In three parts.
I.
Laws do not create core values, laws perpetuate core values.
And what a shame for those who claim to have and know the One who is Truth
(that is to say, the I AM, the Way, the LIFE), to be lame about their voting rights and forego the opportunity to perpetuate LIFE.
How one votes is a blatant expression of his or her core values.
You say one candidate upholds the prime fiscal policies or educational reforms, and mutter under your breath his or her support for partial-birth abortion or assisted suicide...
Ah, this too is a reflection of your core values. Something else apparently matters more than the issue of sparing a few thousand babies from their innocent deaths.
How will you explain to the next generation that you perpetuated a death culture in order to protect your pennies from being pocketed? I would hope that the Spirit of God would so move your heart to the rhythms of Heaven... Heaven holds many babes in her arms, and how she loves them! But have they fulfilled their destinies before the rights were stripped from them?
God, restore righteousness in our government! Would you place someone in position who would perpetuate the the laws of Your Kingdom, and distinguish between the holy and profane.
Endow the king with justice, O God, the royal son with righteousness... He will defend the afflicted among the people, and save the children of the needy; he will crush the oppressor... For he will deliver the needy who cry out, the afflicted who have no one to help. He will take pity on the weak and the needy, and save the needy from death. He will rescue them from oppression and violence, for precious is their blood in his sight.
- Psalm 72
II.
O shepherds, ministers of the Word! I ask: where will you lead your flocks? Or where will you avoid? Do you not speak of truth and justice and reformation because of protocol, because of status, because of fear? Do you finish your sermon on God-ordained frivolous prosperity, close the door to your office, and say a passing prayer (a mere thought!) that your sheep will choose the best path? Not to say that the outcome is upon your heads, but leaders will be held accountable.
And flock, do not blame your leaders for your laziness. May I propose that voting is tithe and offering too? It is both your responsibility and your willing gift. Laws will be made! Core values perpetuated! What are you standing for? Are you fearful of persecution? Blessed are you who carry the name of Christ! Blessed are you who are not ashamed of His Name before men!
Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices - mint, dill, and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law - JUSTICE, MERCY, and FAITHFULNESS. You should have practiced the latter without neglecting the former.
- Matthew 23.23
III.
My spirit groans, it aches - not in fear for the turnout this upcoming election - but it aches for an awakening of the church, a maturing of the church. We have lost our mandate to care for our fellow bretheren: and I refer most especially to the little ones, the 50+ million in America... we did not vote to save their lives, we put them in the foster care of heartless abortion clinics, we did not wash our hands of guilt (oh, did we know our hands were dirty? and yes, we have licked our fingers after eating processed/preserved/dried religion... these germs! They make us sick.)
We have been unmoved, passive, bland. We are gray walls in an empty castle, we are a prodigious landmark that has gathered moss. How deplorable that the nations should pass us! And forbid that, as though in tourism, they should say, "And herein lies the great church, she has stood throughout history, and she exists today, without inhabitants, without influence."
The grievances of my heart perhaps seem numerable, but I am hopeful.
This is why I pray for justice. This is why I pray for revival.
What is faith, what is a prayer, if I do not believe these things will come to pass?
What is it, to cry out for justice, if I do not have hope for the church, hope for government, hope for LIFE? These words may have been brash, but I speak from a heart that loves LIFE, and it would not be right to cry out on behalf of the dead and dying if I did not contend for those who have survived this holocaust.
This is our moment to perpetuate righteousness, to perpetuate LIFE. There is no HOLY excuse for the murder of innocent babes. So let the conviction in our spirit be for love, for God is Love, God is life. Though we may have been inactive or silent, there is always a greater and unfathomable grace.
My friends, VOTE. PRAY. Move. Shift.
Sing to the Lord a new song, His praise from the ends of the earth... Let them give glory to the Lord and proclaim His praise in the islands. The Lord will march out like a mighty man, like a warrior He will stir up His zeal; with a shout He will raise the battle cry and will triumph over His enemies.
"For a long time I have kept silent, I have been quiet and held myself back. But now, like a woman in childbirth, I cry out, I gasp, I pant... I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them..."
- Isaiah 42
xo