In the World and Not of It
As a believer in Christ I have principles that I stand upon that are not negotiable: defending the defenseless, protecting the sanctity of the marriage bond between and man and a woman as God intended it, and to stand up for what is right even when it isn't popular.
It is easy to see the state the world is in and just disconnect yourself from it. Believe me, that's what I feel like doing everytime I watch the news. However, we're here until a time that is not known to us and we have to make the most of it.
What if God was one of us?
Do you remember that AWFUL (sorry Butch!) song by Joan Osborne? She went on and on about God being a man just hanging out and being "one of us", a "slob like one of us", "just a stranger on the bus", etc. She posed the question that if seeing God's face would "make" you believe in Jesus, would you want to see Him?
That's the beauty of Jesus. He is God and He came to earth in the flesh as "one of us". He had to deal with the same problems we had to deal with. He didn't hide in the church praying to go back to Heaven. He didn't shy away from the muck and the mire of society. He was drawn to it. His physical body was in this world and he would have it no other way.
Death and Taxes
Zacheus wasn't a loved man. After he got his CTC (Certified Tax Collector) his friends stopped hanging out with him. His family disowned him. His own dog wouldn't even look him in the eyes. As much as people dislike the IRS now, tax collectors back in Jesus' day were disliked much more.
If Jesus wanted to be popular with the "religious" group he would have spit on Zacheus like anyone else. He would have ignored him. He would have loathed him.
I could just see it. Jesus starts heading toward Zacheus and a few of His followers were saying, "Yeah, uh, Jesus? Hey, Savior. Maybe not that guy. I know you're all about loving people, but that's a CTC. A CTC who passed it on the first time!"
Jesus wouldn't have even acknowledged the request to refrain. Jesus did quite the opposite of what most people would have done. He didn't spit on him, but offered an invitation. He didn't ignore him, but gave him one on one attention. He didn't loathe him; He loved him.
He loved all of us so much that He died for us. Most of us don't want to even associate with the unlovely, but Jesus died for them. He died for the Pastors, Sunday school teachers, and church members. He also died for the drunks, the murderers, the cheaters, the liers, and even for politicians. :)
Bringing it Home
Jesus wasn't a political person. If he were here today He wouldn't be registered as a Democrat, Republican or any other party. He wouldn't be out trying to "rock the vote". However, He did bring a message of hope, of caring for the sick, poor and the defenseless.
God Himself was very involved with leaders of that day. Kings were ordained by God, they were admonished by God, they were removed by God. When kings disobeyed God's commands He would often send a prophet to speak with the King and his people to inform them on what God expects and warn them of consequences for not obeying His commands.
We see the evils of the world, the slime of politics, and the rampant lies of each one of them and we might feel like we shouldn't be part of it. We may sit out on voting, not discuss anything political and even discourage those that do. I understand that position, but I don't think its right.
We don't have to actively campaign for any candidate and we don't have to even be affiliated with a particular political party. However, we all should vote. We should study the candidates and vote for the person who best fits the principles that Jesus taught over 2,000 years ago. There will never be one candidate that stands on all of those principles. However, there may be one that comes close.
In November you have a chance to participate in a Presidential election. Please participate. It would be easy to just be frustrated and walk away from the whole thing. It would have been easier for Jesus to walk away from Zacheus too.
My wife Chelsea didn't vote. Why? She's not a Republican or Democrat and so had nothing to vote for in the primary. I'm glad she didn't go pick a side to "rock" that party's vote. I heard Rush and other conservative talk show hosts urging Republicans to switch sides and vote for Hillary to give John McCain a better shot at winning. At first I thought that was a good idea, but the more I thought about it I came to this conclusion - if my candidate is good enough he should win no matter who he runs against.
ReplyDeleteI know Chelsea will cast a ballot in November. Will it be for the same candidate as me? Don't know. That's up to her. If she tells me she's voting for Hillary I might have to convice her that she votes on Wednesday though! ;)
I agree with you Bob, everyone should vote. You can't complain about a decision you never made.
I have a co-worker that is a "independent" and didn't vote. That's why you'll notice I didn't reference primaries. If I had I would have been a few days behind on it! :)
ReplyDeleteGood for you on not pulling the switch. If you don't like a candidate you shouldn't vote for them. Period.
The two party system isn't working real well for me this year either. I find Chelsea, who is an independent, and I are finding more common ground this year. I'm more conservative than she is, but she's not a liberal, more moderate. The common ground isn't on ideals, but we both feel "our guy" isn't in the race. Who's "our guy," well....don't know. McCain sits a little left of me, a little more left than I'd like, but he's probably "my guy" by default.
ReplyDeleteI think there needs to be a national primary day. Doesn't it seem weird that only part of the country gets to shape the race for the entire country? Imagine if only Bainbridge voted this past Tuesday for Ross County Sheriff. How would you feel if you lived in Kingston but had no say in who was going to be YOUR sheriff.