Nelson noted the lack of civility currently demonstrated in the political arena and said when that happens, “Somebody—and I think that should be Christians—needs to step up and model godly character, grace and honor in how we conduct political dialogue in this nation.”

I think he’s right.

We’ve witnessed the slow but steady deterioration of our political discourse during the past decade or so. No longer is it sufficient just to disagree with our political opponents. Personal attacks and vitriol have now replaced honorable disagreements and the effects of this change have been destructive. The Internet, cable television shows and the plethora of “available” talking heads have only made the matter worse, as “bashing your opponent” is much more entertaining to viewers than a set of policy disagreements delivered by someone who doesn’t raise his or her voice.

And this lack of civility is evident in both political parties and across ideologies—win at all costs and don’t worry how you get that win; do whatever is necessary.

Yet that is not the way it has always been or needs to be. And, I would argue, those of us who claim to follow Christ are supposed to follow a different track, a new path.

Civility steeped in faith can be a transforming force. We see it demonstrated annually at local and national prayer breakfast gatherings, where Democrats and Republicans embrace one another and emerge from the event seemingly committed to “a new kind of politics.”

In fact, President Barack Obama recently called for civility in our political discourse at the National Prayer Breakfast in February.

Yet this call for civility, no matter how many times it’s encouraged or by whom, rarely results in any noticeable change.

There are probably many reasons for this, but foremost is the lack of changed behavior to follow up those verbal calls.

It’s easy to talk about “a new kind of politics” or a new kind of anything, but the real work comes when individuals are committed to making changes in their lives. People begin to notice, wonder and become attracted to those changes.

It’s like the person who constantly talks about being kind to others and offering help to those less fortunate. It’s just talk until a co-worker experiences the loss of a spouse or goes through a devastating illness, and the person who always talked about being kind to others suddenly shows up and lives out his or her words.

And maybe that’s the unique opportunity Christians are faced with when it comes to reforming our nation’s political discourse.

As Nelson said, “Somebody—and I think that should be Christians—needs to step up and model godly character, grace and honor in how we conduct political dialogue in this nation.”

This doesn’t involve changing or in any way watering down our beliefs and stances on significant issues, such as our commitment to the sanctity of human life, our stance on the traditional family and our support for religious liberty, among numerous other issues. Yet this new commitment to civility, honor and godly character, as Nelson suggested, would not only improve our political discourse and hopefully lead to a better governed nation, but this commitment would also attract people to the Gospel by which we claim to live our lives.

By seeing our willingness to act in civil and godly ways—and in fact doing it—some may be even be willing to learn more about the Savior.