Political circus or classroom.

I’m over it. Those who know me well know that I am a bit of a news junky and I may have a slight addiction to Fox News and CNN.com but holy smokes, a guy can only take so much and I’m about to tap out! This 2016 Presidential Election will have to be remembered as the most embarrassing and outlandish in the history of our country’s political history. Hard to imagine that of the over 320M citizens in America, that this is the best we could do! 

I‘m not going to use this platform to espouse a political leaning or offer any input whatsoever as to how I’m voting, if I’m voting, how someone else should be voting, etc.. I simply want to make one observation that I think we can all agree on; a person’s character and integrity will literally follow them for their entire lives! Obviously, if you are running for public office, your character and integrity will be more demonstratively and rapidly exposed however we should all learn a life lesson here as we observe this circus. 

Cover-ups, scandals, convenient forgetfulness, sexual indiscretions, lies, evasion, bigotry, racism, etc.. Whether Hillary or Donald or you or me, we all find ourselves living in the tension. Sometimes it feels like we are two people trapped in one body. I’m not talking about clinical schizophrenia; I’m talking about spiritual schizophrenia. In our minds, we long to be pure, do good, love unconditionally and speak truth but our flesh doesn’t always comply. Oh how quickly and eagerly we respond to these negative impulses and desires! 

The Apostle Paul describes this predicament so eloquently in Romans 7 when he says, “I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway. But if I do what I don’t want to do, I am not really the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it. I have discovered this principle of life—that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. I love God’s law with all my heart. But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me.”

I don’t think this is a Christian or non-Christian matter. Paul is referring to the human condition. What makes it more of a spiritual discussion is this element of sin and redemption. In other words, how is it that we are all humans who share similar fears, insecurities and struggles yet we intuitively know when we are good or when we are up to no good? Could it be that we were “tuned”, as if from birth, to hear or recognize a God inspired “morality frequency” in our souls? If we were created in God’s image (Genesis 1:27 – “God created human beings in his own image.”), then I would submit that He has wired us to hear that small, still, soulish voice that whispers reason to our hearts and minds. Yet, if we have been conditioned to allow sin or “evil” to override this frequency, we will remain in a pattern of perpetual moral compromise. To further the spiritual aspect of this discussion, the Christian viewpoint is that something or some”one” is required to help break the cycle. Paul continues in Romans 7:24-25 with; “Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord.” That’s the redemption part of the theme we’re discussing. Do you believe it? 

Look, thankfully very soon, this election will be over. Like it or not, we will have a new President and life will continue on like it always has and instead of fixating on a Presidential election, new world events and the media will be sure to stimulate us with something else in similar fashion. The only thing we can control is ourself and we can only be responsible for our own actions whether they are good or bad. 

I pray that we will all take inventory of what we’ve learned about character and integrity over this past year or so from our candidates but not in an accusatory way but rather in deep reflection of our own flaws and shortcomings. I pray that God would give us the desire and strength to do good and that we would be in tune to His frequency along the way.

Let’s go get it!