When I was 38 years old I walked away from my political life, resigning as a local committeeman, to follow Jesus.  I re-examined my career and distanced myself from work that would, in my opinion at the time, hinder my spiritual development.  I knew my weaknesses and my desire to please people and did not want to constantly be fighting those weaknesses while trying to reprogram my life into a WWJD lifestyle. 

This course of action came at great cost financially and eventually led to some family relationship problems as well.  However, I grew to really like myself better.  One of the primary things I liked about the road I chose was I became more compassionate.  Compassion is not something that is necessarily related to Church going, which can be very judgmental.  I love Pentecostal worship, but not the judgment of who's saved and who's not.  To me the perfect community would be a compassionate charismatic one.  However, I chose to be a Quaker because the way I understood it there was no creed and everyone was allowed to follow their own spiritual path.  Having a very big God I believe anyone who truly seeks spiritual fulfillment will end up where God wants him to.  However, I find that what passes for compassion among some morphs into partisan politics.  I pray about who I vote for.  I go over the pros and cons and when I believe I should vote for someone in a party I don't approve of I vote for him or her on an alternate party line.  But I don't want to belong to a political movement.  I've been there, done that.  When I spent my time handing out flyers for a cause, I felt obligated to support that cause even when there might have been an alternate cause that was just as, if not more, deserving.  I have walked away from that life once and am seriously praying that it might be time to do that again.  I am seeking to follow Jesus not a belief system whether it is called a creed or core values.  I respect those who choose otherwise but as for me and my house I must serve the Lord and I decided a long time ago that I can't have two masters.

Compassion without politics must be possible, at least I pray it is.