All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Including politicians, who by nature are power hungry, even the supposed good guys. In choosing who to vote for, I need to look beyond the person and look at the platform, and what the candidate has or hasn't done in the past. Does this politician want to roll up their sleeves and dialog with opponents to get things done, to govern, to do what's best for the country – or do they just want to fight and tear down the other side? Most are not living their lives sold out for Jesus Christ (am I?) so the choice must go beyond that. The choice is which fallen man will do what's right for our state and country.
If neither of the top two candidates are righteous, above reproach God-fearing men, as a Christian should I vote for a third party candidate who has no chance of election? Should I choose a Christian electrician to wire my house even if he isn't qualified – or a non-Christian electrician who can do the job right?
Just because one guy is a braggart, a rube, even a liar – does that mean I should vote for the other guy? What if the other guy has just as many flaws? Some have been in office for decades, and what have they accomplished besides lining their own pockets, and the pockets of their family? I want to vote for the person who will do what's best for the country. I'll look for the most Godly man when I'm choosing a pastor for my church.
Should government do what's best in the eyes of God (isn't that the church's job?) or should the government do what's best for their own citizens/taxpayers?
Like a household budget, the government has to make choices in what they do. Reducing emissions and saving the planet would be nice. Defending the country from foreign and domestic terrorism has to be a priority. Choosing between funding for the arts, preserving natural resources, and other perhaps non-essential yet expensive quality of life programs are high-level decisions. Should the government fund everything, and raise taxes to unbearable levels?
Which politicians are looking at cutting excess and unnecessary items from the budget? Shouldn't that be a consideration as well?
The Sovietization Of American Culture - but by who? Is it the government that's limiting all these freedoms, or the press, or is this coming from the people? Are the people being coerced into behaving this way? By what the media chooses to report (and not report)?
My prayer is people of faith won't be fooled by Satan – led to do the wrong thing. I pray we wouldn't follow the wrong people, to vet who our leaders are.
As a white person wanting to fight racism, I'm hearing different voices telling me what I should and shouldn't do. I'm told to "first listen/read/watch and speak against injustice" and to acknowledge "I will make mistakes but be grateful for the lesson." Good advice. But when Louie misspeaks for injustice he becomes "the white guy' and gets barraged with hundreds of hateful comments. Listening is not enough, I'm hearing. I've got to say this and not say that. If I don't play by the rules then I am racist. What I listen/read/watch may not be the "correct" things. "Injustice" is sounding like a narrowly defined term.
Like many in our country, all this is discouraging and frustrating to me. I certainly don't have it as bad as most. I want to understand. I want to help.
Shoe #29: my older black ECCO loafers. Slightly different from my newer ECCO loafers. Not very photogenic. They've been spending a lot of time in the closet these days.
No comments:
Post a Comment