The next few hours will be some of the most monumental hours our nation has faced. Just 44 years ago blacks couldn’t vote. Images of Water-hoses, dogs attacking, people spitting on my aunts and uncles, the yelling of some of the most hate-filled words and a lack of Christian love (many were professing Christians) was directed a group of individuals due to the color of their skin not the content of their Character. But today not only can blacks vote their is a candidate that has to be half black that may win the presidency. I was talking to my grandmother and I asked her what she thought about all of this (she is now 83) and she said she couldn’t believe it. She remembers being Forty and unable to eat a certain restaurant or drink from certain water fountains. Amazing what a generation can accomplish.
With that said, there are others who aren’t impressed with the skin color of this candidate they are threatened by his policies and personal convictions. For that I applaud them for standing firm on their convictions and not being moved. Many tell me “Lionel if he were Rice, Powell or Keyes I would be excited to see the first black president, but he is a very liberal man and for that I can’t vote for him”. Again I give you a standing ovation for not being persuaded by the color of his skin as many have. I am also saying that many have dived into the issues of Mr. Obama and have found him the candidate they have been looking for, the type of leader the U.S needs and for that I give them a standing ovation for voting their convictions.
But I want to talk to those who visit this blog and are Christians. I want to say this very clearly and as someone once told me “presumptuously”! If you want to do good to your neighbor then go directly to him and do good! Voting for “conservative” politicians while simultaneously shaking your head as your neighbor is foreclosed on because it lowers your property value is shameful. To not know your neighbor and have no direct concern for his welfare and allowing a vote to ease your conscience is hypocritical. You know how Jesus loved people? He touched them. He touched the leper, He talked to the woman at the well, he ate with sinners and tax collectors, he touched blind eyes, opened deaf ears, casted out demons, healed people on the sabbath (we rather sit fat in church buildings), he cared about the marginalized. Won over the wealthy (Joseph and Nicodemus), He forgave the adulterous woman, prostitutes washed His feet with Her tears, women loved Him, the religious elite hated Him, 12 man risked their lives to preach Him, after His resurrection they didn’t want to see Him leave, one of the disciples (yes she was a disciple) clung to Him, His brothers who first mocked Him (John 6) later believed on Him and this is all because He was relational and “did good to His neighbor”. Just as the Samaritan did above.
Next time someone quotes “do go to your neighbor” I am going to ask “do you know yours”. If you don’t care for the neighbor you do see, don’t tell me you love the one you don’t. Let’s be about the Gospel Church, whoever wins tonight, lets pray for his success and our peace. If you think you have done good to your neighbor by voting, while tomorrow you plan on ignoring him when he pulls into the garage. I will say your “doing good” ain’t Jesus’!
Bro. Lionel,
You should call this class:
“Consistent Christianty 101: A Practical Guide Against the Sin of Hypocrisy”
I think this post ties into many others, probably more than you realize…. Christ calls us each to carry our own cross, and to individually serve, not to sit back and appoint some kind of civil servant to do it on our behalf, whether they be in the political sphere, or the religious. During election time, it’s interesting to see how many “evangelicals” see voting as being interchangeable with their “christian duty”, and as I’ve learned more about how the current offices of church leadership actually trace their roots back to the civil offices of the “Holy” Roman Empire, it’s not all that surprising. I have to say, I think more than ever I now sympathize with the seperation-of-church-and-state activists, as we, being followers of Christ, have no business trying to inject Jesus into the world through any governmental means. It’s like nowadays “evangelicals” see conservative politicians and clergymen almost as the two joint agents of the “Kingdom Values” agenda. It’s simply not the gospel….
Great post…
Daniel
A hearty AMEN, Lionel!
It doesn’t matter who’s in office in Washington DC. Christ called each of us to be personally responsible to the welfare of our neighbors – not just those living next door – and the Good Samaritan picture you have above is a prime example. The rich young ruler is another.