Wednesday, July 27, 2016

A Broken Sense of Ethics

Wednesday, July 27, 2016
Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church.  Ephesians 4:15(NLT)
Sometimes truth is spoken, and there is no love in it.  This 30 year-old cartoon comes to mind:


The truth is, the coach wants a win, big-time!  When he takes his hat off, still foaming at the mouth and invites the team to pray, you wonder whom to believe, Jekyll or Hyde?  Just looking at the players, you know they’re feeling it too; notice how the player on the far right has a complete facial expression change from, Yeah, let’s kill ‘em to HUH?

I’ve seen a lot of that look in this political season; I’ve seen it mostly in the mirror.  That look shows up when I’m listening to the candidates.  That kill ‘em but pray for ‘em see-saw tone used by the wild-eyed candidates overwhelms my ability to believe almost anything they say on the campaign stump.

Duplicity, Fraud, Scammer, Deceiver, Treacherous….these are all synonyms describing people who say things that are meant to sway the listener’s support, but the actions which follow are inconsistent; they say one thing, mean and do another.

Now, please save the cards and letters – I’ve heard all the “reasons” why if you don’t vote for this one, you’re voting for the other. (Mathematically that isn’t true anyway – at most the value of a non-vote could only approach ½ a vote). 

I do intend to vote, but this political cycle has been perhaps the biggest challenge I’ve ever faced to making an ethical choice, consistent with God’s Word on choosing godly leaders.

All of the candidates have ethical compromises.  Each claims to be Christian.  In the case of the Blue Party, a lifelong Methodist and Roman Catholic both support abortion; they’re both either in the wrong church, or consider themselves exempt…or above answering to that point. 

In the Red Party, the candidates are a self-proclaimed Presbyterian, and a born-again Evangelical Roman Catholic.  In the case of the VP candidate, he still places money over faith.  He initially signed a religious freedom law in Indiana permitting people to refuse to do business with anyone on the basis of their faith, but the following week signed a watered-down version replacing it when corporations and celebrities complained.

As for the Presidential candidate, he claims to be a Presbyterian but denies ever apologizing to anyone – mother, father, or God.  As I recall, that little thing about confession of sin to God (apologizing) to confirm our belief is a rather standard requirement.  I do not presume to know his heart, but going to church for a drop of wine and a little cracker so you can feel good afterward….once every ten years, whether you need it or not, is hardly evidence to support a claim of godliness.

Once again – I do not intend to judge another’s heart relationship with God; in fact, I just wish they would all leave that part out of their speeches.

But, no matter what, it is going to be a rocky road to November 8th

For You Today

I invite you to do what I have committed to do…pray hard…every day…for the candidates to speak truth…and to learn to speak it in love.

And then, relax….God’s got this, believe it or not!

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road today…have a blessed day!

Go to VIDEO



NOTES
[i] Title Image: By Mrkgrd (Own work), via Wikimedia Commons

No comments:

Post a Comment