America's current political system separates love from truth, compassion from conviction, and social justice from moral order as if they're somehow at odds with one another. People who support social justice issues generally don't support traditional views of morality and vice versa. But there's no clear reason why those two stances should be separate. It's just presented to us as the only way, and we accept it.

Christians must be critical thinkers and question the assumptions and conclusions presented to us. We shouldn't simply accept the issues as they've been framed by political parties, ideological tribes, or the media - because these sources usually aren't analyzing the issues from the standard of the gospel.

Christians should say, "I support social justice, morality, and family values. I don't affirm ungodly behavior, nor do I hate the individual; I affirm the human dignity of all people. I love and care for the poor, and I believe in personal responsibility." In other words, proper framing allows us to embrace the love and truth of the gospel. Christians can reject false choices without walking away from civic engagement altogether.

As Christians, part of our purpose is to direct people toward the love of Christ, which acknowledges the dignity of all people, and toward his truth, which allows for human flourishing.

When in conflict we should demonstrate that our public witness is more important than winning a political battle.

Important causes and people in need lose precious political capital when their advocates are loud but don't clearly understand the process.