in choosing to vote for the candidates we do but we both believe that the other person is capable of making an informed choice that has resulted from much prayer and deliberation. I have other friends like this as well. Mi amiga Jessica is a yellow dog Republican in the same way that I’m a yellow dog Democrat. We totally disagree on politics (and she doesn’t pull punches) but somehow we get through it. (We also are rivals when it comes to college football but that’s another story.)

As we are going through the next four weeks, could I ask that we (myself and my readership) resolve to not label each other as “libs”, “fascists”, or “bigots”? I know that a number of us disagree on abortion, contraception, homosexuality, economic stimulus, and other issues but we have to trust that the “other person” is making the best decision we can and is doing so after much deliberation.

Who is with me?