“Rom. 14:1 As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions. ² One person believes he may eat anything, while the weak person eats only vegetables. ³ Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains, and let not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats, for God has welcomed him. ⁴ Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand.

Rom. 14:5   One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. ⁶ The one who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord. The one who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, since he gives thanks to God, while the one who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God. ⁷ For none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. ⁸ For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s. ⁹ For to this end Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.

Rom. 14:10   Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God; ¹¹ for it is written,

             “As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me,

                        and every tongue shall confess to God.”

Rom. 14:12   So then each of us will give an account of himself to God.

Rom. 14:13   Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother. ¹⁴ I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself, but it is unclean for anyone who thinks it unclean. ¹⁵ For if your brother is grieved by what you eat, you are no longer walking in love. By what you eat, do not destroy the one for whom Christ died. ¹⁶ So do not let what you regard as good be spoken of as evil. ¹⁷ For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. ¹⁸ Whoever thus serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men. ¹⁹ So then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding.” (Romans 14:1-18, English Standard Version)

A very sharp guy at the chess club said a very wise thing the other night. One of the players was getting a bit too political in his questions, and my chess-playing friend said, “I don’t talk about politics in public. I leave politics in the voting booth.” He didn’t say it meanly, but he said it firmly, as if he meant it. The conversation swiftly turned to other things.

This reminded me of something I was frequently told by my parents when I was a boy: “Never talk about religion or politics.” (Sex could have been included among the taboo topics, except for the fact that even the word “sex” was not to be spoken.)

Nowadays, we talk about everything—incessantly. Perhaps we should consider reinstating the old rule of thumb. Much of our talk lacks not just nuance, but substance. We have strong opinions, but we baptize them and rename them convictions. The next step is for our opinionated convictions to become truth. Not our truth, but the truth.

In the passage from Paul’s letter to the Romans that leads off this post, Paul discusses divisions within the Roman Christian community. Some of the Jesus-followers were insisting it was either their way or the highway. Paul reminded them that neither way was the Jesus way. It’s a good reminder for us as well.

Now, neither my friend at chess club nor I are saying that we should never discuss politics or religion (or even sex) at all in any setting. My friend is a history teacher. He seeks to help his students to engage in critical thinking about political issues. We need to engage thoughtfully in discussions about all kinds of issues.

However, critical thinking isn’t what goes on these days in most political discussions. In fact, even the word “discussion” is a euphemism for rants and tirades and demonizing the opposition. Such things shouldn’t be left in the voting booth. They should be put in the garbage can.