I will never forget something my wife said to me years ago, when I took a job working with a political party.

“It will require a bit of your soul.”

No truer words were spoken.

Politics can never be just a job, it demands a piece of your heart. As a result, when you mix politics and religion it can become divisive. I am in no way suggesting that Christians shouldn’t enter politics, but it is important to understand the pitfalls.

That is why a recent story about Bunni Pounds failed attempt to represent the Republican Party in the Texas’ 5th Congressional District in 2018 caught my attention.

During the nomination battle, 43,000 votes were cast, and Pounds lost by just 2,700 votes to Rep. Lance Gooden (R-Texas), who would go on to win the seat, CBN reports.

Pounds not only raised more money than Gooden, but felt she had a better managed campaign. Despite losing, Pounds walked away with all her bills paid.

But as for her opponent, “his consultants had floated all of his invoices. So, if you could imagine — his TV, his mail, his radio ads, his consulting fees, all had been not billed,” Pounds told CBN.

Losing this way frustrated Pounds and a resentment over what had happened began building in her heart.

“So, the injustice of that was digging at my heart. Well, a year later, I heard the Lord say, ‘You’re not going to get through this if you don’t do something drastic to impact your heart,’” Pounds recalled.

God was calling Pounds to heal her heart. She phoned her opponent, took him out for lunch, and offered to help him pay off the $50,000 in outstanding bills he still owed.

Gooden agreed.

“And we did a huge party, and I fundraised towards that, and we all paid for it,” Pounds said. “All of our campaign staff, consultants — we all laid our offenses, bitterness and unforgiveness down at the feet of Jesus and walked out of there completely free.”

Sometimes it takes an action to heal our heart..

Years ago, my wife and I and another couple from the church we were attending went out for lunch with the pastor after a service. We had just been seated, when the pastor was obviously distracted by a couple sitting on the other side of the restaurant. He got up and went over and talked to the couple who were just finishing and about to leave.

He picked up their bill and walk over to the cash register and paid for their meal.

I found out from those still sitting in our booth, that the couple had been a part of the church. They had left and started spreading lies about the pastor.

We have to forgive those who offend us and sometimes that requires actions. Jesus said, “if someone asks for your coat, give them your cloak also.” The Pastor’s decision to pay their bill didn’t result in the couple coming back to his church, because it was intended to help him, not them.

But Pounds’ journey didn’t stop there.

Next came a dream, where God called her to minister not to just those within the Republican Party but Democrats as well.

“I had this dream I was standing before [then-]Congressman Beto O’Rourke, telling him that God loves him, loves his family, sees his servant heart towards people, and that he wants him to know Him more,” Pounds told CBN. “Well, you know, I’m from the persuasion of the Republican Party, right? That’s where I’ve done all my consulting. And he’s not.”

Three months later Pounds had a divine encounter with O’Rourke where she could pray for him.

“I’ll tell you this: I’ve never felt the presence of God like I did when I prayed for … Beto O’Rourke that day,” Pounds recalled. “And we started texting and we became friends. And … I don’t know how deeply that affected him, but I tell you, it changed my life.”

Today, Pounds serves as president of an organization called Christians Engaged, whose motto is ‘We PRAY, VOTE, & ENGAGE.’ Through this ministry she is encouraging Christians to pray for all politicians no matter what political party they belong to.

If we look at Jesus’ disciples, the Lord had people on both sides of the political spectrum at the time. There was Simon, the Zealot (Mark 3:18), who was part of an organization dedicated to throwing off the Roman oppression of Judea. And on the other extreme, you had a Roman sympathizer, Matthew, who was benefiting by collecting taxes on behalf of the Romans (Matthew 9:9-17). They set aside their political differences and worked to build the Kingdom of God.