Mike Tells You How to Vote
There's been a lot of talk lately on various Christian boards and blogs regarding the upcoming U.S. Presidential election. There are folks who are (sadly) losing their witness in a lot of ways arguing over the various candidates policies and platforms.
Even if you are not a resident of the U.S. (and I know I get readers from Canada, the U.K., Australia, Greece, and many more places - so chime in with who and where you are!) there are vast implications for everyone in this election. Like it or not, America is a global player, and the President is a global figure.
Many people will argue that faith has no place in politics. "Hogwash!" says I. Faith has a place in all aspects of our lives. If we are supposed to "do all things in the name of the Lord," does our vote not also count?
Contrary to what you might think by the title, I am not going to tell you who to vote for. But I will offer some thoughts on how to vote. This election has polarized people like none I can remember, even within the Body of Christ. Now, I understand there are Christians who come down on both sides of many issues. There are Christians who support gay marriage and those who oppose it. There are Christians who oppose abortion, and (somehow) there are those who support it. There are saints who think that the current financial crisis was caused by greedy banks, by irresponsible borrowers, by the Fed, by Bush, by Clinton, by Reagan, by Carter... (To some degree all of those answers are correct, but that's another topic.)
But the point of the matter is, is that choosing to support a candidate is as much a moral choice as it is a political one. We should each strive to choose a leader who thinks along the same lines we do, who shares the same values we do, who cares about the same things we do. And if the most important thing in our lives is our faith in Christ Jesus, does it not follow that that should be one of the barometers by which we chose who to vote for?
Elections often boil down to one of two things: In incumbent races, it's "the devil you know." In non-incumbent races, it's the "lesser of two evils." I don't suppose there will ever be a "perfect" Christian candidate, mainly because Christians are not of a piece. But, to think that there should not be prayerful consideration of how to cast your vote is folly.
So I would encourage anyone, Christian and non-Christian alike to seek the face of God in this matter. And for those of you under the age of 22, for whom this is the first election you will be voting in, now is the time to begin taking these things seriously.
You can go join CMF to see where my political leanings lie. Wherever yours are, please take things seriously and prayerfully.
Wise words Mike.
ReplyDeleteActually from memory things were just as nasty at CMF over Bush vs Kerry, however certain members aren't around this time who might otherwise have added more fuel to the fire.
Just an observation as an outsider. It is interesting that, when there is such strong emphasis of how church and state is separated, that there is an almost absolute demand that the candidate is a Christian. And on top of that, the candidate is required to attempt to move into law various 'touchstone' tenets (such as making abortion illegal). I'm starting to think of this as religious socialism, where government is required to make everyone fit the same mold.
What's wrong with that? Well it seems that some would like the state to do their job of taking Jesus out to the people so that the nation wishes to be righteous. Would fewer people want terminations if they were all Spirit-filled Christians? It might still not cut the divorce rate, but one could hope.
I do certainly agree that this election is at a pivotal point in the future of the United States, and I certainly pray that the right man gets the job. To me there is a certain sweet irony that IF McCain is elected and Palin succeeds him as president then the conservative hard right will have been responsible for America acquiring its first Lady President.
The future is... interesting.