Modern Christianity and Election Day

Modern Christianity and Election Day

 

Luke 21: 34-36 "Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with dissipation, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you unexpectedly like a trap. For it will come upon all those who live on the face of the whole earth. Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man."

  It seems that every four years Christianity fractures into two tribes; divided over the political landscape of this country. One tribe lines up on the side of the Republican Party, insisting that they represent traditional "family values" and as such deserves the Christian vote. The other tribe may look at the country in a broader sense, concerned about things such as poverty and war and side with the Democratic Party. Certainly the reasons differ from person to person but nothing seems more polarizing to the unity of Christians in the United States than an impending presidential election. While disagreements along party or ideological lines are to be expected, the fervor with which opinions are argued continues to be a problem within the church. The truth is that neither political party nor candidate represent Christian values nor care about the cause of Christ. Sure, you can argue the lesser of two evils theory as long as you remember that you are still ultimately voting for evil and need to thus temper your advocacy of that evil.   In this portion of scripture from the Gospel of Luke, we see Jesus warning about the signs of the end of the age; the end times we speak so much of as Christians. I think that most would agree based upon the signs we see, that these are indeed the end times. As such, it is vitally important that we keep our Savior's admonitions in mind in relation to all things. Here specifically Jesus warns us of three things which could weigh our hearts down to the point that the second coming of Christ will find us unprepared. The first thing Jesus warns us against is dissipation. The dictionary defines dissipation as:   ·          A wasting by misuse   ·          Mental distraction; amusement; diversion.   This is what politics has become in latter-day society. The voluminous amounts of political emails disguised as Christian emails are staggering. Within them is contained a political opinion, usually peppered with lies, with Jesus Christ wrapped around it. It is a diversion at best; diverting our attention from the work of God. We all have seen such bravado from Christians in their political opinions, such blind confidence. The Prophet Jeremiah reminds us though:   "But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in Him. - Jeremiah 17:7   Who is your confidence in this election season? Is it in the charm and charisma of a Barack Obama? Is it in the experience and determination of a John McCain? Has either of them done anything to deserve your confidence? Put your trust in God beloved not in the promises of man. Our confidence must be found in what God can and will do and not what either candidate promises they will do. Does that mean that we turn a blind eye toward the world we live in? Of course not. What it means is we understand that the plea for morality from God is not directed at the world, but at believers:   If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. - 2Chronicles 7:14:

 

Who are the people called by God's name? Christians beloved. God is beseeching us to turn from our wicked ways; not to demand the world does. He is instructing us to pray and seek His face; to humble ourselves. If there is one thing that is sorely lacking in the defense of Christian-political opinions these days, it is humility. Look at the reward God promises! He will hear us from heaven, forgive our sins and heal our land. We lament often the fact that we want our land healed but we sometimes seem unwilling or unable to do what is necessary to achieve that. Prayer, seeking God's will and humility. Instead we are bombarded by a sense of religiosity, which is an excessive devotion to religion instead of to Christ. Contained within that religiosity is a clear sense of moral superiority. We do not have any moral superiority beloved. We are all just sinners saved by grace. We once walked in the very darkness we sometimes lord ourselves over. What God is saying here is that you cannot expect to see your land healed if your own walk is lacking in purity, humility, prayer and an earnest seeking of His will.

 

So, what is God's will for you on Election Day? It is to represent Him in your walk to a sick and dying world. It is to be salt and light not hellfire and judgment. By insisting there is absolute truth within a political system of this world you ignore the warnings from God:

 

So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, with a continual lust for more. - Ephesians 4: 17-19

 

The futility the world believes in is that John McCain or Barack Obama has the answers for what ails the world; they do not. Only God does. The futility of their thinking is that electing one of them will solve their problems, and heal this land. Only God can. Within the system is a continual lust for more beloved. More power, more greed, more control. It is an illusion though. Both parties are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of their ignorance. Do not cast your lot with such darkness.

 

The second thing Jesus warns us about is drunkenness. From a political standpoint we can get drunk on our own sense of righteousness. That we have figured out all the ills of society and if everyone would just elect people we deem righteous, then somehow we are doing the will of God. As if the elected official will somehow lead us where God has not been able to. Israel had this problem early on when they demanded of the Prophet Samuel to appoint a king over them. Samuel was upset at this and prayed but here was God's response:

 

And the LORD told him: "Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king. As they have done from the day I brought them up out of Egypt until this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are doing to you. Now listen to them; but warn them solemnly and let them know what the king who will reign over them will do." -1Samuel 8: 7-9