What might that look like?
Voting booths torn out of precincts?
Pad-locks on doors?
Signs posted around the country with only one face, one name, one person demanding allegiance?
Or else.
As disappointing as our current presidential candidates are, we still have an opportunity to vote. A privilege. A responsibility.
A freedom.
While neither candidate may scratch where our principles itch, one lines up more closely with the message of liberty, of which God is the author.
One who is willing to secure our borders. For without a border, we are not a country.
One who promotes free enterprise and champions small business owners. For without capitalism, socialism and communism take over.
One who supports limited governmental control in crucial areas of life, like parents' freedom to choose and guide their children's education.
One who acknowledges that life is sacred at every stage, and thus will work to protect pre-born children, the disabled, and the elderly.
One who believes a strong military is vital in establishing respect for America from both enemies and allies alike.
One who believes that a person's hard-earned money should not go to support healthcare mandates which fund abortion.
One who is closer in thought and practice to the ideas of our founding fathers and the Constitution.
One who believes that faith in God as recognized by our founding fathers is crucial to the moral fiber of our country.
The candidate options may not be ideal on every front. I get that.
However, ONE is better. Closer to the tenets upon which our country was founded. One who will champion the liberties we hold dear, not strap Americans with more government control, ultimately and dangerously wooing us toward a dictatorship.
As a Christian citizen, I believe God directs me to be salt and light in my culture (Matt. 5: Phil. 2:15). In all areas of life, I am to shine forth Christ's grace and truth.
Ken Ham, speaker, author, and president of Answers in Genesis-USA writes that, "When Christians go to the polls, we are given the opportunity to vote for those candidates we believe will best enable us to continue to have as much freedom as possible to be light and salt in this world, as we need to be. This is particularly true today as we are seeing an increase of Christian persecution and the erosion of religious freedom and the free exercise of religion guaranteed by the US Constitution and its First Amendment."
Furthermore, he notes that "Christians should judge what candidates believe, say, and do against the absolute authority of the Word of God and vote accordingly . . . As Christians, we need to be active in preaching, and 'to contend earnestly for the faith' (Jude 1:3). As part of our contending for the faith, I suggest we should be active in taking every opportunity we can (such as voting) to be an influence of good in this earthly world's affairs."
Jim Daly, president of Focus on the Family adds: "As citizens of the United States, we are both decision-makers for our government and stewards of our nation's values and heritage. There is no getting around it: voting is both a right and a responsibility for each one of us in our representative form of government. So please, commit to vote in 2016!"
I echo his plea!
For the Christian, all of life is sacred. God expects us to influence all aspects of society, including the governmental process. To quote Edmund Burke, statesman, orator, and political thinker of the 1700s, "We are part of a contract between those who are dead, those who are living, and those who are to be born."
One way we can fulfill our contract to the community of the past, present, and future is to step into our privilege and responsibility of voting.
Voting may be a simple thing. But it's a precious freedom that we must not take for granted.
4 comments:
I agree with your post and thinking and evaluation of the candidates. One is clearly better by far in terms of extremely important policies. By the way, electronic voting can be hacked, experts say we need paper trail ballots in case recounts are needed, and most places all we have is electronic, unfortunately.
This is so true. Neither were my first choice....or second, third, etc. However, our country needs to not let someone control every aspect of our lives. I will be praying the vote and choosing the candidate that best fits Christian beliefs. One will destroy this country and the other will either improve it or keep it the same.
Sharing this post.
Good point about the electronic voting, Terra. Praying that the experts and powers that be will do what they can to ensure accuracy. Bottom line: Much reliance on God's supernatural intervention.
Some conservative groups note that as many as 30 million Christians stayed home from the polls in 2012. It's easy to succumb to discouragement and disengage, but we really can't afford to. I was reading Decision magazine's current issue centered around the presidential election. Graham and other writers were indicating this election is the most critical since before Lincoln and the Civil War. With Supreme Court justices likely needing replacement at some point in the near future, the next president will be appointing either liberal or conservative judges. We must be informed and vote wisely. The impact of the Court alone will affect the next generation for years to come.
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