Friday, November 27, 2020

God And Politics

 




Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities.  For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God.  Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgement on themselves.  For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil.  Do you want to be unafraid of the authority?  Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same.  For he is Gods minister to you for good.  But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is Gods minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil.  Therefore you must be subject, not only because of wrath but also for conscience' sake.

Romans 13: 1 - 5 NKJV 


In all of the turmoil of our recent elections I've lost sight of one very important thing.  I was reminded of this the other day while talking to a friend about the eventual outcome of the election.  He told me that whichever way the election swings, it is God who orchestrated it, not the human voter.  No truer words were ever said.  As emotional beings, we often get lost in the emotions of politics.  That benefits nobody.  It seems that the days are gone where we would look at the two candidates, see where they stood on important issues and base our decision on what matters most to us.  No longer.  For now we have the "party voters" who vote for a particular candidate because he or she is a member of certain political party.  I'm not gonna lie, I've been guilty of that a time or two myself.  But, where does that get us?  Do we ignore a candidate, chosen by the Lord, simply because they don't reside within our chosen political party?  This year my choice was rather easy, I voted for the one man who had the can do attitude and actually implemented policies to help our nations citizens.  That man is Donald J Trump.  Yes, I benefited from his tax cuts, but so did millions of other American voters.  Another aspect of Trump that I admire is that he is unabashedly proud of his country.  I will stand behind that all day long!  Contrast that with Joe Biden, the candidate who barely left his basement throughout the entire campaign.  Granted, we've had virus issues to deal with, but that did not stop Donald Trump.  So, out of the two men whom the Lord presented to us, I chose the one who I felt benefited the country the most.  So sue me.  Looking at the two candidates as being placed before us by the Lord puts this election in a entirely new perspective.  No matter the outcome of Donald Trumps election challenges, it is God who will seat in the White House whom He desires to accomplish His will.  


Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, "vengeance is mine, I will repay," says the Lord.

Romans 12: 19 NKJV 


There is another reason that I'm rooting for Donald Trump to succeed in his election challenge.  Some time ago a good friend of mine, who remains in exile in Hawaii, struck a deal on a side bet on who would win the election.  Yes, I know that it's not the most Christian way of doing things, but it was all in good natured fun.  So it is that I have a dog in the fight in this election challenge.  That being said, it does not change the fact that it is God who will ultimately decide this contest.  I guess I kind of feel better, knowing that God is indeed in charge of this situation.  But what if God chooses the candidate I didn't vote for?  Did God miss the boat somehow?  Not really.  However, it is thinking such as that which takes God out of the equation and injects ourselves into it.  Thinking that if a certain candidate wins that all hell will break loose.  That if a certain man wins a election that everything we know and love will come crumbling down.  Well, how would you feel about God if everything you loved came crumbling down apart from a election?  How did Job react when he lost all he had?  Despite his loss, Job remained faithful {Job 2:10}.  Shall we indeed accept good from God but not accept adversity as well?  They go hand in hand.  Job knew in his heart that despite all that raged around him, that the Lord was still in control of it all.  Dare I say that this kind of faith takes a strong believers heart.  I was struck the other day by a town hall interview which former president Barack Obama did on PBS.  A gun rights conservative in the audience asked the president what he would do in relation to gun rights in the wake of recent gun violence in the country.  Now, Barack Obama was not a big fan of the second amendment, that much he made clear in his campaign and presidency.  But as he stood and faced this republican in the audience, Obamas answer was blunt and to the point.  Obama said that, in his time in office to date, that no effort had been made to restrict the second amendment.  Furthermore, he claimed that were such an effort to be made, that the congress and the National Rifle Association lobby would be a huge hurdle to climb.  I respected him for that.  I might not agree with all Obama did, but in that moment, he had my support.  Now, we await the outcome of whatever challenges Donald Trump will bring to a election he sees as unjust.  I just want to win my bet.  


Then his wife said to him, "Do you still hold fast to your integrity?  Curse God and die!"  But he said to her, "You speak as one of the foolish women speaks.  Shall we indeed accept good from God and shall we not accept adversity?"  In all this Job did not sin with his lips.

Job 2: 9 - 10  NKJV 


~Scott~ 

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