An Infallible Guide on the Road to the White House
Posted by: K.D. Hastings on March 25, 2008 Featured Article •
Before my family left town on a short trip during spring break, I purchased a GPS unit to help guide us on our way.
While the particular unit I bought is regarded as a low-end unit, it was well rated by consumers and included the feature I wanted most—text-to-speech. The female voice, while poorly enunciating many words, gave us confidence as we navigated unfamiliar streets.
Now at home where I know the roads, the unit is simply a curiosity. With no remorse or fear, I disobey the unit’s calls to turn left in ½ mile and willfully ignore its chastising tone as it tells me to “make a legal U-turn.”
Yet if you are in an unfamiliar area, a GPS unit can be quite handy. And as long as your inputs are accurate, the GPS unit provides an accurate route.
On our jaunt to the beach, we discovered the unit was not infallible. Searching its database of “points of interest,” we asked it to direct us to the closest Wal-Mart. We dutifully followed its commands, impressed by its knowledge and the certainty of its tone. It was only when we made a turn and noted signs welcoming us to a state park that we began to seriously doubt the unit. Then when only a few feet into the park the GPS unit announced, “You have arrived,” we knew the machine was not to be fully trusted.
The little machine was thoroughly convinced our car was in the parking lot of a Super Wal-Mart; we knew we were entering Gulf Shores State Park.
As it turned out, the discount store was about a half mile behind us. The unit told us to turn left when we should have turned right.
We make decisions about what route to take everyday and most of them have nothing to do with turning right or left and going straight on the highway. During 2008, all of us who are of voting age will have the opportunity to make a decision on who should represent us in Congress and who should take up residence in the White House.
Just as I do with my GPS, beware where you place your confidence. During the Cold War, President Ronald Reagan said of the Soviets, “Trust, but verify.” It is sage advice for us as we consider our options on Election Day.
Until that day, we will continue to be bombarded by messages—from the candidates and their surrogates—on the issues. Shifting through the chaff and making a decision on who has earned your vote in any contested political race is difficult. A sure foundation for this task is biblical precepts. Looking to your faith-informed convictions is a ready and reliable aid in determining who gets your support.
That’s values-based voting. Fulfilling your civic duty in this way means you ignore party labels and turn aside personal desires to vote for a candidate simply because they will benefit you economically. It involves weighing each candidate’s stance on the issues with the Bible’s perspective on the issue, as much as possible. Your values can give you needed direction.
I’ve learned I can’t completely trust my nifty but fallible GPS device. I can, however, completely trust God’s revealed Word as a guidepost in making my Election Day decisions.
(0) Comments | Permalink | Tell a Friend |
|
|
|
|
|
Back to top of page.
Letting Your Voice Be Heard
Posted by: K.D. Hastings on March 24, 2008 Hot Issues •
A news report on our local CBS affiliate addressed a bill recently introduced in our state legislature that would further regulate what kind of smoke detectors homeowners can install in their houses. The report referred disparagingly to “high-powered lobbyists,” hired by smoke detector manufacturers, who were resisting the legislation that called for new restrictions.
So what’s wrong with “high-powered lobbyists” or “low-powered” lobbyists, if one exists? I recognize that the tobacco and liquor industries have lobbyists that have at times wielded far too much influence, as have gambling groups and unions. Yet at the end of the day we all have at least one “special interest”: ourselves. And more than likely, there are one or more special interest groups with individuals assigned the responsibility to share your interest in the capitol building.
The wonder of our government, as a participatory republic, is that our voice matters. And if we really want to make an impact, we can join our voice with other like-minded voices. It’s the power of one—multiplied!
So before we raise our voice complaining about the influence lobbyists, no matter their “power,” have on our elected officials, we need to ratchet up our own voices.
Share your values out loud! And at the polls on Election Day.
(0) Comments | Permalink | Tell a Friend |
|
|
|
|
|
Back to top of page.
Our values will always find us out
Posted by: Dwayne Hastings on March 13, 2008 Hot Issues •
Eliot Spitzer, who brought down giants of crime as New York State’s attorney general and was a powerful and respected governor, was brought down by the frailties of his own flesh.
