My apologies for long time no blog. I have several excuses to offer, but I'd have to pick just one and they are all so good...Sorry.
I came across a couple of political blogs which wrestle with the whole idea of what it means to be a Christian and a citizen. One is much like the last blog--a ten commandment list, but a different tone and a different focus. The other is a reflection on the last debate. It compares our national fixation on strength over and against the Biblical obsession with Integrity. Both are well worth reading and the links are below.
I overheard a wonderful conversation at a local restaurant this morning where I sent to get my coffee fix and catch up on some reading. The only thing that bothered me were the generalizations which were in no way that I could tell based on anything necessarily factual. Take out the current candidate's names and you could have put in the names of the last dozen presidential aspirants and they same arguments would have made about as much sense. The other thing that bothered me was the approach to the whole debate could have been about Purdue Football and its current season. It was all about "the game" and not about the purpose of the game: teamwork, character building, entertainment, etc. It was all about arm chair direction of fumbles and completions and which coach was stupider than the other.
Now the folks talking were obviously warm and jovial. They believed what they believed and weren't mean spirited about it. They were simply reflecting the way we all talk politics--or at least the way politics get covered in the media today.
No wonder so many folks throw up their hands and conclude it hardly matters who wins or who scratch their heads wondering which they should vote for. We put more energy into tailgating than most folks put into knowing the issues and the implications of their vote for the future of our community, state, nation, and world. It doesn't make me want to vote less, it makes me want to go out and make sure my vote counts. This matters. It matters to Christians even though our ultimate allegiance is the God and the Kingdom--it still matters how we live and what we prioritize here and now.
Take this as my final admonition to get out there and vote. I would say vote early and often, but since I come from Cook County, Illinois--I'd better just suggest the one time.
http://eugenecho.com/2012/10/16/thou-shalt-follow-these-10-commandments-of-the-presidential-election-season/
http://morganguyton.wordpress.com/2012/10/23/strength-vs-integrity-a-biblical-response-to-the-presidential-debate/#more-2478
