So far, I've tried to refrain from entering into political discussions too much on Facebook (at least regarding the presidential campaign). As a whole, my individual perspective isn't going to alter who is going to be president (as proven by the last two presidential elections...). That being said, the following does pertain at least in part to politics.
However, here is something we, as Christians, ought to think about: how did Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, and Bernie Sanders become the top runners for the most powerful position in the world?
Generally speaking, the "leader" reflects the people; while there are cases throughout history where the opposite was true ( Josiah - 2 Kings 21-23; 2 Chronicles 33-35), it more often than not is true.
First up, we have Donald Trump. Why is he even being considered? He's loud, he's obnoxious, he's rude, he's a bully, and he goes whichever way the wind blows. Now, look at our society: we're great at screaming down those who disagree with us rather than having rational discussions, we call people "stupid" if they don't agree with us, we rarely listen to actual arguments and instead attack the person, we bully people by telling them that if they don't agree with us then they are "hating" us or others, and we rarely, if ever, spend time thinking through an argument when it is so much easier to go with whatever sounds good at the moment (Proverbs 18:17). But hey, he's rich, so he'll be great for our economy...but let's not look too closely at his shady business deals.
Second, we have Hillary Clinton. She is a known liar, likely a murderer, known advocate of abortion, and yet she is still the front-runner in the Democratic party. She clearly lacks integrity, but we are a society in which integrity doesn't matter because we "do what we want". This is 'Merica. Just capture the West Virginia vote...we've elected incarcerated criminals to office.
Third, we have Bernie Sanders. Sanders is probably the most "likable" of the three, but does that qualify him for the position? His socialist "principles" fit with everything fought against in World War II and the political "Cold War", and yet we have a generation coming out in droves to support him. Why? Because we have generations of spoiled people in this nation who have no clue how they got the freedom to be spoiled. They're told by society that reality doesn't matter when their individual feelings are "hurt" and that reality is whatever they "identify" as. Society teaches them them that they are entitled rather than teaching hard work. Promise them free stuff, and they will vote for you. This generation has been given a trophy every time that they've sneezed in life and told how much of a genius they are. Sanders clearly does not understand economics, and neither do his supporters.
Where does this leave us? Do politics matter to Christians? While our eternal home and our goal is to be heaven, we do still have to live in this world (1 Cor. 5). If we are given the freedom to voice our concerns openly about the detrimental impacts such front-runners can have on the spiritual well-being of our society, then ought we to use it? Unfortunately, I've followed numerous discussions among Christians this go-around and many, in their efforts to support their chosen candidate, have shown the same short-comings their candidate does: bully tactics, mocking, entitlement, and lack of integrity.
The problem(s) in America isn't politically related, it is heart related. How can we expect to alter a person's politics without first altering their hearts? There are many things, like the economy, that do not matter in the grand scheme of things; Christians can easily disagree with one another one what the best economic system is and it doesn't impact either of their abilities to reach heaven. However, if we teach that we are entitled to have things for which we have not worked, is that appropriate? Is that compassionate (2 Thess. 3:10)? If we advocate monetary gain by shady methods, is that appropriate (Matthew 6:24; 1 Timothy 6:10)? Greed and covetousness can apply in a capitalist society, and it certainly applies to socialist societies (no matter what the rhetoric states). They are wrong under both systems.
The example of Josiah (already mentioned), and in the example of his grandfather in the preceding chapters of each respective book, shows that a society can be "legislated" into obedience without their hearts having been changed (as evidenced by the book of Jeremiah). No matter who the president is, our job as Christians remains the same: change the hearts of the people.
This is not a post that is meant to discourage Christians from voting for legislation that will, even temporarily, halt immoral things from happening in our country. However, for us to be able to combat such immoral issues in our society, we have to avoid being drawn in by the empty rhetoric spewed by an ungodly society, and we have to strive to change their hearts. Changing hearts will NEVER be accomplished by "accepting" people in sin AS THEY ARE (a very unscriptural "principle"...again, 1 Corinthians 5).
We cannot complain about our presidential candidates when they simply reflect our society perfectly.
"The prophets prophesy falsely, And the priests rule by their own power; And My people love to have it so. But what will you do in the end?" (Jeremiah 5:31)
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