I've been accused of not caring. I've been accused of being politically indifferent because I'm avoiding the issues and afraid of conflict. While that might contain a sliver of truth, it's not likely to change. And overall, I feel justified in my neutral position.
When I say neutral, I don't really mean neutral. I will not deny that I lean toward conservatism in that I find it ridiculous to assume that spending more money, money we don't have as a country will somehow make us stronger. I do feel strongly that we are setting up a big problem for our children by pretending that these decisions don't have repercussions that will be felt for many years to come. AND YET, do I think that is one person or one party's fault? No. I think it's the result of a nation that has thought for too long that we were entitled to happiness and security within a broken world.
But that financial position is my deepest political conviction. And I must say that as a conservative and a "Christian," I find myself ashamed of some of those who claim the same adjectives to describe themselves. Wielding a sword of so-called non-negotiable issues such as the legality of abortion and the definition of marriage provide a place of refuge from reality for people who are willing to make bold statements and call them truth, but not willing to back up their opinions with any sort of action to prove it.
What do I mean? I see a very lazy portion of God's church in this world, especially in this country. Quick to denounce anyone who suggests that the government is not responsible to strictly adhere to biblical truth, when the government is not made up of people who even claim to belong to Christ. Keeping women out of abortion clinics will never happen by trying to force government to make it illegal or by protesting and shaming the people who are involved. Women will stay out of abortion clinics if they are loved by people that are filled with God's spirit and selfless enough to enter the messy world of other people's heartaches and struggles. When "Christians" are willing to love another person enough to provide for their most basic needs, to listen to them, to stand beside in the hardest of times, we will see a difference in the number of lives that are cut short by abortion.
Likewise, I find it absurd that the same lazy portion of God's people think that marriage is even capable of being defined by a governmental system. When did God make such a statement? When did he bemoan the necessity of a government backing up his own ideas? God is still God no matter the state of government-approved unions in America. How did we get the idea that a picket line with such godless statements as "God hates gays" would prove God's unconditional love and rescue plan in Christ? I hate to break it to fellow "Christians," but God loves the gay person as much as he loves you. A gay person is just as welcome at the foot of the cross as someone who is not. And the only way that person will see Christ's love is through his church getting over themselves and again - loving people, providing for people, and listening to people who struggle and sin. For the person who has been saved by the grace of Jesus, who has the Spirit empowering everything he does and says, who is connected to the church and accountable to other believers - sin is possible to slowly and methodically eradicate. For the person who does not yet know the truth - conquering sin may well be impossible. How can I judge someone else's choices when I know I would struggle and in fact do struggle on occasion with my own areas of sin that sometimes seem too big for me, even with God's Spirit within me?
So, in the end, I look at these two people who want to be president. They are both decent people who love their families and believe in our country and desire for us to continue to be a beacon of hope in the world. They both have ideas that are questionable, and they both have good ideas. That's why we have the system of government that we do. Our fail safe is that we have many different people with different opinions working together to come up with plans that keep our country strong. We are all accountable to each other, and we are all flawed in our own ways. No president that comes out of the masses of humanity will ever be perfect, or will ever be the savior of the world.
That position has already been filled.
So rest easy, vote the best way your conscience allows, and remember that whoever sits in the oval office has been allowed to hold that position by God. The Bible is clear on that fact. They deserve respect, they deserve your earnest prayers, but at the end of the day, they won't make or break our nation anymore than our unwillingness to get our hands dirty reaching out to the broken people in our paths.
