I wish, oh, how I wish a constitutionally
solid, doctrinally sound, biblically motivated, genuinely converted man of God
was running for president of the United States of America. Words can’t express how I wish this
were so, but it isn’t. And, like
it or not, our Founding Fathers designed a governmental system in which our
current situation was made possible.
While these wonderfully brilliant and mostly Christian men likely never
anticipated a day such as today in American history, they purposefully guarded
against a system in which a religious litmus test would determine who could
serve in government and who could not.
Many of them had left their homeland due to the oppression of a state
“ordained” religion that was “required.”
Give clear attention to my next words…these God-fearing men created the
documents that formed our type of government, purposely relying on the people
to insert their values into the electoral process. In other words, if the people nominate and elect Christian
politicians, then Christians will give guidance to our country. If they don’t, non-Christian
politicians will lead our nation.
Rather than trying to force a theocratic government, the weight was
placed on the people to determine what influence would guide America, Christian
or non-Christian. Don’t get me
wrong, our forefathers unequivocally reflected the values of Christianity in
civil government. George
Washington claimed “Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political
prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports…And let us indulge
with caution the supposition that morality can be maintained without
religion.” Yet, Christianity was
not given a place of legal standing.
The First Amendment insures that Christianity can be an unhindered
influence on our nation, but also prevents it from being the law of the land.
So, where does this leave us? Christianity has certainly influenced
our government for years, but this is not a given. If Christians fail to influence current culture, we
surrender our effect and invite
secularist ideas. In the words of Greg Koukl, president and founder of Stand
To Reason, “The sad fact of the matter is that cultural authority was not
stolen from us (Christians); we surrendered it through neglect. Os Guinness pointed out that Christians
have not been out-thought. Rather,
they have not been around when the thinking was being done.” When Christians in
America abandon public discourse, intelligently defending Christian values and
why they are necessary to a prosperous, harmonious and safe society, we cannot
expect our beloved land to maintain its designation as a “Christian”
nation. The key to a
“Christian” America is the same today as it was in the beginning. This key is the exercise of
Christianity from genuine conviction.
When true Christians begin to live out authentic Christianity in their
everyday walk of life, inserting God’s truth in their lifestyles, jobs,
pleasure, home life, voting activities and beyond, exercising a genuine
Christian worldview, then, and only then, will the tide turn in our favor.
Understanding our previous discussion,
where does this put Christians in the upcoming presidential election? Neither candidate represents what most
conscientious Christians desire in their Commander-in-Chief, but the reality is
they represent who our nation has become.
When professing Christians fail to live out their faith and refuse to
let it effect their decision making, we find ourselves with choices that are
somewhat disconcerting. As I’ve
wrestled over and over with my responsibility as an American, who is a
Christian, I’ve come to a conclusion that doesn’t inspire me, but makes sense
at this stage in the game. If the
aim of genuine Christians is to exert our influence in American life once
again, with hopes of regaining our cultural authority, we must vote for the
candidate that will most likely become a “friend” to this ambition. Christian or not, the person who will
protect the ability of Christians to insert their faith into American life must
be our choice. Voting for a third
party candidate or not voting at all, are not real options, in my opinion. A third party vote for a candidate who
has no realistic chance of winning is, in effect, a vote against your
goal. Not voting is also a vote
against your goal. While either
choice might sound spiritually noble and assuage our consciences, they are not
helpful to our cause. The
long-term goal of reestablishing Christianity into our culture must be our
chief end and each decision made must keep this in mind. I’ve become convinced that our upcoming
election is more than a choice between two evils, as many have espoused. It is a vote between two Americans, at
least in a legal sense, with extremely different outlooks and goals for the
US. One vows that he will protect
Christianity’s ability to exert influence in American life. The other offers a very different
view. She maintains the belief
that Christians must change their views on such issues as abortion and same-sex
marriage. Her political philosophy
is not to provide opportunity for Christians to exert influence, but to
suppress it. The ultimate aim of
her agenda is to “fundamentally change” America, as her predecessor, and this
change is to rid our beloved nation of Christian values and morals for a
progressive, and might I say, godless ideology. With this is mind, the fog of indecision begins to clear and
our choice comes into focus. The
aim at this point is not to gin up either candidate as a morally astute, conservative
Christian for which to vote, as much as I wish that option were available. Some well-meaning people, including
Christian leaders, have tried this already with our current candidates and it
has not been convincing. Only our
Lord knows the heart of an individual, but neither candidate gives convincing
proof of genuine conversion as we observe their fruits. In spite of this, our goal remains,
which is to make decisive steps, as small as they might appear, toward
regaining Christian influence in America once again. We did not sink into the spiritual quagmire in which we find
ourselves today, overnight. Nor
will we climb out of it overnight.
It will be a process, but one that must begin now lest we sink
completely over our heads.
Remember, we are not voting on a savior, come November, who will fix
every problem and solve all ills.
There is only one Savior and he is not running for office. He is already the King of kings and
Lord of lords. We are voting for a
leader who will move our country in the right direction, giving Christians the
freedom to exert our influence in the land. The Titanic could not turn on a dime, but she could
turn. America will not return to
her Christian roots by one presidential vote, but she can return as we make one
positive steps after another in the right direction and the first step begins
in November.
Addendum: This blog was written before the
unveiling of Donald Trump’s sordid tapes.
What this man said was lurid, morally repugnant and just plain
wrong. No excuse can be made, nor
justification given. Locker room
talk or not, Trump took a gigantic, monumental step over the boundary of what
is morally acceptable. I make no
excuse for him on this. At the
same time, one must not lessen Hillary Clinton’s unacceptable indiscretions in
the midst of Trump’s dust up. Mrs.
Clinton defended her husband’s “alley cat” behaviors by seeking to harshly
discredit those women who “outed” him, accusing them of being lying pawns of
the “right wing conspiracy” to take her husband down. The charges brought were obviously true, at least in part,
due to the fact that President Clinton was impeached by congress. Candidate Clinton unapologetically
locks arms with Planned Parenthood, admitting the she is in favor of aborting
the unborn, up until the point of birth.
As Secretary of State, she leaves a trail of illegal, incompetent
activities that appear to have needlessly cost the lives of fellow Americans,
not to mention scrubbing over 30,000 emails that were under subpoena by
congress. Clearly, Trump and
Clinton have serious fatal character flaws that make them undesirable
candidates for the presidency.
Yet, they are our choices (let’s be honest, no third party candidate has
enough traction or time to make a viable run) and we must keep our goal of
reinserting Christianity into the current culture at the forefront. In my opinion, the vote is for much
more than the particular candidate, but our freedom to practice and promote our
faith in the public square, or lack thereof. I am seeking to think of the future my children (and maybe
grandchildren, some day) will be left to enjoy or endure. If my vote merely involved the
particular candidates, I would likely write in a name and forget about it, but
so much more is at stake. We are
electing a future direction and governmental precedence, just as we have
experienced the last eight years.
While some dear Christian friends will disagree with my assessment (and
I am fine with that), I can assure that this conclusion has not come easily and
is still a wrestling match in my soul.
Disagree, but please do not conclude that I have not weighed the
options, considered the choices, searched my heart, prayed, listened to and
read the opinions of Godly men and women, such as Drs. Al Mohler, president of
Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and David Jeremiah, pastor of Shadow
Mountain Community Church, both of whom I greatly respect. As a matter of fact, I will continue to
seek my Savior’s direction, all the way to the ballot box. I do not take this lightly and remain
open to God’s leadership.
