Tomorrow is election day. But it's a midterm so no one really cares anyway, right?
It is amazing to me how voting is somethings promoted a God-given duty that only Patriotic Americans participate in and sometimes downplayed as just another tool in the arsenal of resources at God's disposal for getting what God wants. Yes, downplayed.
Frustrations can run high after all when you get caught between, "How could God be against us? (Romans 8:31)" and, "Christians are supposed to respect the God-appointed governmental authorities over them (Romans 13:1)." Maybe Christians today just aren't sure how God plays into this whole democracy thing other than to puff up our Patriotism. Wait... which comes first? God or country? Yeah, I rest my case.
But our society-wide apathy towards voting is truly just an indicator of a greater problem (imho) - society-wide apathy toward voting. The truth is we vote. We vote with our time, money, and selves and frankly, there are already voting. I don't have to wait til tomorrow night to see that we've been had. The scariest part?
We are okay with it.
We've sold our soul already, thank you very much. I don't know if you or I would call it that. As a Chaplain on a college campus I often see the disconnect between the lips that placate and the heart that does whatever the hell it wants to anyway.
Why vote or be involved in the democratic process? My vote will never be tied to me, specifically. Only the crass would actually ask who I voted for. It doesn't change anything anyway. It doesn't matter. It's all a sham anyway, right?
Here is the truth: in life, in faith, in government, or in love: the possibility of failure or defeat never defines those whose hearts and deeds are one. The greater reality is defined by those who follow through with who they are and forgo the assurance of a specific response.
This is why I love - because God first loved me. The greater my assurance of that truth the more it doesn't matter what the future holds.
This is why I vote - because the "validity" has less to do with what outcome it produces and more to do with it as an expression of who I am and what is important to me.
Should you vote on Tuesday? Only if it truthfully, as best in your estimation, is important to you.
See you at the polls!
It is amazing to me how voting is somethings promoted a God-given duty that only Patriotic Americans participate in and sometimes downplayed as just another tool in the arsenal of resources at God's disposal for getting what God wants. Yes, downplayed.
Frustrations can run high after all when you get caught between, "How could God be against us? (Romans 8:31)" and, "Christians are supposed to respect the God-appointed governmental authorities over them (Romans 13:1)." Maybe Christians today just aren't sure how God plays into this whole democracy thing other than to puff up our Patriotism. Wait... which comes first? God or country? Yeah, I rest my case.
But our society-wide apathy towards voting is truly just an indicator of a greater problem (imho) - society-wide apathy toward voting. The truth is we vote. We vote with our time, money, and selves and frankly, there are already voting. I don't have to wait til tomorrow night to see that we've been had. The scariest part?
We are okay with it.
We've sold our soul already, thank you very much. I don't know if you or I would call it that. As a Chaplain on a college campus I often see the disconnect between the lips that placate and the heart that does whatever the hell it wants to anyway.
Why vote or be involved in the democratic process? My vote will never be tied to me, specifically. Only the crass would actually ask who I voted for. It doesn't change anything anyway. It doesn't matter. It's all a sham anyway, right?
Here is the truth: in life, in faith, in government, or in love: the possibility of failure or defeat never defines those whose hearts and deeds are one. The greater reality is defined by those who follow through with who they are and forgo the assurance of a specific response.
This is why I love - because God first loved me. The greater my assurance of that truth the more it doesn't matter what the future holds.
This is why I vote - because the "validity" has less to do with what outcome it produces and more to do with it as an expression of who I am and what is important to me.
Should you vote on Tuesday? Only if it truthfully, as best in your estimation, is important to you.
See you at the polls!
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