presidential election campaign

Posts Tagged ‘presidential election campaign’

27 Oct

Our Waning Confidence

Posted by Zachary P. Hubbard in advice, Bible, Christianity, Daily Devotional, depression, discipline, Faith, Fear, peace, Prayer, Religion, Simple Living, Unemployment. Tagged: advice, Christianity, cofidence, depression, faith, Fear, government, paranoia, Peace, politics, presidential election campaign, Unemploment, worry. 1 comment

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will we not fear, though the earth do change, and though the mountains be shaken into the heart of the seas; Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains tremble with the swelling thereof. —Psalm 46: 1-3 (ASV)

In June of this year Gallup conducted a poll on the public’s confidence in several major institutions in American society. The U.S. military topped the list with a 76 percent confidence rating. Not surprisingly, the U.S. Congress ranked at the bottom with only 10 percent.

There were troubling results suggesting that less than half of Americans have confidence in many of the institutions that helped form the bedrock of our society. Big business came in at 22 percent. Newspapers and television tied at 23 percent. The criminal justice system was rated 28 percent. Public schools were rated 32 percent. The U.S. Supreme court was rated 34 percent. The presidency received a rating of 46 percent. The public’s confidence in churches and organized religion was only 48 percent.

There are plenty of reasons to lack confidence in these institutions. Violence and even homicides in our schools are now commonplace. It seems like hardly a month can pass anymore before you hear about another beating or killing in a school.

The recent federal government shutdown left World War II veterans blocked from visiting their memorial in Washington D.C., national parks closed, most government employees furloughed and many federal contractors idled.

A failure of the Electronic Benefit Transfer (food stamp) computer system recently caused panic across multiple states. The registration website for the new federal health care system is a train wreck.

On top of all this, the U.S. economy stinks. The national debt is at 17 trillion dollars—that’s 12 zeros. Congress narrowly averted a default on the debt earlier this month, but could not reach a definitive solution. They merely postponed the debt argument for a few months. Failed economic policies spanning multiple presidential administrations have left millions of Americans unemployed or underemployed.

The church has taken a lot of hits in recent times. Just last week Pope Francis chastised a German Bishop for his lavish lifestyle. Embezzlement of funds by church employees is becoming commonplace. It is no longer unusual to hear about a church leader caught up in a sexual crime or other form of corruption.

When times are good it’s easy for you and me to simply drift through life without a care, but when things turn bad all kinds of troubles arise. Just trying to comprehend all of the problems plaguing American society today can cause fear, anger, paranoia, despair and depression for some.

In Matthew chapter 17, Jesus is transfigured on the mountaintop. His apostles Peter, James and John behold the full glory of God. It’s no surprise that immediately afterwards they ask Jesus if they should pitch tents so they can remain on the mountain. His apostles want to stay and continue to soak in the glorious experience. Instead Jesus leads them back down the mountain to the valley and their regular lives.

Life’s greatest lessons are rarely learned on a mountaintop. They’re learned in the daily drudgery and pain of life. Fortunately for Christians, regardless of how bad things might look today, we know how the story ultimately ends. As Oswald Chambers described his life, “I am in the procession of a conqueror, and it doesn’t matter what the difficulties are, for I am always led in triumph.”

Saint Paul echoes the same message in Romans 8:38-39 (ASV), “I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” He goes on to challenge us in Philippians 4:6 (ASV), “In nothing be anxious; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.”

When you’ve reached wit’s end, stop, take a deep breath, lift your eyes and look. You’ll see God standing right there. Regardless of your present circumstances, never forget that He is the author of the story in every Christian’s life. God stands ready for us to lift the burdens from our backs and place them squarely on His. Therefore, guided by the Holy Spirit, let your thoughts and deeds spring from faith, not fear.

Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. —Matthew 11:28-30 (ASV)

27 Sep

Religion and Politics Don’t Mix

Posted by Zachary P. Hubbard in Politics, Poor, Poverty, Religion. Tagged: politics, presidential election campaign, religion. 1 comment

^“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” — James 1:27 (NIV)

There has been much discussion about religion during the current presidential election campaign. At one time or another, candidates from all of the parties have invoked the name of God to support their respective causes (the lone exception perhaps being the National Atheist Party).

With all of the problems in our national politics, it makes one wonder whether God could possibly support any party’s platform. I recently heard an evangelist state unequivocally that, “neither the Democratic nor the Republican party supports the Gospel of Jesus Christ.” During the sermon he referenced a publication called “Christ and the Needy,” a piece penned by Abraham Kuyper in 1895.

I’d never heard of Kuyper (also spelled Kuijper), so I decided to Google him. It turns out he was a Dutch politician and theologian. Based upon my subsequent reading of “Christ and the Needy,” which I found online, he appears to have been theologian first and politician second.

Kuyper, who was a Calvanist, noted that while some politicians might support reforms closely paralleling Jesus’ teachings on social justice, there is one profound difference. The ultimate aim of a politician’s rhetoric is to get elected and consolidate political power for his/her party; the aim of Jesus Christ’s preaching was to lead lost souls to the Kingdom of Heaven. For this reason, religion and politics can never successfully mix.

Following Kuyper’s logic, while it’s important for Christians to be informed on key political issues and to vote accordingly, it is unwise to tie one’s Christian beliefs too closely to one political party or another. Therefore, after careful self-examination, Christians should vote for the candidates whose positions most closely align with their own religious convictions. This approach does not lend itself to so called “straight ticket” voting. Each candidate should be judged on his or her own merits.

Reading “Christ and the Needy” got me thinking about a recent trip my wife and I took to Harlan County, Kentucky, my birthplace. Harlan is situated in the extreme southeastern corner of the state, in the heart of Appalachia. Its entire economy is built around coal and little else.

Many if not most of Harlan County’s citizens are in economic dire straits to say the least. The ramshackle homes of those living in abject poverty are a poignant contradiction to the scenic beauty of the area’s mountains. Sadly, we don’t hear our presidential candidates talking much about Harlan’s poor or the poor elsewhere in the nation. Could this be because a large portion of them don’t vote? James 1:27 states, “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”(NIV)

Television comedian and entertainer Stephen Colbert, a Roman Catholic, is quick to comment on politics from a religious perspective. He recently said of the United States, “If this is going to be a Christian nation that doesn’t help the poor, either we have to pretend that Jesus was just as selfish as we are, or we’ve got to acknowledge that He commanded us to love the poor and serve the needy without condition and then admit that we just don’t want to do it.”

It is fitting and proper for governments to help the poor and needy, but the actions of government are by their very nature “polluted” by the world of politics. Jesus calls upon all Christians to care for those who cannot care for themselves. He doesn’t tell governments to do this. Unfortunately, as Colbert so clearly points out, far too many Christians and Christian churches have failed to answer this call. For the individual Christians and churches that have chosen to lift up the banner of this or that political cause, perhaps your time could be better spent lifting up the cross of Jesus and following Him.