“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.” – Philippians 2:3-4
I often hear that politics are worse today than ever before. I have been in several conversations where people will say they long for the “Good old days.” Well, the truth is that politics have always been a messy thing. The Italian writer and philosopher Machiavelli would write, “Politics have no relation to morals.” Machiavelli would write this in 1513, some 507 years ago.
One example of messy politics took place in 1800. In one of the most contested presidential elections in the United States, two former friends would run against each other. John Adams would represent the Federalist party while Thomas Jefferson represented the Democratic-Republican party. It was a brutal campaign. John Adams was the incumbent and Jefferson was the current Vice President.
Although Adams and Jefferson had worked together to bring about the American Revolution, they now disagreed, greatly. Each candidate campaigned by telling voters that if the other was elected, it would “Ruin the country.” It was a passionate and hard-fought campaign. Jefferson called the election “The Revolution of 1800.” The brutal fight ended with Thomas Jefferson being elected to the presidency, although the final decision had to be made by Congress because of a tie in the Electoral College. Sadly, this election and politics divided these two great men who helped to write the Declaration of Independence. The bitter fight dissolved their friendship.
It was 12 years later that John Adams and Thomas Jefferson began to write letters to one another. They would write over 300 letters over the next 14 years. It took a great amount of humility and effort to overcome the damage that politics did to their friendship, but in time, they would heal their wounds. Jefferson and Adams had tremendous disagreements about the role of government, however they realized that their friendship was much more important than the ideals they had fought so hard to bring to life.
These two men accomplished many great things in their lives. They did so much for our country. Adams and Jefferson were great men who accomplished tremendous things together. It was fitting that they died on the same day, July 4, 1826. Like many of us, they allowed their personal philosophies and ambitions to divide them. Thankfully, they reconciled their relationship and experienced the joy of friendship in their final years.
Politics are messy. Relationships are difficult. What is necessary is that we approach our relationships with humility and love. There are many things that we differ on, but our differences must not be the only thing that defines us. God created a diverse population, but we are called to love one another, regardless of our differences.
– Rev. Keith King, Pastor of Worship
