Is The Church Standing Silent?
Our national elections are staring us in the face. While the commercials disgust many and people don’t like either of the major party candidates preachers today are deciding that speaking about government issues and especially elections is totally out of the question. ‘That’s not for the church’ it seems. Yet we read in Romans 13 that everyone is to be subject to the government and that it is our responsibility, yes everyone’s responsibility even believers in Christ, to be watching out for what’s happening in our government. Not only are we to follow the laws, but we must be faithful in electing competent leaders. Somehow, we have forgotten that. Shame on us. And I want to say shame on the church.
Today with technology being what it is, we know more about candidates than we ever have before. We also know that we have a lot of corruption and corrupted government leaders. Those leaders are from both of the major parties. I would submit part of the problem is because we as Christians , and the church in particular have not practiced due diligence, praying and doing our part to make a difference in our country at the government level. I want to explain what I mean by that.
There are a lot of ways to get involved that do not require any money and very little of our time. There are no excuses for not learning about candidates. There are so many great nonprofit born again Christian organizations providing voting records of candidates and voter information of new candidates that allow voters to make informed choices. While some churches make this information available to their congregations far more do not.
Teaching children about the political process of electing a candidate is one of the best experiences a child can have in learning about living in America. Find a candidate local state or federal that you support, go to that political office and get some material to go door-to-door in your neighborhood, help your child be able to speak to that neighbor encouraging them to vote for that person and giving them some literature. Just like we teach them to give out literature for the Lord. It can be a one-day event, but it will be a lifetime memory for your child. And it will make a difference for that candidate.
We are losing America! Let me say that again, WE ARE LOSING AMERICA! Now, the Lord is in control. Let me make no qualms about that. You and I both know that. Yet, neither of us know HIS timetable. In the meantime, He has called us to be faithful, and spreading His word and taking care of business at the living level of our lives. How many of you are making a difference for your country? May we continue to pray of course, and of course, we know so many of our veterans need more of our prayers. But our country needs you on the battleground in this election. We need you to vote! And we need you to be an informed voter!
I’ve heard some lousy commercials saying why someone is not going to vote for so and so and why someone is going to vote for so and so. They are terrible commercials because they are shallow. In this day and age where people don’t use manners or common courtesy in regular conversations, we say we’re not going to vote for someone. Both sides are doing the very same thing. It’s very disgusting yet it’s the world we live in today. Rather, I encourage you to look at the POLICIES these candidates at all levels of government are going to support or at least they say they are. If they have a record, you can look at to know how they have voted so much the better.
Lastly, isn’t forgiveness one of the biggest tenants of the Christian faith. How about we start practicing what we believe? Our country needs strong leaders at all levels. I encourage the church to become more involved in getting out the vote and getting people off the couch. Apathy has no place in the church. Not for the cause of Christ and not for the cause of America.
Jan Conwell
