Those are the first lines to a Derek Webb song, and they ring true.

It is the first Wednesday in November, which means the US Presidential election is less that a year away.  Political posts can be spicy and dicey, so please don’t misunderstand me. I’m not attempting to tell anyone how to vote, I’m only trying to offer some things to consider as we engage and navigate the cultural and political environment in which we find ourselves.

Politics can solve problems, create problems, or complicate problems. It involves people, and so our expectations are invariably high, and rarely met. Haiti endures a deep political divide at the moment. Globally, there are uprisings in Chile, Lebanon, Hong Kong, and other places as well.

We have access to more information, on an almost immediate basis, than ever before in history. Too often all this information results in further entrenching ourselves in our ideologies rather than in increased empathy for others. As Christians, I believe we should take advantage of opportunities we have to influence policy, advance justice, and advocate for human rights. These are incredibly important issues are worth our time, energy, and effort.

However, we cannot forget where our hope is found. We cannot forget what true freedom means. Some might argue that even the culture in the United States is becoming increasingly hostile to Christians. Christians still maintain a great deal of power and influence in the US, so I think we should be cautious in connecting those dots. Regardless, Christians are expected to remain faithful, and, because of the indwelling Holy Spirit, Christians are expected to mature in their faith no matter the situation they find themselves. Whether believers are in Haiti or Chile or Hong Kong or Lebanon or the USA or anywhere in between, Christians, at all times and in all places, are to attempt to live lives of holy endurance in the face of suffering.

I thought of this recently as I read through the introduction of a commentary on 1 Peter. The audience in 1 Peter endured persecution, and while they didn’t have Facebook or 24 hour cable news, they had their fair share of uncertainty and trying to wrap their minds around injustice they endured as things were not as they were supposed to be.

The commentary author noted that newspapers and media in our current times today discuss the suffering in the world in the context of human rights and legality, then notes, “As important as these perspectives are to Christians today, however, it is instructive to note that Peter does not approach these questions from the point of view of human rights and legality. Rather, he approaches them from the point of view of our relationship to God. He tells us that Christians survive in a hostile environment not by legal proceedings against persecutors but by endurance; not by imposing a lifestyle on others through law but by living holy lives that compel others to watch us; not by destroying unbelievers with sound bites and innuendo but by respecting them even as we witness to the eternal truth of the gospel.”

I’ve been thinking about this quote 10 days since I read it, and I will try my best to think often in the next 364 days in order to remind myself that it is in Christ alone my hope is found. However engaged we are in political dialogue, however much we might feel caught in the crossfire of culture wars, however misrepresented we feel by others, the reality is we are Christ’s ambassadors, His very representation on earth. No political win is worth forfeiting our witness. Maybe it would do us well to read 1 Peter as we prepare for this political season and sort out our place in this strange, ever-changing world.