July 4, 2023

 

Change What is Acceptable

Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people he chose for his inheritance. – Psalm 33:12

 

We are in political season in the United States. It seems as though we are always in political season. We’ve got national races, state races and local races. Many candidates offer themselves as the “Christian” candidate. Does such a person even exist anymore?

 

We pick and choose the issues that best suit us. We are against abortion but refuse to show financial compassion for widows and children. We vow to keep foreigners from our land even though God told us to welcome them. We condemn others for their sins but refuse to acknowledge our own sins.

 

Should I continue? We speed – which is breaking the law. We drink to excess – though the Bible tells us not to. We commit adultery with our hearts and sometimes our bodies – though both clearly violates the Bible. And with every step we take, we make excuses rather than accept responsibility.

 

We see it in the political arena again and again. It’s as though we choose our candidates based on which sins we are most likely to justify. We all sin. It’s just a matter of which sins are most acceptable.

 

Today I’ve seen this verse thrown around repeatedly. We all know we should ask God to bless our nation. We all know we should live according to His Word. We all know that government and politicians need to do different. But what we don’t seem to know is that change begins with us. When we change our behavior to more align with Christ, we change how we view the sins of others.

 

Honesty. Integrity. Kindness. Compassion. Those are all attributes of a Christian. So why are those things so often missing from the political arena? That will only change when we change how we view the lies and ugliness from all politicians.