Thought for Today
Joshua 24:15 Now if you are unwilling to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served in the region beyond the River or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord."
Psalm 25:12 Who are they that fear the Lord? He will teach them the way that they should choose.
Mark 12:17 Jesus said to them, "Give to the emperor the things that are the emperor's, and to God the things that are God's." And they were utterly amazed at him.
John 15:16 You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name.
Yes, those are the same scripture passages I referenced this past Saturday. They are even more relevant today than yesterday or the day before. They will be most relevant tomorrow for those who have yet to vote.
Whatever else you may do tomorrow . . . VOTE! The only excuse for not voting tomorrow is having already voted. If you have, don’t vote tomorrow! I do wish there were a law precluding anyone in our country from complaining about our government unless they could produce proof of having voted in the most recent election.
Regrettably, the mere act of voting is not enough. It is easy to forget that the Nazi party came to power via an election. The Weimar Republic which arose in Germany following WWI did have elections. “The Nazi Party’s meteoric rise to power began in 1930, when it attained 107 seats in Germany’s parliament, the Reichstag. In July 1932, the Nazi Party became the largest political party in the Reichstag with 230 representatives.” (encyclopedia.ushmm.org) I have never encountered any discussion of that fateful election being fraudulent.
Whether you understand our country to be a democracy or, as I was taught in high school a republic, our responsibility as its citizens is not only to vote but also to vote wisely. We can only vote wisely, for elected officials or for ballot initiatives, when we carefully study the issues and the candidates. If that sounds too hard, too much like work, it might be best to just stay home, not to vote.
I understand Jesus’ words about giving “to the emperor the things that are the emperor's” to mean that all Christians who are eligible to vote, who are properly qualified and registered according to the laws of their place of residence should exercise that most valuable right.
Thankfully, here in the U.S.A. we don’t have an emperor. That is (very thankfully) by choice and deliberately ensconced in our Constitution. And, ever since Texas annexed the U.S.A. they thankfully retained that Constitution as the fundamental law of the land.
Our Constitution also includes the “Establishment Clause.” The First Amendment to our Constitution includes the words “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof...” (en.wikipedia.org) We sometimes mistakenly speak of that amendment as “the separation of church and state.” As Christians, we cannot separate our faith from our civic responsibilities. We cannot eschew our responsibilities to either church or state; we just want to keep the state out of our churches.
What all of that means is that because Jesus chose us, we are called upon the “choose this day whom” we will serve. That means that we are called upon to "Give to the ‘civil government’ the things that are the ‘government’s’, and to God the things that are God's."
Even as a Christian, even as a minister, I am called to have political interests, cares and concerns. I have duties in both realms. Those duties even at times overlap. I definitely have preferences every time I vote. I do listen and read, I pay attention to the words and deeds of the candidates, I evaluate the ballot initiatives. I make choices. I also keep any discussion of my choices as a citizen out of what I preach from the pulpit. Only Greta and our children are (too often?) forced to hear my political opinions. But, I vote, in this election I have already voted early, by mail. Whatever you do tomorrow, vote, vote wisely, vote as a Christian.
Stay safe, chose whom you will serve, trust God,
Pastor Ray