Fear Obama? Fear God!

I have received untold numbers of e-mails, as well as having had numerous conversations with people who have told me that they are voting for John McCain because Barack Obama is so evil, socialistic, (insert your favorite epithet here). It has also been asserted by many that a vote for anyone other than McCain, or a non-vote is a vote for Obama. While there is certainly some very limited, VERY LIMITED merit in that line of thinking, let’s look at what kind of thinking is involved in that kind of thinking.
While I am aware that not all who will be reading this are Bible believers, I am planning to answer this from the lens of scripture as it seems that the vast majority of those with whom I am having this conversation claim to be Christian. While I believe there is a plethora of scripture refuting this line of thought, my first examination will be of a passage of scripture which many people, especially Christians, are familiar with.
2 Chronicles 7:14 – If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sins, and will heal their land.
Now I know that we all have heard this verse at least once, and we all love this verse. But have you ever really thought about this verse and what it really means? Well, I’m going to break it down piece by piece so that we can all see the fullness of this beautiful and blessed text.
“If…” An if, then statement always indicates a contractual agreement, a covenant. Pay close attention, because this is obviously a covenant between God, who is speaking, and someone else. You may be the someone, so you had better be paying close attention.
“…my people, who are called by my name…” This is the other party to the covenant. God’s people- who are called by His name. Could this possibly have current relevance to CHRISTians? Those who are the called and the chosen of God who are called by His name?
“…will humble themselves…” Does anyone today know what humility is? It is the opposite of pride. And what is pride? Pride is the original sin. The original sin of Lucifer, the original sin of Adam, the original sin of thinking that we are God, or at least as good as God. When we say that Obama will win, are we not saying that we can see and know the future? Then, when we say that we must vote for McCain, are we not saying that the future is in our control? So now, are we not attributing to ourselves the power to see and to control the future? And aren’t those attributes that God alone has? So, ask yourself, who is God? God, or you? If we are to humble ourselves, does this not mean that we should get rid of such flawed thinking, allow God to work, maybe to perform miracles, and repent of the sin of the pride of thinking that we know and control everything that is happening in the political realm?
“…and pray…” What does it mean to pray? Sure, we all have been taught that prayer is talking to God. But, really, do you think that this is all that is involved in prayer? Doesn’t relationship always involve both talking and listening? What does God’s Word have to say on the subject? What is His Spirit communicating with your spirit? I can assure you that choosing the lesser of two evils is not what He is communicating to you. Doesn’t scripture say, “Choose good, not evil that you may live!” (This may not be an exact quote, but is found in the book of Amos.) Choosing the lesser of two evils is still choosing evil.
"...and seek my face..." If we are seeking God's face, will we be that focused on McCain's or Obama's? In fact, is there anything at all in either one of these men that would point one to Christ? Other than the fact that they are bipedal humanoids created by God, I have not been able to see even one thing in either one of them that would make me think of my Lord.
“…and turn from their wicked ways…” Is there anyone who believes that this does not and cannot be referring directly to the pride that we are being told in the beginning to humble ourselves of? To turn from our wicked ways would require repentance from our sin of thinking that we know all of the answers and that God is incapable of providing for our best interests. Doesn’t our Savior, in Matthew, tell us that God cares more for us than the flowers of the field and the birds of the air. And yet, does he allow them to be ruled by despots? Being ruled by tyrants has always been God’s way of judging His people for pride, disobedience, and unfaithfulness. If we repent now and turn from our wicked ways at this point in time, might God just remove from us this judgment? Well, let’s continue reading to see what the rest of the covenant contains.
“…then will I hear from heaven…” Does God suggest here that He will not hear our prayers as long as we are not humble, repentant, and prayerful? It sure sounds like it to me. But, in accordance with contractual law, He promises to begin listening to our prayers and to restore relationship with us as soon as we repent, humble ourselves, and pray. And unlike you or I, God never violates a covenant.
“…and will forgive their sins…” Forgiveness only comes after humility and repentance. This is a central theme of scripture. If we repent, then God will forgive. There are terms. Salvation is a free gift that cannot be achieved through works, but we still do have some minimal requirements. Be humble, pray, turn from your wicked ways. Failing these things, God will not listen to us, will not forgive our sins.
“…and will heal their land.” Besides the judgment of tyranny upon God’s people who are unrepentant and proud, other judgments which are common themes throughout scripture include: drought, famine, pestilence, earthquakes, tornadoes, hurricanes, plague, etc. Does anyone other than me notice that there is a high level of these scourges occurring across the nation today? Not only has there been a lot of drought and other ‘acts of God’ occurring, but we are, as are many other nations, facing famine because of over-exportation of food supplies, the government paying people not to farm, and the devaluation of our fiat money so that a loaf of bread that a few years ago cost one dollar now costs upwards of four dollars and climbing.
So, my Christian friend, I pray that you would study on this, dwell on this, and act on this before you go to the polls to vote. Remember that God performed miracles throughout the Old Testament, and continued this throughout the New Testament. God can do the same even today, but will not do so if we do not want or allow him to do so. Don’t get me wrong, God is not limited by us, but is willing to allow himself to be limited when giving us what we think we want as a way of getting our attention. Are you paying attention yet?

