By this time next year everyone will most likely have decided who they prefer to fill the office of President of the United States. We listen and watch as each one makes their position clear on the issues facing us as a country and as people in general. I think most of us want more than anything to elect someone who promotes positive change within the government itself in order to create a better environment for our kids and grand kids. Who can do the best job of this, is the question.
Some are concerned about the chosen religion of the top two candidates in the Republican party. One is a member of the Seventh Day Adventist church and is bombarded daily with questions about his faith….which he answers. The other one insists, “I’m a Presbyterian.” What difference does it make, some might ask…as long as they are Christians?
Professing to be a member of a church and being a Christian are not the same thing at all. If one considers his church membership as proof of his faith and expects no questions about his personal beliefs, he should not be running for public office of any kind. Their life’s accomplishments say a lot about who they are and their abilities to lead, but their personal beliefs tell us more about HOW they will lead….who’s guidance will they seek most when making decisions that will impact the lives of every American?
Not every American is Christian, and I understand that, but many who don’t profess to believe still want someone to lead us back to the way America used to be, when our neighborhoods were safe and we didn’t have to worry about our children getting shot at school…or even in church. We, the people, used to care more about helping each other and being good neighbors who contributed to the community we call home. People didn’t shoot others simply for what they said or how they drove their car. Love was our universal language, not hate and discontent.
The purpose of progress in any area should be improvement. The most progress we’ve seen in the last several decades has been in the field of electronics….the quest for a better phone, faster computers and better graphics for our video games has consumed us all to the point that human relationships and interactions with others has been overlooked….and allowed to regress. Respect and common decency has been replaced by political correctness and if it feels good do it.
To get our country back to being one nation under God, must be our goal…. and it will not be easy. It will take a Godly man who prays, asking God’s guidance in all decisions. In the book of Titus, this young paster finds himself with the dire task of reuniting a church that has been torn apart by sin and false teachers. Paul writes to him with instructions on how to handle this job. This same advice would be well taken by those running for the highest office in our country.
Paul advised Titus to appoint men who were of proven spiritual character. Titus 1: 7 …”not self-willed, not soon angry, not given to wine, no striker, not given to filthy lucre. (riches) 8 But a lover of hospitality, of good men, sober, just, holy, temperate.” In this church, as in our country today, “..there are many unruly and vain talkers and deceivers…whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole houses, teaching things which they ought not, for filthy lucre’s sake.” Titus 1: 10-11.
As a church, and still the majority, we Christians must stand up and face the battles that are being waged against our faith and our religious freedoms. We must encourage and vote for men and women of faith who will work to preserve and protect our Constitution. In order to insure our voices are heard and God’s will is done, we must pray for God’s guidance and get to know who the candidates are and what they believe. Pray for wisdom and discernment, then, most importantly, vote….Only God can turn our country around and bless America with a Godly President.