The very real possibility exists that Spitzer will someday go on trial for money laundering. It is ironic, if not fitting, that Spitzer’s extramarital trysts were uncovered when his bank reported unusual money transfers by someone using the name of the New York State governor. (The governor had been known to use this same method to expose illegal activity among businessmen.) Turns out it was Spitzer, not an impostor, forwarding cash to a prostitution ring.
Although Spitzer initially said this was a “private matter,” most people, including many New Yorkers, disagreed. Can a man (or a woman) who is a public figure have a high, impenetrable wall between his private life and his public life? Should there be such a high wall in any of our lives? Can we be a mild-manner school teacher or bus driver or accountant during the day and live a no-holds-barred, illicit life at night? When does who we are in secret bleed over into who we are by day?
New York voters had no idea Spitzer, who was applauded for his successes in fighting organized crime and political corruption, would someday cheat on his wife when they elected, and then overwhelmingly, reelected him to office. They probably couldn’t envision he would take such a tremendous risk, soiling his office and crippling his marriage.
Voting values is critically important for our family and our nation; living our values may well have eternal ramifications. We can’t cage our immoral side, letting it “out” only when no one sees.
It is said –erroneously—that the bigger they are the harder they fall. While millions of Americans are aware of Spitzer’s moral indiscretion, the pain and heartache that results from anyone’s failures is just as deep and just as real.
We all share one thing with the disgraced governor of the Empire State—a sin nature. A never ceasing tug to rebel against what is good and right, to do what is wrong even though we know it is wrong. It has been getting us humans in trouble for years.
It is when we believe we are in charge that we find out how wrong we really are.
(0) Comments | Permalink | Tell a Friend |
|
|
|
|
|
Back to top of page.
What’s It Worth To You?
Posted by: Brent James on March 12, 2008 Hot Issues •
How much does it cost to stay in the presidential race? As someone with campaign experience will tell you – “a whole lot more.” All I know is, if I was running low on cash, I wouldn’t be able to use personal funds to extend my opportunity. And even if I did, that might only keep me in the contest for an extra five minutes.
Contributions are just about everything. Remember last year when John McCain’s campaign was strapped? He was performing poorly and many suggested he would soon be left on the sidelines. Now look at him. His campaign is sitting in the enviable position of saving money while his Democrat opponents burn through their millions.
Numbers reported for February show that Barak Obama raised $55 million to Hillary Clinton’s $35 million. McCain’s campaign declined to disclose February figures and Ron Paul’s are unknown though he is thought to have $8 - 10 million on hand. And we still have nearly eight months to go.
(0) Comments | Permalink | Tell a Friend |
|
|
|
|
|
Back to top of page.
“Respectful Disagreement”?
Posted by: Brent James on March 12, 2008 Biblical Values •
Duct Tape and WD-40. Used separately or together, these twin miracles can fix nearly every conceivable mess, misfortune, or mishap. Or so thought most of us at one time or another. Though I attest to their remarkable versatility in a pinch, they won’t work in every case. Neither will misapplied Scripture. And politics is one of those arenas where its useful interpretation has got to be dead on.
Barak Obama was the latest public official to make this gaffe. Speaking in Ohio, the senator defended his belief in same-sex civil unions by referencing Christ’s Sermon on the Mount as biblical support. He closed his comments with, ”But we can have a respectful disagreement on that.”
Can we? Yes, I believe we can and should, so long as the truth prevails. There can be but one answer here. Opposing interpretations create conflict where none exists biblically. Stepping out to make a political point on the back of Scripture is precarious to say the least. Especially telling are the intellectual methodologies employed in constructing such a basis. They often reveal values that we not only understand, but can readily evaluate.
Polls (and the New York Times) claim that evangelicals favor Obama in considerable numbers. The Barna Group’s latest poll holds this to be true. So what does that mean? Simply, that we follow our course of measuring values presented against those of Scripture. This not only provides clarity, but gives us opportunity to exercise our idle brains.
