This picture begs to be made into one of those spoofs on the office motivational posters. But I can't decide on the text. How about:PITA
In every organization there are annoying little creatures whose only function is to pester those of us with dignity and greatness.
In every organization there are annoying little creatures whose only function is to pester those of us with dignity and greatness.
Your suggestion?
I voted today. I think. They couldn't find me on their list of registered voters so they had me fill out a provisional ballot. I remember registering to vote at the same time I got my AZ drivers license, and the two ladies behind the table said I wasn't the first one today to not be on the rolls. It may be that I never changed my home address when we bought the house two years ago, in which case I'd still be registered at Josh & Aubri's address. But then they would have rec'd voter stuff addressed to me, right? Just in case my earlier registration didn't "take" I filled out a new voter registration form. But if Sheriff Joe wins by one vote I'm really going to be ticked.
This is the first year I've encountered Christians who seem to disparage the voting booth. I've known there are those Christians who eschew the ballot box in the same way they refuse Social Security, military service and welfare. They believe the Christian should have no truck with secular government. These groups are the contemporary equivalent of the Essenes of Dead Sea Scrolls fame, and like the Essenes they typically live in isolated communities in order to physically separate themselves from all things secular.
But this year I've stumbled across Christians who live fully within secular culture in all other aspects yet seem to say that voting is somehow contradictory to true and uncompromised Christianity. A common thread seems to be the use of "Ceasar" to describe our civil government. That's an example of synecdoche, a figure of speech in which a part is used to describe the whole (and you thought it was a town in New York). But by using Ceasar to describe civil government there's also a clear allusion to the moral bankruptcy of the Ceasars' reigns and their hostility to Christianity.
This line of thought has, in some cases, been extended to the point where voting is labeled as idolatry. The rationale, near as I can tell, is that voting gives homage to Ceasar that should only be given to God. The Christian who votes looks to the government (an evil entity as expressed through the appellation Ceasar) to fill a roll that only God can and should fill. He elevates government above God.
On a purely gut level I find this denouncement of Christians who vote as Pharasaical, a holier-than-thou attitude. Lots of judgmental rhetoric that says, "You are idolatrous sinners who don't see the contradiction of your actions with true spirituality. You are living lives of spiritual compromise."
But on a more objective level I don't see anywhere in the rhetoric an interaction with the biblical teaching on the subject. "Give to Ceasar that which belongs to Ceasar." "The authorities that exist have been ordained by God." "Do not speak evil about the ruler of your people."
How do we reconcile a totally disparaging view of civil government with passages like these?
And if (since) God in his sovereignty has decreed that the American system of government is a democracy - a govt. of, by and for the people - could not a case be made that voting is a spiritual obligation? If we are to pray for our leaders so that "we may live peaceful and godly lives" isn't voting to that end a logical extension? What sense does it make to absent myself from the system and then pray that it will act so as to encourage peace and godliness?
No one is experiencing voter fatigue more than I. As I type this the TV is OFF, the radio is OFF and I don't have a browser tab on any of the internet news sites. I'm listening to Fleetwood Mac on Pandora (thank you, Sherry). I'll get up in the morning and see who won and then begin praying for them (they'll need it!). But whether my provisional ballot ultimately gets counted or not, voting was certainly not idolatrous. Ceasar was God's choice, just as our next President will be. And I think a cogent case could be made that had I not at least tried to cast my ballot I would have been delinquent as a citizen of the Kingdom living on earth.
That's my story and I'm sticking to it!
I voted today. I think. They couldn't find me on their list of registered voters so they had me fill out a provisional ballot. I remember registering to vote at the same time I got my AZ drivers license, and the two ladies behind the table said I wasn't the first one today to not be on the rolls. It may be that I never changed my home address when we bought the house two years ago, in which case I'd still be registered at Josh & Aubri's address. But then they would have rec'd voter stuff addressed to me, right? Just in case my earlier registration didn't "take" I filled out a new voter registration form. But if Sheriff Joe wins by one vote I'm really going to be ticked.
This is the first year I've encountered Christians who seem to disparage the voting booth. I've known there are those Christians who eschew the ballot box in the same way they refuse Social Security, military service and welfare. They believe the Christian should have no truck with secular government. These groups are the contemporary equivalent of the Essenes of Dead Sea Scrolls fame, and like the Essenes they typically live in isolated communities in order to physically separate themselves from all things secular.
But this year I've stumbled across Christians who live fully within secular culture in all other aspects yet seem to say that voting is somehow contradictory to true and uncompromised Christianity. A common thread seems to be the use of "Ceasar" to describe our civil government. That's an example of synecdoche, a figure of speech in which a part is used to describe the whole (and you thought it was a town in New York). But by using Ceasar to describe civil government there's also a clear allusion to the moral bankruptcy of the Ceasars' reigns and their hostility to Christianity.
This line of thought has, in some cases, been extended to the point where voting is labeled as idolatry. The rationale, near as I can tell, is that voting gives homage to Ceasar that should only be given to God. The Christian who votes looks to the government (an evil entity as expressed through the appellation Ceasar) to fill a roll that only God can and should fill. He elevates government above God.
On a purely gut level I find this denouncement of Christians who vote as Pharasaical, a holier-than-thou attitude. Lots of judgmental rhetoric that says, "You are idolatrous sinners who don't see the contradiction of your actions with true spirituality. You are living lives of spiritual compromise."
But on a more objective level I don't see anywhere in the rhetoric an interaction with the biblical teaching on the subject. "Give to Ceasar that which belongs to Ceasar." "The authorities that exist have been ordained by God." "Do not speak evil about the ruler of your people."
How do we reconcile a totally disparaging view of civil government with passages like these?
And if (since) God in his sovereignty has decreed that the American system of government is a democracy - a govt. of, by and for the people - could not a case be made that voting is a spiritual obligation? If we are to pray for our leaders so that "we may live peaceful and godly lives" isn't voting to that end a logical extension? What sense does it make to absent myself from the system and then pray that it will act so as to encourage peace and godliness?
No one is experiencing voter fatigue more than I. As I type this the TV is OFF, the radio is OFF and I don't have a browser tab on any of the internet news sites. I'm listening to Fleetwood Mac on Pandora (thank you, Sherry). I'll get up in the morning and see who won and then begin praying for them (they'll need it!). But whether my provisional ballot ultimately gets counted or not, voting was certainly not idolatrous. Ceasar was God's choice, just as our next President will be. And I think a cogent case could be made that had I not at least tried to cast my ballot I would have been delinquent as a citizen of the Kingdom living on earth.
That's my story and I'm sticking to it!
1 comment:
Best Thoughts Ever.
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