On the Future

As I look at what many consider the craziest election in history (isn't funny how people always think that the time they are living in is the worst, craziest, best, etc.), I find myself going back to some key principles and life lessons.

1) Life goes on. I know many people, especially Christians, think that we as a nation are over, no matter who wins. America has been the greatest instrument of prosperity and peace in the history of mankind. Without America, there would be no Jew people/nation (I know God would have ultimately saved them one way or the other, but for the sake of argument...), there would likely be a single EuroRussian Nation (think one world government), and millions of more people would have been killed by the Communistic nations of the world.

Yet this did not happen (despite the world likely deserving it). So God clearly has more in store for the earth and likely America. When He comes, the world will end. When we die, the world will end for us. Until that time, it is our job to do the most with what we are given. So unless one of these things happens, please forgive me if I tune you out when you said this is the worst ever. Speaking of which...

2) Speak truth in Love. with all the perceived craziness and general gloom, why aren't more Christians speaking of the assurance we have in Christ? He is the ultimate King and holds the world in his hand. He sets up rulers and brings them down. Throughout this process, we should not be joining in the craziness, but instead be examples of the Peace of God, which he has given us in spades.

So, instead of thinking of this election as the end of the world, we should be thinking of this election as the greatest opportunity for a Kingdom harvest in the history of the world.

3) You get what you sow. The way this nation has abandoned God, is there any surprise that the only people who can run for office are those who are immoral? Political correctness is such that it is surprising that anyone is offended by any of the charges going on. Every charge, allegation, conspiracy, and scandal has been glorified on TV and the movies. If the movie stars are doing it, is it any surprise that our politicians are doing it?

4) Tomorrow is a new day. Whatever happens on election day, this isn't over. It is just the next chapter. I say this as a caution and an exhortation. I caution you against putting too much hope in the election. Government has so much power that whoever win must be checked at the Congressional and Judicial levels. I can only hope that if the worst happens, maybe this will be an opportunity to bring down the power of the Presidency.

I also use this as encouragement to keep fighting. We must be working to get those who are God fearing people into office. This Presidential election has the greatest combination of conservative candidates since at least WWI. But we screwed it up trying to get perfect instead of good enough. During the next election, whether at the local or national level, we need to focus on getting one person elected who is acceptable, and going for that person. We cannot have 14 conservatives running, or we will ALWAYS lose.

5) Don't believe everything you read. In the future, allegations against political candidates should be taken with a pound of salt, especially right before an election. We have spent so much time this election talking about who did what to whom in what way, no one has been talking about issues beyond 2-4 big ones (abortion, a wall on the border, taxes).

Chicago has a higher murder rate (in my opinion) than Iraq or Afghanistan - but one one is talking about that. People can't get to work because the roads and bridges in this country are a disgrace. We have a 21st century economy, with 18th century roads and 19th century mass transportation. But no one is talking about how to fix this. I could go on, but look, we must be solution oriented, not scandal oriented.