Politics As an Idol

Conservatism and liberalism aren't problems in and of themselves. Neither is any other political ideology out there, or any that may come along later. The real problem begins when people don't put Christ first in their minds. If they don't, "politics" becomes idolatry. They are serving and following politicians before serving God.

Let's take a conservative. If, hypothetically / in theory, the Bible were to clearly and undeniably state that conservative ideas were wrong, this Christian conservative ought to be willing to get rid of those ideas, and follow Scripture. Have faith; God knows more than we do! If the person doesn't do that, they've made an idol out of their politics -- they refuse to give up that part of themselves, thinking they know better than God. Putting the Bible aside for their own way.

The same goes with a liberal. It's perfectly acceptable to be a liberal, as long as one is willing to be corrected by God. For example, if a person reads the Bible seeking to learn God's word, and they read the verses about homosexuality and still truly believe that God Himself allows gay marriages, then that is fine. However, if a second liberal sees these same verses and says, "Yes, the Bible says gay marriage is wrong, but I will not listen"; "I will promote gay marriage even though God says otherwise"; "These verses are just outdated"; etc, then this second person is sinning. The two people have the same political belief, but: the first person loves God's Word and seeks His wisdom; the second person is proud, thinking their sinful and imperfect wisdom is above the creator of the whole universe. It's not the political belief itself, it's the relation to God's word.

When anybody takes their political views and says, "I will give this to God", "I will follow this because God has taught me so", they are living out their politics as they should. When anybody takes their political views and says, "I will not give this to God", "The Bible is wrong about this one," and so on; when anybody feels a conviction about a Bible verse but ignores it; that's when idolatry starts and sin enters. It's never the political belief itself.