Jethro's Wisdom, Our Folly

Now that we have looked at how the current administration stacks up to these requirements, we ought to compare the upcoming candidates, and see whether or not they measure up to the criteria laid out by Jethro. Now remember, one must meet all of these criteria. If a man does not meet one of the requirements, then he is disqualified, so with each candidate, when I reach one that disqualifies him, I will not continue examining that candidate further.
First, let's take a look at Rudy Giuliani. The first qualification is to be an able man. This is a man with competent moral power or qualifications. Does Giuliani have competent moral power? The man has been married numerous times, once to his own cousin, and has paraded down the streets of New York City dressed and acting like a transvestite. He also misappropriated funds, defended a priest who sexually molested two young girls, and supports torture.
So... Let's move on to Mitt Romney. Does Romney meet qualification number 1 of being an able man? Well, as much as is publicly known about Mr. Romney, he does seem to have this one down. So, let's look at requirement number 2, does he fear God? Well, Romney is an open and practicing Mormon. Mormon's do not believe that God is as he describes himself to be in the Bible. They deny the deity of Christ, the Trinity, and believe that God was once a man who was so good that he became a god, and that they can do likewise. By not accepting God's word, they thus make him a liar, and by claiming to be able to become equal to God, they blaspheme his name. Oh well, maybe McCain can do better.
John McCain, while married to his first wife, developed a relationship with another woman. He then abandoned his wife and children- who had stuck with him even through his time as a POW- to pursue a political career with the wealth and resources of his younger, more attractive new wife. After having 3 children by her, and adopting one, he then divorced her so that he could reconcile with his first wife. Biblically and morally, this would disqualify McCain from being a serious contender.
How about Fred Thompson then? Again, with the first qualification of being a morally able man, Thompson seems to fit the bill. The second, being a man who fears God is one that can't really be determined by viewing his public life, or by his own words. He says that he won't speak about his religion when politicking- a position which I respect. Number three is being a man of truth. While I believe that this would be a hard case to make for Thompson, that he's a man of truth, I'll even grant him this one. His 'official' position of being for the second amendment varies greatly from his voting record of various acts of legislation to ban or restrict guns. The final requirement though, is to hate covetousness. Thompson is a member of the Council of Foreign Relations, a secretive group that seeks to consolidate power in the hands of the few, elite and worthy members of society, while increasing the gap between the wealthy and the middle class, and creating a one world government. This is covetousness to its extreme.
Well then, does pastor/ governor Mike Huckabee make it through the gauntlet? Huckabee, passed legislation making it more difficult for parents to home educate their children, said that the federal government needs to be bigger to 'legislate morality', set free a convicted rapist because the victim was a Clinton relative, who then went on to rape and murder another woman shortly thereafter, and tried to skirt laws that limited the size of gifts that could be made to politicians. I think the gauntlet has become too much for Mr. Huckabee.
So how about Ron Paul, how does he stack up? Paul is morally competent and able, having been married to the same woman for fifty years, raised his children to be productive without federal funds, and having a twenty year consistent voting record. He fears God as evidenced by his strict stance for upholding the oath he swore to God to uphold and defend the Constitution. Those who fear men rather than God think nothing of violating that oath. Something, by the way, that all of the above mentioned men have violated. Paul is a man of truth as, again, can be evidenced by his principled stand on every issue he has ever spoken or written about. His position never changes based upon what is politically expedient, but is always consistent. And, finally, Paul is the only one who hates covetousness. He desires LESS power rather than more, he uses LESS money than the federal government gives him for his job, he refuses to accept taxpayer money for his retirement, he worked for free oftentimes as a doctor to help those in need. In every one of these biblical qualifications, Ron Paul shines! And he is the only one who does so.
In the future, I will examine other biblical texts which talk about leaders and their qualifications and see how Ron Paul stands up to them.