Election Reflection

     I was talking to my son about the election and we were both admittedly surprised by the results.  We were surprised that given the current economic climate that we would reelect a person who had been at the helm for the last four years.  It is amazing the difference we place on our nation and say our athletic teams.  If our favorite sports team resided over such a dismal record for the last four years we would be putting the coach out to pasture.  The same would probably be true of a business leader that lost as much money.  But when it comes to politics and politicians we seem to have a different perspective on things. 

     So how do we make sense of what happened?  My Republican friends are scratching their heads and wondering where went wrong.  They wonder how we got in such a situation.  To answer these questions I think we can look at a few smaller races to find the ultimate answer.  Two states: Washington and Colorado voted to legalize marijuana.  Of course they believe this is the answer to the fiscal problems as they can finally begin to reap the benefits from the taxes.  It kind of makes me wonder what they have been smoking.  But that is another discussion.  The second example can be seen in the fact that Wisconsin voted the very first openly homosexual senator into office.  Finally, voters in Maine and Maryland approved gay marriage throughout their states.

     These simple results are a microcosm of a greater problem in society today.  We are seeing an ongoing shift in American society.  America is continuing to shift way from traditional Judeo-Christian values to a more secular society.  Or in the words of some, we are turning to liberalism, which is nothing more than a way to satisfy our sinful desires.  If a person wants to be sexually active, we will give out free birth control and if that does not work we will provide abortion on demand.  If a person wants to engage in homosexual activity, that is okay as we will change the laws so that we can accommodate your behavior.  If a person does not really want to work, then we will create a system that encourages your laziness.  We will give you welfare, food stamps, housing, healthcare and even a cell phone.  Liberalism, or secularism, or humanism or whatever we want to call it has the same motive which is to satisfy our natural desires.

      And the problem is that if you attack such ideas, then you are considered mean spirited, legalistic and short on compassion.  But nevertheless, this is the type of society that we have created because we have simply turned away from the things that made us great.  Yet what such individuals do not understand is that instead of setting them free to live life as they please, they actually find themselves enslaved to a group that will keep them dependent upon them, just so they can stay in power.

     When a society starts appealing to the sinful desires of individuals it is almost impossible to bring them back to a different way of thinking.  I hate to say it, but things may have to get worse, before they will ever get better.  There may need to be a massive collapse of society before they will return to those principles and values that made us strong in the past. 

     But there is precedence for it happening and it is found in an ancient story told in the pages of the New Testament.  Jesus tells about a son who got tired of living under the demands and commands of his Father and asked that his father give him his inheritance so that he could live the way he wanted to live his life.  This young son left the protection and instruction of his father and squandered all of his new found wealth until he was basically living and eating in the pig slop.  Not a pretty picture I am sure.  It was at that time, when he realized that he had it so much better living in a relationship with his father that he decided to return to him.  And of course the story goes on to tell us that the Father welcomed him with open arms. 

     Is there hope for a brighter tomorrow?  Yes, but only if we will come to our senses and return to our father as individuals and as a nation.  It is my hope and prayer that we have not given up on God.  He is still the answer to all our questions and the solution to all our problems.  May God bring us to our knees so that we can see Him.