THE PREACHER

THESE ARE DIFFICULT TIMES?

during which we must all “listen well, teach with humility, tell our faith stories creatively, stir the glowing embers in our peers, and leave the Light on for the next generations.”?

The Preacher says, “There is a time to tear apart and a time to sew together, a time to keep quiet and a time to speak.”

~Ecclesiastes 3:7

THIS PREACHER AGREES.?

2024 is a good year for followers of the One True God to “sew Faith and Truth together with Word and Deed, and stand up for those who suffer injustice.” There is too much tearing apart and too little sewing together going on today. Too many Christians are ‘quiet’ when our voices should be heard.”

RECENTLY?

I was discussing the next presidential election with another Christian who said, “I’m conflicted. I can't vote for someone who lies and who cheats on his wife.”

“I get it,” I said, “So I guess you're not going to vote this year?”

“What do you mean?” he asked.?

“You say you can’t vote for someone who wants to be president who allegedly lies and has cheated on his wife. But the person who is president has also failed to keep promises made to the country on a number of issues. So, how do we judge? Which man is the greater sinner?”

WE CANNOT JUDGE.

Not accurately. Especially two people we have never met. Judging is not our job. We want perfection in our leaders, but it is not there. By nature of public life, a leader’s faultiness and sins are more public than most of our own.?

In past elections, I’ve had to prayerfully read the platform statements of each political party and decide which one most closely aligns with my Christian values. Then, I vote accordingly. I know—It’s not perfect, but we can vote thoughtfully without wasting our vote. We can leave the judging and forgiving of our presidential candidates, as with ourselves, in the hands of God.

Speaking out like this requires a delicate balance between (1) respecting the rights and views of others and (2) resisting the secret deconstruction of traditional religious, societal, and political assumptions of all of us.

Life will get more difficult, but with the? “3C’s” of caring, creativity, and courageousness, stepping up as followers of Jesus will make a difference. And faith in him assures us we are on the winning team.

“No one will be able to stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.” —Joshua 1:5

May Jesus keep us close.?

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