The Art Of Religion Book

How Deep Are The Roots Of Your Christian Values?

By Dennis Mitchell……5/25/26

Two of the most sensitive personal topics, that should always be treated with great respect when writing or speaking about them, are politics and religion. Today, I would like to address the issue of how politics can affect our personal “Christian Values,” from the perspective of an unbiased investigative reporter.  

A short time ago, I read a media report about a Michigan State Representative named Karen Whitsett. The article described her as a Black female Democrat and Christian who had announced earlier this year, that instead of running for re-election, she was going to resign her position and step away from politics.    

Representative Whitsett went on to describe a deep moral dilemma that she had been wrestling with for some time. She stated that the main core issues that affected her decision, were based on the Democratic Party’s stance on supporting issues such as, “abortion, LGBTQ+, identity, and gender ideology.”  

In a very repentant fashion, Representative Whitsett basically went on to say that she could no longer reconcile with Scripture, her continued support of those Democratic Party policies and ideologies. Then she added, “For me, it is impossible to be a faithful follower of Jesus Christ while remaining a member of the Democratic Party as it exists today.”

Representative Whitsett then responded with an interesting answer, after being asked if she would then become a Republican. She asserted that her choice to step away from politics, was to help “Instill her fidelity to Christian Truth, not partisan allegiance.” 

Reading that article prompted me to remember an interesting phone call that I received several years ago, from an unknown female caller. The phone call began with an invitation to a free dinner, that would be followed by a dance.  The concept intrigued me enough to stay on the phone long enough to learn more details.

 It did not take long to discover that the dinner-dance event was being sponsored by the local Democratic Party in my hometown. Once I realized who was sponsoring the event, I respectfully declined her invitation. Unfortunately, my rejection of her invitation caused an immediate shift in attitude from the caller. Her personal vibes changed from being very friendly to acting somewhat irritated.  

She asked me what possible reasons I could have for turning down a free invitation to what she considered a first-class event. I tried my best to explain my reasons of why I did not want to associate myself with the Democratic Party. Most of those reasons aligned with what Representative Whitsett had spoken of in her resignation speech.

I ended my short dissertation by basically stating that as a Christian, I could not align myself with all of the ungodly policies and practices that the Democratic Party championed, because they did not agree with Biblical Christian values.

The caller then announced that she was a Christian also, who did not agree with everything the Democrat Party stood for and practiced either. However, she added, “For the sake of political unity, I have learned to accept, tolerate and cope with those differences.”  

She then began to spew out political rhetoric, in an effort to convince me that being a Democrat did not compromise a person’s Christian faith. As she did that, my heart began to grieve for her. I quietly cried out in my spirit for God to give me a word to share with her. Almost immediately, the word “Accomplice” came to mind.

As she continued to speak, the Holy Spirit began to formulate a story for me to share with her. When it was my turn to speak again, the story began to unfold as I began to share it.  

“What if you were 16 again,” I asked her, “And your best girlfriend called to invite you to go for a car ride with her and two handsome young boys that she had just met. She enticed you by talking about the fancy new convertible they were driving in and said they were on their way over to pick you up.

When they arrived, you decided to go with them, because of the recommendation of your best friend. At first, you were having a blast with your new friends, who you really did not know, while riding around in the backseat of their fancy car with the top down.     

The driver then pulls into a quiet convenience store along the highway and leaves the motor running. The handsome passenger who was riding shotgun, gets out of the car and goes into the store. Suddenly, you hear the sound of gunshots! Then you see the young man running back out of the store, carrying a pistol and a bag.  

He leaps back into the car and yells go, go, go, to the driver! With tires now screeching, the driver goes racing up the highway. The handsome passenger shows the bag full of stolen cash to the driver, as the getaway car continued to speed away.

Although you were not part of the planning of what turned into a deadly armed robbery situation, you were riding in the car when it happened. That now makes you an Accomplice to a Felonious Crime! Even if you are able to avoid arrest and prosecution, your reputation is now permanently tarnished.”

The lady caller listened quietly to my story, but then began to spew out more political rhetoric. At that point, I interrupted her and said, “Thank you very much for your dinner invitation, but I still need to decline your offer and hang up now. I do hope that you will think and pray about the story that I just told you about being an accomplice, because it did come from God.” Then I politely hung up the phone and prayed for her.

The roots of our Christian values, which is more commonly referred to as the issue of morality, is an underlying theme found throughout my book The Art of Religion. Having a sense of morality that aligns with Biblical values, is a prerequisite for establishing a lasting personal relationship with God.

He does not demand constant, and absolute perfection from us every minute of the day. Neither, does He instantly judge and threaten us with a “fire-and-brimstone” punishment, every time that we fall short of His expectations. God does however, expect us to put our whole hearted effort into learning and following His ways to the best of our personal ability.

There is a gray area in the lives of mortal men and women, which I call in my book “The weakness of our humanity.” That weakness directly links into a Biblical theology that most people call “Free Will.” It was not God’s intention to create “Clones of Himself,” but rather to give both His Angels and members of the Human Race, the ability to choose right from wrong.

Obviously, sin entered into “God’s Perfect World” because of bad choices that both some of His Angels, as well as mankind, made. The Bible tells us in Romans 8:22, that as a result of those bad (rebellious to God’s ways) choices that are called sins, “All of creation is now groaning in pain,” anxiously waiting for the return visit of our Savior and King.

Jesus (Yeshua) has promised that upon His return, He will “Restore all things back to the way they once were before the fall, of Angels and men.” On His return, Yeshua will also bring “Judgment to the enemies of God.”   

Thankfully, God freely extends the Spirit of Grace and Mercy to us as a learning curve, which many people consider the fruit of God’s Holy Spirit. The Bible tells us in both the Old and New Testaments, “God writes His Word upon the hearts of His people (Children) whom He loves.”

That action is what causes us to have a “Conscience,” which can basically be defined as a “God installed warning system in our heart,” that alerts us when we start to drift away from the teachings and instructions of our God. Our conscience brings us to the point of making a moral decision, that urges us to choose good over evil.

When our gut is feeling sick and telling us “No,” it behooves us to listen and obey what path God is encouraging us to take.