(1) Comments | Permalink | Tell a Friend |
|
|
|
|
|
Back to top of page.
Socialism Is For Wimps
Posted by: Brent James on March 12, 2008 Biblical Values •
More Americans are trusting the goodness of government to solve their problems. Christians aren’t immune from such leanings, so we are seeing examples of denominations and associations of religious leaders advocating more collaborative partnerships with government agencies. The goals are sincere, I’m sure, but there are fundamental questions we must consider. Is it right for us to look to the federal government to provide what we would otherwise receive from God’s hand? His blessing and our obedient, honest industry deliver sufficiency or abundance.
How have we transformed from a few colonial states of rugged individuals to a vast country of entitled victims? Is it the people? The laws? The extraordinary fruit of prosperity? Remember, it was the Plymouth pilgrims who embraced private land ownership, having seen the remarkable effect it had on improving their brethren’s work ethic. Free to pursue individual gain, they flourished. Our government is to restrain lawlessness, thereby maintaining an environment conducive to success.
What happens when the spirit of dependency is fostered among peoples believing the state as caretaker? It becomes entrenched and society suffocates. Nature abhors a vacuum, as does government. Create any circumstance or constituency of need, then whistle. It’ll find you. Forever seeking to sooth, pacify, and ameliorate our nation’s ills, real or imagined, it has an unequalled acuity and can hear the desperate groans of privation from across the land. Its appetite is unrestrained.
Who then, is responsible for securing basic needs? You are. That’s it. Christian churches are to support those in adverse (according to Scripture) circumstances, caring for orphans, widows, and the destitute (that excludes able-bodied slackers that beg for cash).
“All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty.” Proverbs 14:23
“If a man will not work, he shall not eat.” 2 Thessalonians 3:12
This refrain is repeated as a central theme in Ecclesiastes.
“I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them.” Thomas Jefferson
If any should conceive otherwise, that is, government as responsible provider, he would, in effect, be subjecting other taxpaying citizens to serve his needs. This sort of confiscatory policy is nothing short of socialism. And socialism never gave a dime to anyone that it had not stolen first from others. Only a society of private ownership can lead to certain prosperity that, in turn, gives rise to great charity.
“That government is best which governs the least, because its people discipline themselves.” Thomas Jefferson
The government cannot provide for you, so stop expecting it. Many are the warnings of such wayward thinking. It can but lead to despotism.
(0) Comments | Permalink | Tell a Friend |
|
|
|
|
|
Back to top of page.
Temper, Temper
Posted by: Brent James on March 8, 2008 Biblical Values •
What makes you mad? Which sort of events set you off? We all have lists of minor irritations causing us to bite our lips or mumble unspeakable things. But blowing your stack? I mean really coming unglued to the point of losing all sense of propriety. The question may seem idle until you think about the implications of losing one’s temper – especially in a critical situation. The type a president faces every day.
Keeping a level head under duress is a true test of character. That doesn’t mean that a leader will, under those circumstances alone, render the best judgment. It does, however, mean that the decision maker stands a much greater chance of successfully analyzing a crisis without emotional discord.
“A man of knowledge uses words with restraint, and a man of understanding is even-tempered.” Proverbs 17:27
Bold and fearless, steady and sure. Seeing that kind of leadership in action instills a sense of confidence. How does your candidate stack up? It is important to have answers to this and many other questions of personal performance before the general election. Politicians usually display their best behavior in campaign mode, all the more reason we should look closely for the wrinkles as well.
In the last few weeks there have been reported incidents of political violence. A man in North Carolina smashed an acquaintance on the head with a bat reportedly during an argument over politics while the Clinton/Obama debate was televised. The perpetrator then drove the victim to the hospital. In Pennsylvania, two brothers-in-law argued about the Democratic nomination for president when the Clinton supporter stabbed the Obama supporter in the stomach. Let’s hope our elected leaders can do better than that.
Read. Listen. Vote your Values.
(0) Comments | Permalink | Tell a Friend |
|
|
|
|
|
Back to top of page.
