By Thomas Warren, Editor-in-Chief

Over the past few years, I have seen an uptick in the number of Amarillo political candidates that have placed a hyper-focus on religion and religious issues. As such, I have plenty of thoughts about it and I think it’s time we have a heart-to-heart about this increasingly common phenomenon in Texas Panhandle politics.

For some background, I am a devout Christian. I grew up as a member of a Methodist church in North Amarillo. I attended private Christian education for 12 years and I have continued to read, research, and ponder questions of faith since I graduated. As such, when I asked my now-father-in-law, a Baptist preacher, if I could marry his daughter, I was prepared when we had long discussions about theology, faith, and religion in the context of being a spiritual leader for a family. I feel that I am constantly chasing God’s plan for me. I know that as a sinner, I am unworthy of the love and sacrifices afforded to me. However, I also know that my salvation comes through my belief and conviction in Christ, and Christ alone.

With all of that being said, I feel happy with where I am with my journey in my faith. However, I am always trying to improve my relationship with God. I feel like your salvation and your commitment to your faith can’t be only a one-way street. You have to work at it, too, in order to further and better your relationship with Christ.

I don’t consider myself to be an expert on Christianity, but I do feel confident that I have a pretty firm foundational understanding of what my faith in Christ entails. And because of this, I have developed some pretty strong feelings about two distinct categories of religious pandering in local politics.

As I see it, the first group is what I would describe as “convenient Christians.” These politicians do great commercials standing behind the pew at their Church, or maybe they give a really nice prayer to open a meeting. However, when it actually gets down to it, you only see their faith come out when they are in a pinch or looking for votes. For me, the frustrating part isn’t so much the lack of outward showing of faith, but rather their lies, deceit, and actions that contradict what their faith preaches. After all, lying and thieving are wrong in Biblical terms. But that can be forgiven at election time, because they sure do give a nice prayer, don’t they?

The other group acts as something of a spiritual judge, jury, and executioner in local political terms. This group makes no buts about putting their faith out front, but if you disagree with many of this group’s members on any issue — even those not of religious substance — you cannot be nearly as holy and devout as they are. You will be called on to repent for your sins of daring to think differently than them on any issue or election.

I’ve seen a rise in both of these groups over the last couple of years, and I feel like both are just wrong. I don’t feel like it’s right to use your faith to pander for votes when you don’t conduct yourself in that manner outside of an election or controversy. Likewise, I think it’s wrong to assume that because you go to a hip church or think you’ve got a leg up in your spiritual journey then that means that you can be the sole arbitrator of what is holy and what is evil.

In my own opinion, I think that candidates and their supporters should go work for their candidates and campaigns and throw as much of themselves into the races as they can. They should pray for wisdom and the best result for our community. However, candidates and supporters also should remember that just because a candidate prays really well doesn’t make them the holiest of holies on the ballot. And just because you think you have a leg up on everyone else in the spiritual department, that doesn’t mean that your opponents are evil just because you disagree on the small issues.

We are all flawed people and we are all sinners. If you ask God for guidance, I firmly believe he will show you the right path. However, don’t call your neighbor an “agent of darkness” because he supports the wrong candidate and don’t assume that someone is God’s chosen candidate just because they look great in their pew at church.

Pray, ponder, research, seek counsel, and vote. If you pray for the best outcome for our community, I truly do believe God listens. I believe everything happens for a reason and is a part of his plan. However, sometimes you just have to throw away the distractions and listen. You might be amazed by what you could hear.