Pro Life is Pro Life... well sometimes

A quick thought... abortion.  Why is this issue become political noise?  Abortion is at best, a side dish, the fruit cup of a meal, for this election or any election.  Only during the election cycle is abortion a national topic for discussion.  Why is that?  I don’t know but I'm fascinated how easily abortion is leveraged, from a cornucopia of other topics, to evoke an emotional response from voters.  Are Christian and Pro Life supporters so easily deceived to chose a candidate based on this one issue?

I am curious what God thinks about Christians who oppose abortion but condone military drone strikes targeting terrorist.  The reason I ask is a Stanford-NYU study shows how many innocent civilians… men, women, and children are killed by US drone strikes.  Is there a difference between the two methods used to end a life?  Is one more honorable than the other. 

I am curious why Mitt Romney, who says Jesus Christ is his Lord and Savior, supports drone strikes and plans to continue the US policy if elected president.  How does one reconcile the two? 

How does a Christian vote for POTUS when the Mormon candidate thinks life is precious depending on the method of murder?  As for President Obama, how does a Christian vote for a candidate that clearly does not value life while in the womb?

Consume

James 4:3 has opened my eyes a little wider. My world is a little more sharp... more detailed. Due to enduring the sexual harassment complaint my wife filed, I have no patience for dishonesty and lies. I especially have zero tolerance when I lie to myself about myself.

James 4:3 is the secret to prospering under God’s authority. My opinion is that all unanswered prayers (and thus life's pursuits) are rooted in sin... pride and pleasure are two of the biggest sins we cloak as God’s Will. We cloak such pursuits to protect ourselves, to convince ourselves that what we do IS FOR GOD and IS TO GLORIFY GOD when what we do is pursue personal ambition and individual glory.

One truth I know about God… God will not reward His followers for sinful behavior. God will not reward and bless people for taking the wrong path. God will not reward deeds done out of selfish ambition, especially selfish ambition cloaked in His name.

James 4:3 says we don't receive (answered prayers) because we want to consume what we get upon out lust... waste God's blessings only on what brings us pleasure.  Pleasure fades, pleasure is temporary, pleasure doesn't stick around. James 4:3 refers to our need to consume... consume to fill the emptiness... leaving nothing behind of value.

Pleasure takes many forms. It's difficult to know if a pursuit is rooted in selfish ambition and pride for the sole purpose of pleasure. It was difficult, at least for me.

Device of Satan

The 7 things God hates:

1. Haughty eyes.
2. A lying tongue.
3. Hands that kill the innocent blood.
4. A heart that plots evil (wicked schemes).
5. Feet that are quick to rush into evil.
6. A false witness who pours out lies.
7. A person who sows discord in a family.

Most Americans believe an American citizen has the duty to exercise their right to vote. The obligation to cast a ballot is so revered that not doing so is simply unpatriotic. If fact, some suggest, one forfeits their right to engage in any form of dissension against the current political structure if one does not vote.

Should obedient, loving, forgiving Christ followers participate in a corrupt pagan political system?

Do Christians give their tacit approval of an ungodly process when they actively support political candidates?

Luke 20:24-25 and Romans 13:1-7 are cited to explain how God expects us to obey our government officials. Does God ask His followers - His children - to following laws regardless of what those laws ask of us? No, especially if we are expected to partake in an ungodly activity or belong to a group that exhibits traits that aren't of God. He says to pay taxes and honor government officials, for they are His servants.

Taxes are mandatory and criminally punishable if they are not. In the same manner, God says disobedience toward government officials is disobedience toward God. But, a distinct difference exists between engaging in an illegal activity and abstaining from ungodly activity and sin. Voting is an individual choice. A failure to vote is neither illegal nor disobedient to government officials. Choosing not to vote does in no way dishonor God.

The current political system encourages and rewards dishonesty, greed, selfish ambition, deceitfulness, and other ungodly characteristics. It’s a system that serves and worships mammon. The last presidential campaign spent $2.5 billion on two men... men who have proven they will compromise their integrity for a fleeting chance to be the President (6 billion total spent on all candidates).

How many Christ followers would support a charity that exhibited the same values? Would they volunteer for an organization that exhibited the same behavior? What Bible believing Christian would condone lying from a school teacher, an athletic coach, or your spouse? How many Christian households would allow their children to make promises and then repeatedly break those promises?

Does it signal that we, as a Christian community, aid and abet Satan, the father of lies? It is Lucifer who bamboozled one third of the angels to reject God and join his team. If angels, in the presence of God their creator, can be led astray, then how much more easily is man led astray?

We, as a Christian community, need to have the integrity to recognize and define ungodly behavior as such instead of rationalizing with common clichés:

• We have to choose the lesser of two evils.
• Make lemonade.    
• I don’t vote – I don't have a right to voice my opinion.
• Every vote counts.
• We get the government we deserve if we don't participate.

Don't be fooled, alternatives exist. Ungodly behavior, in any form, dishonors God.