I received an email from someone in ministry bemoaning the state of the U.S. Along the way, he equates being a true Jesus-follower with voting a certain way. 

If you make an honest list of what the two leading ideologies stand for and cannot see clearly good vs evil I question whether you are truly a follower of Jesus.

The problem is, an author I read recently had this observation about people who vote the way the first guy said was the only way Christians should vote:

The disconnect between faith and faithfulness means self-professed Christians can support all sorts of unchristian things without feeling hypocritical because their Christian faith (and personal salvation) is ultimately determined by what they believe, not by how they live. 

Both men are saying, “If you vote a certain way, you’re not a true Jesus follower,” and each is really talking about the other!

Maybe we should all spend more time following Jesus than trying to decide if the other guy is following Jesus.

So tend to your knitting. You’ve got your hands full just taking care of your own life before God. (Romans 14.12, MSG)

When Peter saw [John], he said to Jesus, “Lord, what about this man?” Jesus said to him, “If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow me!” (John 21.21, 22, ESV, emphasis nine, different context, same principle)