So the dust has settled, the votes are in, and the temporary surge in political interest has already begun to wane back to it's original state. Now, I'll be the first to admit that I'm one of those "temporary" Americans. I am a Christian, a conservative, a Republican. I don't believe in a woman's choice to murder. I believe in the right to keep and bear arms, and protecting the sanctity of God's definition of marriage: one man + one woman = for life. In short, I support the freedoms and share the solid, traditional, Biblical values that this country was founded on. And I voted. But that's about it.
The question is, what was I (and those who stand with me) doing before this election year? What are we doing now that the election is over? I don't even pretend to be super-savvy about politics, but I do have some stirrings in my heart from the recent events. Dare I say that an Obama presidency may be a good thing for this nation? No, don't shoot me, hear me out. Conservatives voted for McCain, right? Why? Because he was more conservative than Obama (key word: MORE). McCain is not a conservative, true conservatives have been uncomfortable with his candidacy ever since it began - isn't that the whole reason he brought Sarah Palin in on the ticket? But he was MORE conservative than Obama. We at least liked his stance on a couple of issues: he said he was pro-life, he said he believed in smaller government, etc. So, we chose the lesser of two evils. The problem with this equation is we get caught up in the whole contest and begin to form the illusion that our candidate really is suitable.
It all comes down to this: if McCain had gotten elected, we would've wiped our brows and said "Whew! That was close! Well, we've got at least four more years." And that would've been it. But now, Obama has been elected. We have no choice but to face the grim reality that our country is making the wrong choices and losing perspective. Now, we are being forced out of our slumber into a choice: get involved, or get happy. An Obama election is only the natural development of the direction this country has been headed for decades. You plant tomatoes you get tomatoes. You plant seeds of removing God out of the education system, condoning the slaughter of millions of unborn children a year, mocking God and His followers consistently in the entertainment industry, a skewed perspective that man is innately good and just needs the right conditions to blossom, a removal of any sense of personal responsibility from individuals: you reap an election like this, a loss of freedoms, and more distance from God's values in society.
But what are we going to do now? Are we going to engage our culture for Christ? Are we going to aggressively spread the truth in love? Are we going to do anything besides sit around for the next four years and complain at the next election? I'm not suggesting that everyone forsake their current positions in life and follow full-time political careers, but I am suggesting that we ENGAGE the world around us. Where are the Christians in the arts, producing art purely out of a gleeful desire to honor God? Where are the Christians and true conservatives in politics, reminding our leaders that not all the people of this nation want a changing ruling standard. Where are the Christians who are willing to put their heebeejeebies aside and lovingly interact with homosexuals, sharing with them that there've been many individuals who have chosen to leave that lifestyle of their own accord and have found God-designed fulfillment?
Christ is the answer. If we can't show the world that we have a living, breathing, vibrant, tangible, real relationship with Christ, we may as well stay home. It's a hurting world; it's a world that isn't necessarily ready to follow their leader off the cliff; but they will, if no one else shows them an alternative.
God bless,
--Nick
All excellent questions in your recent bloggings, and I resonate with the struggle!
ReplyDeleteMy own opinion is that the worst of conditions for most Christians are actually peace, comfort, and prosperity. It's what we all want, and it seems good and right to want it, but when we get it, our dependence on God seems to slip until such time as we begin to reap the consequences of our independence. As soon as we begin to think like this, God allows or orchestrates events in our world to drive us back to Him, and it does seem to work this way on both the individual and corporate levels.
Paradoxically, more glory is generally produced for God when things are bleak than when they are good. It is under worsening circumstances that we truly realize our feebleness to affect the outcome, and so we come back to the place we should have been all along: at His feet. We watch God move in our hopeless conditions, and we marvel.
As I watch what happens around, my own propensity is to consider "evil" people as the enemies of the church, forgetting that I too am a card-carrying member of Adam's race and the only difference is that my offense has been covered by the blood of Christ. Too, I often forget there exists a spiritual war that drives the physical - the real enemy is in reality unseen and works in high places, and the weapons of our warfare are designed specifically to engage the battle in this realm. I also tend to forget that God is fully capable of and has demonstrated His power to govern the world in accordance with His plan, through the Christian or the un-Christian.
In God’s wisdom, He calls us to action on two fronts. First, engaging our true spiritual enemy with the weapons of war prepared for such. And this is a take-no-prisoners war, a fight to the death as it were. Second, engaging our culture and world with the unvarnished love of Christ, in every aspect of life, winning over our fellow men in such a way that no one can speak evil of us. This is a “war” of love and self-sacrifice. And I agree that engagement is not an option. We are called to service, no, drafted as it were. We are not our own.
Two things I know: when the dark gets darker, the light gets brighter, and there is nothing that can happen in this world outside of the foreknowledge, plan, and sovereign control of the only true God. Not even an election in America.
Good thoughts!
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