For many years, both during my time in Nebraska and my time in Kansas, I have declined to affiliate with any political party.

The primary reason is that I think both of the major political parties are power-hungry, craven, and profoundly unworthy of my loyalty or my support.

But not far behind is this: I’ve become convinced that – at least in our current day – party loyalty shifts peoples’ focus away from bigger, eternal principles to temporal, worldly, often embarrassingly ridiculous pissing contests, and in the process makes otherwise intelligent people extraordinarily vapid.

Much has been written and said about how we’ve become a nation of tribes. I may be overly optimistic, but I remain convinced that outside of the extremes – the die-hard Trump apologists who lack any moral underpinnings, or the AOC crowd who have been so tragically failed by our education system that they lack even the slightest understanding of human nature (or math) – most people still could find a fair amount of common ground. (At least for the time being).

But tribal loyalty leads people to believe that they have to defend the indefensible – or at least sit on their hands and remain quiet about the indefensible – when they would undoubtedly be calling it out on the other tribe. It leads people to sacrifice their integrity for something they’ve convinced themselves is the “greater good” – which is precisely the way Satan operates. And in doing so they voluntarily snuff out a little piece of their soul (also much to Satan’s delight).

It’s emblematic of our postmodern times – truth is either welcomed or deflected/rejected based upon whether it’s politically convenient, or whether or not that tribe wants it to be true. And it’s a practice that many Christians on both sides have embraced – explicitly rejecting the major premise of the bible and Christianity in doing so.

And most of the media – including cable news, social media, and talk radio – only serves to make peoples’ shift in focus away from the eternal, and towards the temporal, even worse.

A case in point – in this week’s Michael Cohen testimony/controversy, despite all the partisan squawking, there is no moral high ground. It was agonizingly clear, from the minute he hit the spotlight a couple of years ago, what kind of person Michael Cohen is. But in 2017, people on the right defended him as an unfairly maligned, and trusted, Trump advisor, while people on the left (correctly) characterized him as a shifty, dishonest, immoral clown. Now in the 2019, people on the left are characterizing him as a brave hero, almost comparable to John Dean of the Watergate era, while people on the right are (correctly) characterizing him as a shifty, dishonest, immoral clown. If the parties were reversed, everyone’s position would be as well. And let’s not forget that what really launched Cohen into the national spotlight was the payoff to Stormy Daniels, and the fact that Trump committed adultery with a porn star while his wife was nursing their newborn. So in the case of Cohen, there is no “winning” side. Everything – and everyone – is terrible.

And that gets us to the crux of partisan loyalty. Whether we’re talking about Bill Clinton or Donald Trump, character matters until being consistent on that position damages my tribe, at which point character suddenly doesn’t mean jack sh*t. This is especially distressing to see among people who call themselves Christians, because it makes a mockery of scripture, of God, and of the reason Jesus came to redeem us. And it makes the gospel a joke to the perishing (which, I would argue, increasingly includes people in both parties who are utterly convinced they’re in the God Club).

Having a position on issues doesn’t require party fealty. In fact, I would argue that being a citizen of heaven requires the rejection of it.

Be willing to call out the wrong – and stand up for the right – even if it means potentially damaging the worldly power and reputation of your preferred political party. Because truth and character matter regardless of political affiliation. And because there’s Someone whose power and reputation should be of infinitely more concern to you than a political party destined for the dustbin of history.

So, as has become a common refrain from me, I urge everyone to step away from the scrum of cable news, social media, talk radio, etc. Spend that time with God’s word instead. Now more than ever, we need people whose hearts – and heads – are based on eternity, and are seeking a wisdom higher than Rachel Maddow or Rush Limbaugh.