I’ll be honest.  This election season has been a hard one for me. It was just over four years ago while planting a church in Northern California that I made the firm decision to never run for political office. While that commitment has been relatively easy to keep, the question of debate has been quite another story. The last 2012 Presidential debate has come and gone.  But many of us are still debating with our friends, enemies, and even sometimes with our own souls. Debate is a great principle in our culture. However, it seems to be a whole lot easier to simply debate than actually do something.  It’s easier to debate about what the government should do than actually getting out and doing something ourselves.

Don’t get me wrong.  I’m not turning Amish here and as noted in a post from a while back, I do believe that sometimes folks are called into public policy molding just like someone might be called into law enforcement. The great William Wilberforce from the UK is a prime example.  But as a Christ follower we are all to be Salt and Light in our world even if we are not in public service or making public policy.  We are called to be his hands and feet from wherever we stand on the political debates.  So while this debate could take off in innumerable directions, let me simply ask what it is that we are all going to do ourselves instead of expecting someone else to do for us.  Consider these to begin with:

1. My politically Left friends:  The main Democratic platform speaks a lot to the issue of the poor and now healthcare.  So instead of asking the Government to take care of these issues, why not ask this:

-How much am I giving to the local food bank out of my own pocket?

-How much time am I volunteering to serve the homeless in my community?

-How much am I willing to give out of my own check book to help out with another person’s medical bill?  What about someone I don’t even know and who can’t return the favor to me?

-How much money or time am I willing to sacrifice to meet the needs of those in my community with health or medical needs?

-How much am I willing to sacrifice for others instead of expecting the government to take care of those needs?

2. My politically Right friends:  The main Republican platform speaks to the sanctity of life and the institution of marriage being defined as between one man and one woman.  I agree with those two principles not because I’m a Republican, but simply because they line up with the word of God (as does helping the poor for that matter).  But instead of merely relying on the Government to cure these cancers, why not ask this:

-How much time am I willing to volunteer at a Crisis Pregnancy center?

-How much time, money, and emotional energy am I willing to invest in the lives of women who have fallen into unplanned pregnancies either by their own actions or that of others?

-How willing would I be to change my life plans by adopting one of these children in order to save them from abortion?

-Instead of merely debating for the Holiness of marriage, how much energy am I investing in making my marriage the best it can possibly be?  Yes, the Bible is clear about homosexual activity. But it is also clear about God’s design for your marriage.  After all, one of the central points about marriage in the Bible is to show a lost world the relationship between Christ and the Church.   A big part of marriage is a sign board to show the love of Christ being displayed in daily life.  So; how am I treating my spouse?

I am not belittling any of these issues.  I have thought through them painstakingly and have drawn up conclusions.  But at the end of the day, it will not matter what we believe about these spiritual, social, moral, and cultural issues, but rather what I do about them.

What else would you add?  Check out the clip below while you’re pondering the possibilities.