Three weeks and counting.

In our lives as Christians we face decisions about our faith every day. I promised to keep political postings to a minimum on this blog, and I aim to keep that promise. Today’s posting, and a few more in the weeks to come, will deal not with partisan issues but an examination of each individual’s participation in their faith of choice and how closely they adhere to Biblical teaching.

This post is meant to provoke your conscience. Many who read this blog are Christians. And while I’m not ignoring any others who read this today, I am directing the post to my brothers and sisters in Christ.

Each one of us proclaims Jesus as our King and Savior. We want to be, and expect to be, in His Kingdom of Heaven when we leave this Earth. And as a result we often separate the two as though they had nothing to do with each other. I beg to differ. If you do not frame your life in terms of that faith, and at least try and walk in it on a daily basis, you are failing to honor Him.

On November 6th my fellow Americans will have an election. I am asking you now, while you have plenty of time to do the research, to look into the candidates and issues you will be voting on from a Christian and Biblical perspective. Your challenge will be to ignore the world around you and think about that Kingdom that you aspire to in eternity.

I’m sure that many of you are already looking for a tuba video to watch instead of reading this post. It makes you uncomfortable to read it and consider the implications. Sorry, no links to tubas today, come back tomorrow. But if you really follow Christ and believe the Bible to be the truth, you have to open your heart and your mind to the guidance of the Holy Spirit. And now that you’re prepared for the challenge, I’ll outline it for you.

You must eschew your identity politics. You cannot vote for or against a candidate because they are black or white, straight or gay, liberal or conservative, rich or poor, native born or naturalized. You cannot consider if they are a man or a woman. You cannot consider ballot referendums based on your personal level of comfort with your peers and how you “should” vote based on the group you know. (With the exception of some issues that have no philosophical nature to them. But even then, shouldn’t you include the Biblical teachings on stewardship and dominance of nature?)

Once you have cast those distractions aside you must make your decision based on how well the people and items involved reflect the Bible and the tenets of your faith. That means you have to look at their past, their platform, and their character. And you have to search your heart and look past your favorite issue and cast your vote with the Bible in mind.

Because if you do anything but go with the dictates of the God that you worship and hope to spend eternity with, you’re not being faithful. I’m sure that statement will upset some people. And I’m quite sure that I’ve voted for the wrong person on occasion in the past. But this time around on the local, state, national, and spiritual levels the choices have never been more clear in my lifetime. This does not mean voting for a fellow Baptist, Catholic, Jew, Lutheran, or Methodist. Many candidates take on a label and proclaim it often and quite loudly but vote for and endorse positions that are the polar opposite of the teachings of their faith. Look deeper than the “I’m a good XXX and I’ve always been a good XXX.” It’s probably not true – they are, after all, politicians. Look instead at the man or woman and read about them in exact ratio to the importance of the office. The local water control board candidates may not even have that info out there to find. But the ones running for the House, Senate, White House, and a host of other offices will (hopefully) have gone on record as to their faith as proven by their actions and votes in the past. Weigh those actions on the scale of Biblical teaching and make a Godly decision this November.

Are you prepared to look beyond yourself and vote with God? Are you prepared to declare your faith openly in that very private balloting booth? Are you enough of a faith warrior to be honest with yourself and God and cast your vote based on your immortal soul’s value system?

I’ll be back to this topic again before the election. You have time to think. So please engage that wonderful brain of yours and look to God for guidance.

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