Don't Tell Me You Didn't Vote!

 

God doesn’t get a vote. You do. That is why God expects you to cast your vote by election day.  

Paul’s explains God’s instructions to us, “Be a good citizen. All governments are under God. Insofar as there is peace and order, it's God's order. So live responsibly as a citizen.” (The Message)

Responsible Christians vote as a part of our call to be the salt that seasons society and the light that illuminates deeds done in darkness.

“Untold troubles can descend upon a country or an industry when Christians refuse to take their part in the administration and leave it to selfish, self-seeking, partisan(s)….” (William Barclay)

The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., eloquently explains why Christians should vote:  "The church must be reminded that it is not the master or the servant of the state but rather the conscience of the state. It must be the guide and the critic of the state and never its tool."

I do not believe any preacher is wise to suggest to you for whom you should vote. There is no way that Jesus would do that. Christians should seek to put into office those who align with their values and the values of God’s Word as best as you can understand them. But the minute the church tries to control the government by installing those it claims are ‘God’s candidate’, that is the moment the government will turn right around and try to control the church, demanding the allegiance that is reserved for God.

But, that doesn’t mean there is not a God-directed obligation to vote for someone who in your view will allow the church and society to peacefully co-exist and the people to flourish.

I can think of very few excuses for not voting which God would accept.  The worst possible excuse I hear is, ‘They are all the same, it doesn’t matter.’  Friends, you need only study the history of politics in your own lifetime to know how much every vote matters in determining what happens in your community, your state, your nation, your world.

Correct that, “God’s world.” That is why, if you choose not to vote, you had better expect your greeting at the pearly gates to include, “Don’t tell me you didn’t vote!”

How To Become a Great Person

Larger than life. This week made me think about larger than life people. Monday was a day set aside to remember the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.. You have to be among the largest of larger than life figures to have a nation honor your memory with a day.  Friday was a day set aside to observe the transition of the world’s most powerful political position, the President of the United States of America, also known less formally as the Leader of the Free World.  No pressure there.  The transition happened with all of the pomp and circumstance which this most important transition of power commands: President Obama flies away and President Trump is escorted to the people’s home past many thousands of cheering supporters.

Today many thousands of people march those same streets to register their opposition to the policies of the same man who was yesterday cheered.  The juxtaposition of these two “parades” shows the genius of our nation’s Constitution and character, for, as F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote, "The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposing ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function."  Our nation functions, left and right, conservative and liberal, with two wildly different understandings of what it means for a nation to be “great again.” Genius.

But the other thing that these two parades show is how fleeting fame, or glory, or greatness is; the difficulties that arise for one thrust onto the “larger than life” stage.  At the end of the movie, Patton, the great and controversial General is walking away from the camera reciting the words that are spoken to ancient conquering heroes, “All glory is fleeting.”  I pray success for our nation and our new President, but I also pray for the loyal opposition to be allowed to function with gusto.  Presidents and their policies come and go, one flying away and another marching home, but the power of the people must remain the constant.  These are the “great persons”, the larger than life people upon whom the functioning of the world depends as they live and serve the greater good.

“Jesus gave us a new norm of greatness…(R)ecognize that he who is greatest among you shall be your servant. That’s a new definition of greatness….You don’t have to have a college degree to serve…You don’t have to know about Plato and Aristotle to serve. You don’t have to know Einstein’s theory of relativity to serve…You only need a heart full of grace, a soul generated by love. And you can be that servant.”  Martin Luther King, Jr. Source: Drum Major Instinct (last sermon 4 Feb 1968) (discovered at inward/outward)