Thursday, October 23, 2008

Political Season 2008


Ads in the mail, phone calls to our homes, signs in the yards, television commercials, messages on the radio – the political season is at a fever pitch. Even our email inboxes are overflowing with “forwards” with all the latest information, warnings, petitions, and desperate appeals to sway anyone with ears to hear. It’s all a bit surreal.

Yet don’t just blow it off. Voting in a democracy is an enormous privilege that we’ve been given and is a freedom that many gave their lives for. So we can’t just take it for granted. It is part of the many blessings that God has given this country – the right to choose our leaders, those that will govern and make laws for us. With such a privilege comes responsibility, and it is our duty and obligation as citizens of a free country and as believers to be a voice for truth in a society that is regularly hostile towards it. See the following link for a healthy perspective on this.

http://www.christiananswers.net/q-eden/voting.html

All this to say that as Christians, it is our responsibility to do the research and to discover the views of each candidate, and to vote in keeping with a biblical worldview. In issues where there are clearly moral issues at stake (such as stances on abortion, the definition of marriage, etc.), we must be willing to vote firmly for that which would honor God and be consistent with the voice of Scripture. The Bible is clear that all of life is sacred and that “personhood” begins at conception (Psalm 51:5; Psalm 139:13; Luke 1:44; Exodus 21:22-23) and that marriage is a commitment between one man and one woman (Genesis 2:24; Ephesians 5:31). These are not just minor issues. These are major “watershed” issues – issues that stand out among the rest. They are more important than issues surrounding the economy, education, and many others. Why? Because they have to do with life and death itself and the make up of the building blocks of society and the home, two significant moral issues that are seen all throughout Scripture.

Therefore, each believer should be motivated during this critical election. For there is much at stake. Yet at the same time a caution – please do not think that the advancement and success of the kingdom of God is completely dependent on the outcome of the election. To do so would be to take a distinctly human point of view and would undercut a firm belief in the sovereignty of God. Though we should stand for truth in a hostile world, we should not expect that God will usher in His kingdom via the secular political system. God’s chosen vehicle is the Gospel of His Son. Our trust is always in God himself, not in any form of human government. Vote biblically, yes, but trust that Romans 13 will always remain true, that God has sovereignly ordained the governing authorities whose authority comes directly from God.

And finally – get out there and vote!