#32 The Elections

I am going to write something that is probably not going to make anyone happy.  That is why I want to do it :)  I was a Political Science major in college.  I carry a Philosophy minor.  I find intriguing the entire political process.  I really do.  I have found the three debates to this point [two Presidential and one Vice Presidential] very interesting.  However, watching last night's debate [the 2nd Presidential debate] I have been struck by something.  I know it is going to sound obvious to readers, but nonetheless it struck me anew.  Both candidates intentionally mislead voters for the sole purpose of attempting to make the alternative politician seem as evil as possible.

This is simply one example on both sides that I saw.  1st, when the President said that he called the terrible Benghazi attack in Libya an, "act of terror" he gave the impression to the debate hearer that he was proclaiming this attack on our Libyan embassy an Al Qaeda sponsored attack from the beginning.  Well....this is simply untrue.  He did, in the Rose Garden, call this attack, "an act of terror" but not in the above mentioned way.  The Administration has come to the conclusion that it was an Al Qaeda attack, but that conclusion came weeks later.

In the same fashion, when Governor Romney tells us that the President has reduced oil production on federal lands, he fails to mention that the reason for this is because of the BP spill and the ramifications of that spill.  He gives the impression to the voter that the President's policies have directly affected that drilling.  This is misleading as well.

Now, please do not post about the above two paragraphs and attempt to contradict them point by point.  That is not really what this post is about.  What this post is about is that these are simply two examples - simply two - where the opposing sides attempt to cast their opponents in the worst possible light possible.  They do this by telling half-truths; which is they do this by lying.

This works because we as people allow it to work.  We are a nation of liars.  Lying has become a part of our ethos.  We lie on our taxes.  We lie to our spouses.  We often mislead and tell half-truths to our children.  We fake who we really are in church.  We give impressions to people that are false.  In conflict we often refuse to see how our behavior has inflamed the conflict.  In our own minds we are often righteous while in our minds our opponents are devils.  We are sick of our politicians acting this way when in many ways we act like our politicians.  I can see it in myself and I can see it in others.  And what I see is disgusting. 

I can see this by the way in which political defenders defend their party's nominee.  They will look at their candidate and excuse almost anything while at the same time nit-pick the opposing candidate to death.  We see people we like [not only politicians] through the prism of our own self-assured righteousness.  

What our country desperately needs is Christian leadership; and by that what I mean is someone who is dedicated to telling the truth - no matter what the cost.  Jesus identified Himself as, "the Way, the Truth, and the Life" John 14:6.  Jesus is truth in the flesh.  Whatever He says is the truth.

Those that follow Jesus will obey the truth.  They will listen to His Word.  And I am praying for a man or woman to stand up politically and unashamedly tell the truth.  But until that time happens, we as Christians need to authentically pray for our leaders [1st Timothy 2].  We need to pray that God give them the courage of truth and the courage of faith.  We need to pray it for ourselves as well.  If we want to stop the lying culture that we live in, let us begin by being the people of Jesus and telling the truth ourselves.  Tell the truth to ourself - and tell the truth to others.  Speak the truth in love.  Speak the truth with grace.  But please, speak the truth.

I am in need of Jesus.  I am in need of His forgiveness.  You are too.  People ask the Lord to raise up a prophet like one of the prophets of old.  He has.  He has raised up the chief prophet - Jesus.  And He is more than a prophet - He is God in the flesh.  We need only to listen to Him.  Amen.