Politics and Religion--not a mix.

I don't remember my Grandpa Rogers, Mom's dad. He died when I was 18 months old, but I heard stories about him. My dad used to say that G. P. (George Patton) loved to argue, especially politics and religion. Daddy, on the other hand, used to say that those were both subjects that you should stay away from in polite company. The last two weeks our Sunday School lessons have been on The Heaviness of Hatred and A Love Worth Giving. There have been so many thought provoking questions in the lessons that have made me repent for harboring resentment against people that I need to let go of. Some of the resentment has been because of my political beliefs that differ from some of the people that I work with and am acquainted with. I resent being told that you can't be a Christian and a Democrat; I beg to differ. I'm pro-life-- entire life. We shouldn't expect women to give birth to children because we think it is a sin to have an abortion and then expect that woman to "pull herself up by her bootstraps and take care of herself and the child." We need to use some of our taxes to educate or train her and to make sure the child she gave birth to has health care and an education. I believe in taxes for the greater good.
I'm very firm in my religious convictions; there is nothing I need to argue with anyone about because "I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I've committed unto Him against that day." However, when you add today's climate of politics and religion together, there is much to argue about.
I'm really glad that Daddy and Jason are not here to witness the politics of the day.
My daddy was a yellow dog Democrat, and Jason was a Republican. I don't think they ever discussed politics, but if they had, Pa would have looked at Jason differently for the first time. My dad thought Jason was perfect and to find that they had different political beliefs would have rocked Daddy's world. Jason knew Daddy's convictions and believed that he was just a stuborn old man.
In the 80's politics and religion got combined when the Republican party (this is my opinion right now) decided they needed some more people. They had traditionally been known as the party of the wealthy, so they became aligned with the religious right and the gun control groups. We have seen several of the politicians who used the religious right to get elected fall in disgrace in recent years. God will not be mocked. I don't believe that all Republicans fall into this category, but if they are, they will be exposed. I have always been moderate in my political convictions, but as a public school teacher, I lean much closer to the Democratic party. I see too many of my students living in poverty under no fault of their own. I can't stand to think about a hungry child. I want to help them if I can, but the need is too great for me alone. I need the help of the nation. I'm overjoyed when one of the most impoverished students continues his or her education and become a contributor to society.
Again I believe firmly in taxes for the greater good, which is a principle of the Democrats. I converted completely to this ideology after my parents became retired and were old enough for Medicare. My mom spent two and a half weeks in the hospital before she died. She was in intensive care in St. Anthony's hospital for a week and a half. Because she had Medicare and a supplement, we paid absolutely nothing out-of-pocket. After she died, I took care of my dad's finances, medical care...everything. Dad spent his first night in the hospital when he was seventy--seven years before Mom's death. He had a heart attack, needed by-pass surgery, and because he had Medicare and a supplemental policy, he paid nothing out-of-pocket for this very expensive procedure. For some reason the amount 35,000 comes to my mind, but I'm not sure about that.
Two weeks after Mom died, Daddy had a stroke and then developed pneumonia. He spent several weeks in the hospital and needed a couple of surgical procedures to get him through that. Because of his stroke he could no longer work, so the VA started purchasing his medicine, hearing aids, glasses. Later in his life he had two knee replacements--requiring weeks of in-patient physical therapy, both eyes fixed because of cataracts, his esophogas stretched, two rotor rooter procedures, and a colonoscopy. Then he broke his hip and spent weeks in the hospital and rehab.
If I added all of the medical expenses of my parents together in a thirteen year period, the taxes my brother, my sisters, and I paid in would not have paid their medical bills. I became a patriot all over again then; I became so thankful to be American. All I had to do was watch news reports of people in other countries who needed medical care and had no access to it. I lived under constant stress for the seven years I took care of my dad. Allison still had two years of high school, and Carson was in middle school and early high school. Daddy died when Carson was a sophomore. I cannot imagine the added stress if we had had to worry about how to pay for the medical care my parents needed. Momma and Daddy had been good citizens, patriots. Daddy joined the Army during WWII, and Mom worked at Douglass AFB as a "Rosie" while also raising my oldest sister and my brother alone. My mom worked most of her life, except for a few short years when she stayed home when I was little. She mostly worked so that we could have insurance and for retirement because Daddy was self-employed. I would so have resented a government that turned its back on them, but I didn't have to.
Now back to the SS lessons. When I hear some state that you can't be a Democrat and a Christian, I get angry at the person. They are voicing an opinion, and just because that opinion differs from mine, I shouldn't resent that person-a person who is my Christian brother or sister.
Jesus gave a love worth giving. One of the things suggested in the lesson today was to take the scripture I Corinthians 13: 4-8. It's familiar to anyone who had attended a wedding in recent years; it's call the love chapter. Now see if you can put your name in the places where Love is. You certainly can put Jesus' name there, but I can't put mine.
Debbie is patient and kind. Debbie is not jealous, Debbie does not brag, and Debbie is not proud. Debbie is not rude, is not selfish, and does not get upset with others. Debbie does not count up wrongs that have been done. Debbie is not happy with evil but is happy with the truth. Debbie patiently accepts all things. Debbie always trusts, always, hopes, and always remains strong.
As a born-again believer, I can't be satisfied until that paragraph can be said about me. God has so much work to do to make me like Jesus. I have so far to go.