Stand up and speak

 Pastor Allen Jackson recently said, "I think when you accept your Christian identity card for the Kingdom, you forfeit your neutrality with evil."

In my writing here, I haven't been very vocal when it comes to politics. A quick count based on the "politics" tag shows 37 of 409 posts, so 9% through the years. Of those, I've been pretty diplomatic in my writing--encouraging you to do the research and exercise your right and responsibility to vote, no matter who you vote for. I've basically remained neutral...but I don't think that is something we can do any longer.

If you listen to the loudest voices in our society right now, we as Christians should keep our beliefs out of our politics. We are told to keep quiet, and if we do on occasion try to speak up for biblical truths we are told that our words are hateful and bigoted. As a result, most of us have listened. We've pretty much agreed to sit down and shut up.

It's past time for us to stand up and speak.

In the past, politics in the United States were very different. The Left and the Right disagreed on how best to better our country, but both sides (for the most part) truly wanted to strengthen our nation and create a strong, patriotic society that could stand as a beacon of hope in a dark world. Both sides valued freedom, truth, and Christian values. Both sides valued the Constitutional Republic many before us have fought to preserve, the "great experiment" that has proven to be for the betterment of the world for generations now. Both sides had the same end goals in mind, they just disagreed on the best means to accomplish those goals. People on opposite ends of the political spectrum could sit down together and have a civil discussion about their differences while taking note of all the things they had in common. At the end of the conversation, they were able to shake hands and walk away, usually even remaining friends.

Today, that's not the case. The Left and the Right are no longer two sides of the same coin. In this election, we aren't faced with two choices that want to strengthen our nation. Instead, the choice is between two sides that are diametrically opposed. Given the current state of politics in our country, I don't believe a Christian can vote for Kamala Harris and claim that vote is in line with the will of God.

Let me say that I'm not saying every individual person on each side of the political aisle holds to the descriptions you'll find in this post. I'm not even saying that Kamala Harris personally holds to all these views--just like I'm sure there are beliefs she holds that I won't cover. However, when you vote you aren't voting just for an individual. You are voting for the policies that will be put into play when that individual steps into a position of power and for the hundreds (if not thousands) of people who will be put into leadership positions throughout the nation when that individual is elected President of the United States. With that in mind, lets dive in.

A vote for Harris/Walz in November is a vote for the Left. So why would I say a vote for them does not fall in line with the will of God? Well, for one, the Left continually presents arguments that are in opposition to each other:

1. The slogan, "My body, my choice" has been hailed as a battlecry for years now, the way the Left holds itself up as a champion of women's rights. They want to say that women have the "right" to abortion, ignoring the moral and scientific truth that the baby in a woman's womb is a unique, distinct human being with their own inherent worth and dignity. To be honest, abortion alone should be enough to show any follower of Christ that a vote for the Left is a vote against a biblical worldview. That same group, though calling for control over one's own body, forced people to be injected with an untested vaccine. They declared that no one had the right to make their own decision because that decision might put someone else at risk. And now that those shots have shown dangerous side effects, what about that risk?
   
2. While somehow championing women's rights, the Left also insists that biological men should be allowed to participate in women's sports. They want to do away with the legislation that ensured women would have private spaces like bathrooms and locker rooms to themselves, replacing it with Title IX rules that allow men who "feel" like women to enter those spaces. These decisions have already led to a whole host of injuries inflicted on women and girls, due simply to the biological fact that the bodies of men develop and grow differently than the bodies of women.
3. The Left calls themselves the side of Science, yet they continually ignore any science that doesn't support their narrative. They insisted in 2020 that we "listen to the Science!" while ignoring and vilifying anyone who pointed out flaws in what was being presented as the Official Decree of Science--even if those raising concerns were doctors and scientists pointing to the data and research available. They scream about Global Warming (though the name has been changed to Climate Change) and how we should all stop driving and eating red meat because we're killing the world while ignoring (a) the historical data that shows the cycle of warming and cooling that has always taken place on our planet, (b) the overwhelming data that shows natural disasters getting better instead of worse, and (c) an increase in the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere would actually help to reduce things like famine (seeing as how plants thrive on an increase of carbon dioxide, resulting in a greening of the planet), which they claim climate change will make worse. Now, they insist that chromosomes have nothing to do with whether someone is a man or woman, that babies in the womb aren't alive, and that cosmetic surgery can change your gender (though if chromosomes don't determine your gender, I'm not sure you can make the argument that genitalia do).
4. They claim to be the side of inclusion and acceptance, yet vilify anyone who doesn't think like they do. If you disagree with children undergoing hormone therapies and surgeries that will have lifelong consequences, it must be because you hate children and want them to die...or at least, that's what the Left would lead you to believe. If you don't think biological men should compete in athletic events with biological women, you are hateful. If you don't agree with them on pretty much any issue, it isn't because you have thought through, researched, and come to a valid conclusion--it must be because you are evil and hate anyone not like yourself.
5. The Left is the side of lawlessness. They are demanding an open border and citizenship for all those who have entered our country illegally. They are calling for police departments to be defunded, leaving communities more at risk from violence (Chicago, San Francisco, New York...). They promoted the riots of 2020, calling it "mostly peaceful" when people were injured, stores were looted, property was burned, and livelihoods were destroyed.
6. Harris and Walz have both shown a total disregard for the United States Constitution, pushing against the 1st, 2nd, 4th, and 10th Amendments in public speeches. The Left continually talks about anyone on the Right being a "threat to democracy" while actually being the ones actively talking about and trying to take away the rights we have been given by God and guaranteed by the Constitution. Never mind the fact that we are not and have never been a democracy, since our founding fathers knew that would lead to nothing more than mob rule...

Let me be completely transparent here--I'm not saying I believe every Christian should be voting for Trump this year. I didn't vote for him when he won in 2016 and I voted for him in 2020; in both cases, my vote came after lots of prayer and searching the scripture, and I voted the way I believed God was directing me. As a follower of Christ, you should do exactly the same.

I'm also not saying that the results of an election could ever be a surprise to God. He knows who will be elected in November. He knows what is ahead for our nation. That's just as true now as it was when Daniel spoke these words to the king of Babylon:

"Praise the name of God forever and ever,
        for all wisdom and power belong to Him.
²¹     He sets in motion the times and the ages;
        He deposes kings and installs others;
    He gives wisdom to the wise
        and grants knowledge to those with understanding.
²²     He reveals deep truths and hidden secrets;
        He knows what lies veiled in the darkness;
        pure light radiates from within Him."
(Daniel 2:20-22)

If our nation enters a period of peace and economic recovery, that will be due solely to the mercy of God--a blessing we definitely don't deserve. If, on the other hand, we stay on the current path of destruction? If He chooses to let us have what we are demanding--a nation without Him--and we race down this road of rebellion straight into His judgment?

Well, that, too, is in His hands. And through the chaos, He will protect a remnant.