Thought for Today
Deuteronomy 8:20 Like the nations that the Lord is destroying before you, so shall you perish, because you would not obey the voice of the Lord your God.
Jeremiah 7:23 "Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be my people; and walk only in the way that I command you, so that it may be well with you."
Matthew 22:21 "Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor's, and to God the things that are God's."
Luke 10:27 "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself."
Unless you somehow live totally “off the grid,” you know that an election is rapidly approaching. If you have seen or heard any campaign ads, you have probably heard some warning that this election will determine the future existence of our democracy. It will. So too, however, did the election of 1789 when George Washington was first elected President. So too did the election of 1860 when Abraham Lincoln was elected. So too has every Presidential election since our Constitution was first ratified. All elections, whether for national or local elections, are critical for the future existence of our democracy. Whether for President, Senator, governor, mayor, city manager or dog catcher (oops. Sorry, for Department of Animal Control), each and every election is critical, and every citizen has a duty to study the issues and candidates and to vote.
After hearing one of those ads last night, I began to think about Venn Diagrams. “A Venn diagram is a graphical representation of mathematical or logical relationships between different sets. It consists of overlapping circles, each representing a set, with the overlapping areas illustrating the common elements shared by the sets.” (www.geeksforgeeks.org) I learned about Venn Diagrams in a long-ago forgotten college course titled Linear Algebra. The only other thing I remember from that course is that it didn’t seem to me to have anything to do with algebra. But I do remember Venn Diagrams.
As a Christian, I and most who are reading this exist in that overlapping area. One circle represents our civic duties as citizens of whatever government controls the area where we live. The other circle represents our Christianity. The same is true for a Moslems, Buddhists, Hindus or even secular humanists who might reside in our nation. One circle for civic duty, the other for the faith, moral code or other guiding principle of one’s life. All of us live in that intersection.
None of this in any way minimizes the importance of this or any election. There are no trivial, unimportant elections in a democracy. As a Christian minister, I like every other Christian have a duty to "Give . . . to the emperor the things that are the emperor's, and to God the things that are God's." The only hard part for any of us should be making sure we assign “things” to the correct list. Christians must carefully study candidates and issues, must understand and evaluate them in the context of both civic and spiritual considerations. Sometimes it is easy; sometimes it is more difficult. Every time it is necessary.
As a Christian minister, I try not to let my political opinions and thoughts intrude into my sermons or into these writings. My civic duties are the same as everyone’s. I do carefully evaluate issues and candidates; and, Greta and I are meticulous about voting. Our mail-in ballots are properly marked, signed and sealed, ready to take to City Hall and put in the secure drop-box.
As a Christian, I also remember Jesus’ answer when he was asked to prioritize the commandments. Jesus lived in an occupied territory of the Roman Empire. The civic government was controlled by Roman officials. Jesus and his fellow citizens could not vote. But, historically the Jews lived under a theocracy. The Romans allowed local religious leaders great latitude in enforcing local customs and rules. Jesus summarized it all with ‘love God, love your neighbor.’ Still good advice for us today. Greta is the only person who ‘needs’ to hear my political rants and opinions. Everyone deserves to know my love for God and to know my love for all my neighbors. Irrespective of party or political inclinations, Christians are called to live lives of love. Win, lose or draw, Christians are called to love.
Stay safe, live in the overlap, trust God,
Pastor Ray