Not too many years ago, in another presidential election, a
Christian friend and fellow church member DIDN’T VOTE. I was stunned by his laziness and foolish,
irrational and irresponsible behavior.
His excuse went something like this:
“I don’t waste my time with politics; God’s in control and there’s
nothing we can do about it anyway.”
Underlying that statement was his belief that God was on a
predetermined course of action in this world that He foretold in
Scripture. My friend is looking forward
to “the Rapture of the Church” and so by his failure to vote, he believed he
was helping God to bring about the evil dictator (antichrist) who will rise to
rule the world during seven years of tribulation after which, the Lord will
return to take His throne and judge the world.
We are just a little over one day away from election day and
I don’t have time to craft this post so that it can be palatable. So I am going to make a few statements here
that may be hard to swallow and you may get angry with me but they need to be
said.
Sometimes it is WRONG to try to help God accomplish His
will. He expects you to do right even if
His will seems to be in contradistinction to your actions. I know
that seems paradoxical but God’s ways are not our ways and He does what He
pleases for His glory. And He doesn’t
need our help; if He did, He would not be omnipotent and He would be obligated
to share His glory with us. That’s not going
to happen.
Is it right to do wrong in order to do God’s will? NO!
God will accomplish His purposes; we must do right and you will NOT get
a free pass for neglecting to do right, even if God is doing something
else. When God sent His Son, Jesus
Christ to die on the cross for the sins of the world, it was His will and His
plan for good. Yet it would be foolishness
to suggest that those who actually beat Him, and nailed Him to the cross were
doing right.
In this election we Christians have a duty to do right at
the polls. Our choices should be
determined by our biblical values. In
our representative republic, our leaders are selected, and appointed by us as
our agents. Look, I don’t know how to
say this any clearer; if you vote for an ungodly leader who does immoral
things, YOU ARE GUILTY OF HIS SINS. He
is your agent. You engaged him and
empowered him. When your representatives
legalize baby killing, YOU legalized baby killing. When your representatives destroy the
institution of marriage between one man and one woman, YOU support queer
marriage. You cannot remain innocent of the
wrongdoing of your representatives any more than if you hired a hit man to kill
your neighbor and then plead not guilty to murder because you didn’t pull the
trigger. That’s absurd. God will not be mocked. He will bring judgment on those leaders who abuse power but don't be surprised when He brings judgment on those who empower and enable them.
And by the way, you don’t get a pass for sitting it out
either. By most analyses, if most professing Christians actually voted, we would elect conservative candidates. So it follows that, since far too many Christians don't vote, we are getting the leadership we deserve. Christians are to be salt and
light in this present world. If your
light is out or if you salt has lost its flavor, you are kinda worthless.
Get up off your backside and go VOTE RIGHT.
3 comments:
Ralph: I am linking to this article in a post of my own. You make some very good and valid points.
Too many Christians are saying that they can't vote for a Mormon because he is a "tool of Satan," or a "High priest of a pagan cult," etc. So they will either not vote or vote for a 3rd party, thereby tossing out their vote from actual effectiveness.
The problem with this thinking is that they don't get it that they aren't voting for a pastor or other church leader, rather they are deciding who to employ who will be the best leader of the nation. We are never told we can hire only Christians to serve us.
Ditto.
Ditto.
Ditto.
Grace and peace.
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