Here We Go Again!

 Maybe it’s my age, or perhaps the sensation that time passes so quickly, and the older we get the faster it seems to fly by. It seems to me that I wrote on this subject just last week. Has it been four years since we elected (or re-elected) our President? Has it actually been that long? Last week we officially entered into the season of political ads, presidential and vice-presidential debates, and volatile discussions at the local coffee shop, peppered no doubt by the distortions of the media so as to present their favorite candidate as far superior to the one who might have won the other party’s nomination. My dad has pointed out that the goals of a politician are two-fold: (1) Get elected, and (2) get re-elected. Everything else is subservient to these two self-imposed goals. I must confess that this year’s primary races for both parties has been unique (if I can use such a mild term). Some of you might find yourselves thinking with me, “Here we go again!” Having almost completed the three score and ten years referred to by Moses (Psalms 90:10), I have come to appreciate even more the sentiments of that great prophet as he stretches the 70 years to a full eight decades and concludes, “Yet is their pride but labor and sorrow; For it is soon gone, and we fly away.” I have lived through the Presidency of Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush (George H.W.), Clinton, Bush (George W), and Obama, though I scarce remember the policies, practices, or popularity of the first two. Good Presidents have come and gone, and bad Presidents have been endured by the people who anxiously look forward to that time when their voice can be heard in the voting booth once again. I have had the privilege of voting in every Presidential election since Lyndon Johnson. If my calculations are correct, I have, in my fifty some years as a part of the electorate of this country, been exposed to more than 4,000 political ads over the years, and pulled the lever to cast my vote, some twelve times.   So, I feel that what I am about to say is at least worthy of some consideration by those of us who will be voting in this year’s upcoming election as we select yet another man (or woman, as the case may be) to serve in the capacity of President of these United States.  May I suggest that you take into consideration the following thoughts as you walk into that booth and cast your vote for who will fill the most important office in our troubled world. We have only three months in which to educate ourselves as to the character of the person and what we can expect if he/she is elected to the office. 

First, the Christian takes into that voting booth something that others simply do not possess: the principles of truth and righteousness set forth in the Bible.  The Psalmist said that the word of God is his “light” and “lamp” (Psa. 119:105).  When the child of God steps into that voting booth, he uses that light to roll back the curtain that might otherwise hide the truth about the candidate’s policies and promises that are so often overlooked on the campaign trail.  Every promise that each candidate made, every policy to which he holds, is to be measured in the light of God’s word; not the emotions of the heart. 

Second, when the child of God enters that booth he takes with him the realization that he will answer to God as to the choice he makes. Since the time we were small children we have been reminded again and again that every single American plays a vital role in governmental affairs. This is a government of the people. Hence, every American has an influence on who sits behind that desk in the Oval Office. Since our vote plays a part in who fills the office of President, then it behooves us to vote with the realization that God is watching over our shoulder when we pull that lever or punch that card. Were Christ to stand beside you as you cast your vote this coming November, how would YOU vote? If we are instrumental in putting an ungodly man and/or woman into office, then we will answer to God for the part we played in the process. 

Third, each party and candidate should be measured in the light of what God’s word teaches. For a moment, let us simply ignore party names. Instead let us simply call them party “a” and party “b.” It is an undeniable truth supported by public proclamation, and party dogma, that one of these parties supports homosexuality as a way of life, abortion on demand, and has supported such liberal and immoral organizations as the ACLU, Planned Parenthood, and the National Gay and Lesbian organization. The other party opposes abortion (at least for now), believes in the Biblical design for the home and the sanctity of marriage, and seeks to maintain  the moral and ethical values of the founders of this country.  When you step into that booth, the child of God will not in any way, form or fashion, pull that lever in favor of a candidate or party that opposes all that is holy and godly. 

Finally, it is becoming increasingly evident that we may very well have to choose between the lesser of two evils, so far as the Presidential candidate is concerned. Personally speaking, I cannot recall an election season in which both candidates from the two leading parties have such a negative favorable rating among the electorate.  The latest statistic I read indicates that almost 70% of the American voters do not like either candidate, and, if given a viable choice, would break with the two party system and elect an independent.

The late Clarence Darrow once said, “When I was a boy I was told that anybody could become President; I’m beginning to believe it.” If the unholy and ungodly element in our society manages to take control of the major branches of our government, then the words of Clarence Darrow take on a whole new meaning.  As you consider the “pool” of Presidential possibilities, keep these thoughts in mind.  Keep in mind that this year’s election is a crucial point in our history as a nation.  Please, don’t approach this year’s election with the ho-hum attitude of, “Here we go again.”

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On the lighter side:  “I hear you made a million dollars in oil in Texas,” said one man to another. Replied the second, “Well, that report is substantially correct, except it wasn’t in Texas, it was Oklahoma; and its wasn’t in oil, it was gas; and it wasn’t me, it was my brother-in-law; and it wasn’t a million, it was a hundred thousand; and he didn’t make it, he lost it.” While we might chuckle at the above story, it well illustrates the uncontrollable nature of gossip.  Once a story has been launched, like a ship without a rudder upon the merciless sea, it is tossed to and fro by the wild imaginations of men who would twist, change, or outright lie about what they have heard.  Common sense tells us to be careful in communication.  Facts are often ignored by those who would seek to impress others with either good news, or bad.  We are admonished by God’s word to “lie not one to another,” and to always let our speech be seasoned with salt. Gossip is unhealthy communication.  Before passing along any information let us ask, (1) Is it true? (2) Is it beneficial to my hearer? and (3) Is it really all that important that I tell this to others?  And keep in mind that our Lord told us, “Take heed what ye hear: with what measure ye mete it shall be measured unto you; and more shall be given unto you” (Mark 4:24).

by Tom Wacaster