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.
Now don’t get me started Dave. As noted, this has really been a hard election season for me this time around. More so than any other. Wow, that’s a great last sentence there. I’ll have to quote you on that some day. I bet that if you contact the Romney campaign they’ll pay you for it. But the moral issues have been the biggest thing for me. You are correct in that God wants “US” to love people. I think that has been a huge issue over the past 30 years or so in that the Christ followers in America have tried to abdicate their responsibility to the Government both local and national.
Fun to hear from you Professor Myrick. The reminder is for me as well. And again . . . Happy B-Day (belated)
Great points, Steve. This might be my favorite of all your Kingdomology posts. Thanks for reminding all of us that we are sinners too, and the faults we find most offensive in others are often the faults we fail to see in ourselves. Very powerful message. Thank you for this. A great way to start my birthday.
We must do all of the things you mentioned. As it relates to this election, within the next two weeks we must vote in a new administration, sweeping out the current one. This has gone beyond partisan politics and has become the very survival of this country.
Both parties have contributed to where we are today, but none more so than this president. In this picture, Obama looks like the used car salesmen he is, “Today, and today only, for just 1 trillion dollars down…” No country can sustain the kind of debt our politicians are spending, and Obama plans to double down. Don’t vote for Obama, vote for yourself.
Here’s how that applies to what Steve is saying. God wants US to love people, not the government. When I see someone in need, my heart is to be moved to give of myself and my resources voluntarily. Not to meet that need by picking your pocket or at the point of the government bayonet (yes, Obama, we still use them).
This allows us to develop and show the love of Christ to others, that they might be moved to do the same. This connects me to INDIVIDUAL people, and builds relationships. God cares about people and he wants you to do the same PERSONALLY, not through your government surrogate. Government “re-distribution” only builds resentment, not relationships.
As a very famous person once said, “Render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.” YOU take care of people, and let the government take care of the few enumerated things that was set aside for it, and we’ll all be better off. Let the government leave their hands off the marketplace, for there lies liberty and the best outcome for all. The best welfare program is a good job.