No, this actually has nothing to do with the whole Mayan/world ending in 2012 thing. I’ll get to what it does mean in a second.
More and more, I hate election season. Mainly because it brings out the worst in people, and being a Christian in a conservative state, most of the maliciousness I see comes from the actions of people who claim they follow Christ. It infuriates me that those who talk the most about morals are the most fanatical people when it comes to politics. It infuriates me that those concerned with truth in the ultimate sense of the word throw truth to the wind when it comes to facts about a man, namely Barack Obama.
Last month at work we had biography DVDs of both Barack Obama and John McCain side by side. And so many times I’d walk by only to find the Obama ones turned around with a McCain one placed over it. I tried so hard to catch people in the act, but I never did, which is probably best since I might have flown off the handle. That’s not an endorsement of either candidate on my part but rather the annoyance of 1) having merchandise tampered with because of a customer’s political views, and 2) that being a really, really, REALLY stupid method of protesting. I guess seeing two John McCain DVDs next to eachother with no Obama one in sight is a good campaigning strategy.
Like I said, I’m disgusted at just how petty my fellow Christians get during this time. How dare we claim to be Jesus’ disciples and then launch smear campaigns. Paul and Peter both commanded Christians to obey the governing authorities, and that was in the context of living in the Roman Empire. How spoiled we have become in being able to worship freely. How ungrateful we are to enjoy that gift that most Christians throughout the world don’t enjoy.
Some of this stuff has been boiling up in me for a while, but I was prompted to finally write this after reading the following article: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081025/ap_on_el_pr/christian_right_attacks. Apparently someone has written a hypothetical letter from the year 2012 describing the woe that has befallen the nation as a result of Obama’s being elected president. It is, as one pastor in the article says, desperation. Frankly it disgusts me.
My brothers, if your hope is so tied to whoever sits in our White House, you have a pitiful view of God and a skewed view of the Church.
Again, this is not an endorsement of either candidate. Go vote, but trust God to do what he will be pleased to do. And whoever wins, pray for them. Support them. Obey them to the edge of your faith, and only refrain from such obedience when it is in direct violation to God’s Word.
But above all, if you’re a Christian, don’t you dare smear a candidate. Show grace and truth. Present your side in love and knowledge, and don’t be the uninformed voter who votes for McCain simply because Hussein Obama is a Muslim terrorist. Smear is the result of desperate Christians who have forgotten who is ultimately in charge, and who have forgotten the real kingdom to which their citizenship lies.
Related: “Can Christians Vote for Obama?”
