As the date, yes, that date grows closer, I am finding the tone of the election continues to turn darker and more unsavory. One of the biggest issues with politicians turning nasty (on both sides) is that it give permissions to everyone else to do the same--our neighbors, our co-workers, our fellow church members. It brings out the worst in all of us.
Yes, the election is growing closer, but I can't help but ask the question:
Are you a November 4 or a November 5 Christian?
Are you more concerned with who wins on November 4 or how you can be a part of rebuilding and healing our nation on November 5 and athe years to come?
I'm all for voting, please don't get me wrong, but it's going to take all of us--together--to turn our nation around.
http://www.margaretfeinberg.com/
Thursday, October 02, 2008
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11 comments:
I try to be a November 5th Christian.
This reminds me of a Shane Claiborne quote: "What is more important than how we vote on November 4 is how we live on Nov. 3 and Nov. 5. We vote every day with our lives... we vote every day with our feet, our hands, our lips, and our wallets. We vote for the poor. We vote for the peacemakers. We vote for the marginalized, the oppressed, the most vulnerable of our society. Ultimate change does not just happen every four years."
As I said on a recent post myself, I believe the reason our country is in the sad state that it is today, is because we (the Church) have not been living up to our part of God's Kingdom that is present here among us today. We don't pray for our leaders! We rejoice when a "Christian" is in a position of power and forget to support that position in prayer. When a leader rises into position that is against the things of the Kingdom of Christ, we protest and picket - but forget to pray for God to give them the wisdom they need to govern the people.
In essence: Voting is not our Christian duty. Praying is our Christian duty.
Whoever would win this election makes relatively no difference if those who seek first the Kingdom of God neglect our responsibility to PRAY for those in authority over us, regardless of their political, cultural, ethical, moral, & economic views.
I am not suggesting that it is either vote OR pray. But all too often American Christians neglect the responsibility to pray for our leaders. We need to pray for those we support AND those we don't. Somehow American Christians supercede the responsibility of prayer with the idea that voting is our God given right and duty...
Yes, it is a privilege to vote, but it certainly is not our God given right or duty to do so. There is no scriptural basis for the understanding that it is our Christian duty to vote.
So - I place myself more in the November 5th party...
interesting... i'd love to be both. the kind of woman that others and especially my kids can see live out what she believes; and voting for the candidate that she thinks best can serve this country, and will be willing to pray daily for the leaders in this country with her family.. this is truly my desire.. i hope and ask the lord for wisdom and that he can guide me to be filled with truth (before and after this election)
i like what tmamone wrote here.. :-) thanks!
lisette
i posted my comment but there was only one comment/ didn't see iam4jesus until after i posted..
thanks for writing this~ we need to pray. blessings!!
Hey Margaret,
I totally agree...in fact check out my blog entry on this issue:
www.martyrpriest.com
"They were Dead Right".
Make sure you look me up when your in Green Bay!
Vote for Margaret!
Great post Margaret! I totally agree. We so need to be praying for our leaders and working TOGETHER to repair our country. Get out on vote November 4th (quite your complaining!) and then on the 5th regardless of what party takes office....start making some changes and pray for our nation and our leaders!
I think Nov. 4 or Nov. 5 Christian is a false dichotomy. It's important to elect someone who is going to do a good job, and it's also important to be a good citizen thereafter.
@anonymous -
but there is a fatalism that is getting promoted within the ranks of media, of some circles in Christianity, and elsewhere that *if* we don't pick the right person that somehow it's going to all come crashing down and life as we know it will end.
I agree with the notion of being civic minded; however, too many people are getting so dialed into their candidate and how he can't do anything wrong that somehow the larger point that Nov 5th is coming is lost. I read an article, in fact, of a columnist for a major blog saying to his wife 'We're going to probably lose this, aren't we' and his wife getting on him for such talk.
As Christians, 11/5 is coming; how do we live in a new administration?
I'd love to see the Church care less about party and more about issue. We get played far too often as a 'voting block' and I am in the camp that I'm positively done being a voting block that can be swayed by discourse or 'saying the right thing'.
Yes, I have my preference and, yes, I'm praying a secretly hoping for my guy to pull out a victory on November 4th; however, I really want my children to see my praying for our administration whoever they may be on November 5th.
Great thought-provoking post, Margaret. I haven't considered this before, but you really make a valid point.
Thanks for your thoughts. I'm glad I read this post, and I agree with you!
I'm not much, in the way of politics, however, the best answer would be Nov 5th with out doubt. Though I question the real reasons we are in this mess to begin with...
It is sad, that it seems we have used excuses to promote capitalism over ethics. I feel we ought to be praying for our leaders, but perhaps more-so that we ought to be praying for their ethics to return, we use to be a nation based on truth and liberty, based on Christian ethics... It seems, sadly, this has become a platform to promote one's self into a leadership role and oft seems to conveniently misplaced once in office.
I hope we can recapture what it was that once made us a great nation.
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