We sit a mere 22 days away from the next presidential election. Whether you are on the left or on the right, if you're honest, you have to admit that the two candidates on the current docket are lacking. Can we not unite on that? Both of our parties have let us down, but even less surprising, is some of the rationale people are tossing about to justify their decisions.
Several have publically declared that they are voting for candidate A, not because of policy or economy, but because of morality. They are voting for candidate A because candidate B is morally bankrupt. On the surface, it sounds nice and presents a moral standard, but once we dig into this thinking, what we find is the opposite.
If you want morality to serve as your standard then, from my position, neither candidate is an option for you. Both candidates have huge moral issues. A vote for one candidate over the other on moral grounds tells me a few things.
First, to imply that one candidate is a morally superior candidate to the other is to repeat tired speculation thrown about carelessly by the network news (See my last post on whether you can trust the news or not.).
Second, it implies that you are part of the base of one party and asserting that party's mantra. Suggesting one candidate is morally superior is a party line and an arrow both parties use to shoot at each other.
Third, presenting either candidate as morally superior is, forgive me for this, delusional. Morality dissolved as a concern during the Clinton years. If morality is your standard then I guess I am wondering how you can vote for anyone.
This last point is for those of us who claim Jesus Christ as Savior. Condemning anyone for their past is out of step with what the scriptures teach. First, your past has been wiped clean; God does not hold your past against you and He certainly does not give you the authority to hold another's past against them.
In Matthew 7, Jesus commands us to not judge; He goes further and tells us not to judge others or we will be judged in the same manner in which we judge others. He goes on to warn us that we tend to look at the speck in our brother's eye and miss the log in our own. The point is we love to judge ... why? I think it is so we can point out another's sin hoping people ignore our own. Jesus reminds us n Matthew 7 that there is only one judge and when He returns He will set all things right. That job is not yours or mine. Our job is to be found faithful and obedient to Jesus Christ, who is found in the word of God.
Let's agree that both candidates have moral issues; both candidates will not save us from our fate, which is set. So, how should you vote? Well, this is not a spiritual issue, in my opinion, as much as I wish it were one. We are not voting for a savior, a pastor or anything moral; that shipped sailed a long time ago. We are voting for sinful horribly-flawed candidates who represent direction, policy and governance. To ignore all of those to vote for one candidate as a rejection of the other's past sins is flawed and upside down.
As a Believer, if morality is your issue then neither candidate should be morally acceptable, but you and I are not morally acceptable either ... without Jesus Christ. What is the difference between who we are and who both candidates are? It is Jesus. There is nothing good in us other than Jesus. As Believers, we are called to a higher standard. We are called to live according to the standards laid out before us in scripture and then we are called to live them out before a watching world. How we do that matters, even when voting.
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