Yesterday was Election Day in California. I am ashamed to say, but I waited until the last day or two to look at the ballot. So I started the task of trying to research the candidates. I read their statements in the ballot pamphlet, I went to their websites and read their statements, I looked at their biographical history and endorsements and occasionally I even look at what the newspapers said about them.
In some cases a candidate ran unopposed. That would not be a problem if the candidate were wise and ruling in a way which is consistent with God’s standards. But that was not the case. Often these were people who had no understanding of God’s standards. They had no understanding of standards at all. They were simply doing what seemed right in their own eyes or what the Party said they should do, or what they believed would win them favor with the voters, or supporters.
There were at least a couple of cases where both candidates were just awful. In one case even the LA Times said that both judges were unqualified, and I agreed. There were candidates that made absurd statements. They would be running for an office like State Controller and would make statements against America being at war. Don’t they know that State Controller has nothing to do with the Federal Government or the Defense Department? Maybe they think that if they become the Controller they get to control everything.
To say the least I have never been more disappointed in the selection of candidates we had on the ballot this election cycle.
Where are the Christians! Don’t get me wrong, I am not saying that just because a person is a Christian he or she will make a good Governor or Judge or whatever. I am also not saying that a Non-Christian is necessarily a bad candidate. But I would hope that somewhere out there among the millions of Christians in Southern California there should be many capable people. Being a Christian they should be familiar with the Bible and the principles that God laid out for creating and maintaining a successful government. Why don’t they step forward and run for office?
I think Christians have this aversion to politics. Somehow they believe the politics is dirty and Christians should have nothing to do with it. Even Churches avoid politics. There are pastors that will speak on the home and family life, drugs, sex, performing well at work and school. They will talk about handling money and tithing, forgiveness and love. Their preaching shows how God wants to affect every area of your life, except your politics.
Think about it, what would your Bible look like if all of the politics were removed? Moses would need to go. He approached the leader of the most powerful nation on earth and demanded that he free the slaves. Then he went on to lead a nation, deliver the Laws of God (both religious and civil, there really was no distinction), and he acted as the judge for the entire nation. Well there goes most of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. Let’s throw out a few other people too: Joseph (ruler in Egypt), Joshua, all of the Judges, Samuel, Saul, David, Solomon, Hezekiah, and the rest of the kings, Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, Nehemiah, even John the Baptist would have to go because he was constantly pointing out Herod’s sin to his face. I suppose we should throw out nearly all of the prophets because their messages were to nations not individuals and the messages were often delivered to Kings.
It looks to me like the great majority of the Bible is about politics. There are God’s principles for government in the books of Moses. There is God’s dealing with nations throughout scripture. There is God working through national leaders. There is God’s warning to nations in the prophetic books. All of this and Christians avoid politics. Unbelievable!!!
It is funny that we accept that God accomplished His work through national leaders of His choosing in the Old Testament but we expect Him to work totally differently today. Where are the Christian leaders? Is it that God is not calling or is it that we are not listening?
Wake-up!!! We need qualified Christians to run for office and we need it now. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think that we should look to the government to solve all of our problems and politic is not the answer. God is the one that we should turn to, but God has shown that He often works His will through national leaders. Politics is not the answer but nearly every answer has a political component. We need good Christians leading in all aspects of life and in all occupations. We definitely need them in government.
This is my call for Christian candidates. Get your act together, get organized and run for office. And the rest of you Christian brothers and sisters help them out. They cannot do it alone. They need your support through prayer, finances and campaigning for them. I don’t ever want to see another ballot where there are no obvious good choices.
Duane Vasquez 