Regardless of your politics no one can deny the historical significance of the 2008 presidential election. I think there can be no greater illustration of this than the image of Jesse Jackson standing in Grant Park in Chicago with tears streaming down his face during President-elect Barack Obama’s victory celebration. In that instant I was reminded once again just how much of a landmark event this election was for the African-American community and just how little I know of what it truly means to be black. Some things I could never comprehend, but that doesn’t mean I’m insensitive to them. Paul encourages us to “Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.” I would pray that this election, if it does nothing else, would open doors of opportunity for people everywhere regardless of ethnicity or gender.

Respectful Disagreement

Despite the historical significance, there has to be room for respectful disagreement. A lady at my church was sharing about an incident that took place between her and a couple of African-American co-workers at the Christian day care where she works the day after the election. Keep in mind these are all Christian ladies who love the Lord. Apparently, though, for the better part of the day there was this feeling of tension that sort of permeated the air. My friend from church finally decided to address the situation, not really knowing what was wrong. “I’m so glad you said something,” they responded. It seems they had become concerned that no one in this Christian day care was saying anything about the historical significance of the election.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once spoke of a dream he had of a nation where people would be judged for the content of their character rather than the color of their skin. It strikes me that for many that day is today, for it is exactly because of character that many chose not to vote for candidate Obama. While I would applaud the historical landmark of the election, I cannot rejoice in many of the positions that an Obama administration would take nor with many of the people with whom the president-elect chooses to associate.

Eternal Perspective

From a strictly political point of view, there’s a good reason why the Republican Party was in effect voted out of office. Republicans were originally placed in office for the conservative issues they initially claimed to support. Unfortunately, after they got into power they essentially turned into Democrats “light” spending like there was no tomorrow. Bottom line is this: If Republicans are gonna act like Democrats, then we might as well have Democrats in office.

But despite the sometimes cyclical nature of the political process there is a much more eternal perspective to this election that cannot be ignored. It was interesting in the days leading up to the election to hear believers pray in all earnest for “God’s man” to be elected. I respectfully submit that that’s exactly what happens each and every time we step into the voting booth. Romans 13:1 says “Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God.”

The other night at Bible study one dear lady was remarking about how depressed she had been since the election. I think her view reflects a concern many conservative Christians have right now that under an Obama presidency America has essentially taken the express hand basket straight to hell. To that concern I would simply say, “Let not your heart be troubled.” God is in control. Jesus is still on the throne. We may not understand his purposes or his ways, but you’d better believer that with out a doubt His will IS being done.

Michael Spencer laments over how the “great, fun, harmless, safe, nostalgic, exciting, slightly scary and completely un-demonic Halloweens of the past” are gone in the church culture of today. In an annual Halloween rant he recalls what Halloween celebrations were like as kids in the 60’s and 70’s when it was nothing more than “simple, old-fashioned, fun” and “innocent play in the name of an American custom.”

But that was before charlatan, Mike Warnke, and the evangelical media and the occult ministries began convincing people that celebrating Halloween was tantamount to Satanism. Sending little crumb crunchers out to go door-to-door begging for Hershey bars was scoring points for the other side. “A general fear of the occult, manifesting itself in Satanic ritual abuse mythology, crept into evangelicalism and took a deep hold on many churches,” says Spencer.

We’ve all heard the stories about Halloween originating in an ancient Celtic festival celebrated at the end of the harvest. It was believed that on October 31st the boundaries between the living and the dead were lifted so that the spirits of the dead would come back to life and walk among the living. Ooooooooo! Bonfires, jack-o-lanterns, costumes and masks all became part of a custom meant to ward off haunting spirits. Today the celebration lives on as a part of American culture, but let’s be honest here, folks. The pagan superstitions originally associated with the Celtic celebration have largely been forgotten. Other than a handful of occultists, NOBODY in America celebrates these pagan rituals and nobody EVER has. So please, can we stop with the rhetoric already?

Spencer offers these concerns:

It bothers me that we fall for such lame, ridiculous manipulators as the crowd that made all of those Halloweens past into satanic events.

Shame on those of us–evangelicals–who allowed Halloween to be taken away from families and many communities, all because we prefer to believe that life is a Frank Paretti novel.

Look, I’m not trying to be difficult. As I’ve said before, I don’t really have a dog in this race. My kids are teenagers and I live in somewhat of a rural neighborhood that doesn’t get many trick-or-treaters. Ultimately it’s never really been a hill for me to die on one way or the other. Still I have always tried to respect the convictions of others on this issue even though I don’t necessarily agree.

On the other hand I am convicted about the pious nose-in-the-air attitude that is often perceived of Christians by the nonbelieving community when it comes to cultural issues such as this. It just seems to me that there ought to be some area of middle ground here in which believers can engage the culture without compromising their convictions. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. It’s one thing to curse the darkness. It’s quite another to turn on the Light.

Take the financial crisis for example. This was a perfect opportunity for Senator John McCain to knock one out of the park. The American public said overwhelmingly they didn’t want this bailout. Many Republicans said they weren’t going to vote for the bailout. All McCain need to do was to say, “I’m not supporting this bailout. Here’s my plan to substantively address the issues.” But rather then actually tackle the REAL reason we’re in this mess (i.e. the across the board greed and corruption not only in Congress, but within the banking industry, and among mortgage holders who tried to buy houses they couldn’t possibly afford) BOTH candidates seem only interested in throwing more money at the problem without doing one meaningful thing to insure this crisis never happens again.

IT’S ENOUGH TO MAKE YOUR HEAD EXPLODE!

Is it any wonder that so many Christians have given up on politics this year? “I don’t like either candidate, so I’m staying home.” And frankly, I wouldn’t blame you. I am SO there. Chuck Colson reminds us that “not voting is not an option—it’s both our civic and sacred duty. Voting is required of us as good citizens and as God’s agents for appointing leaders.”

How do we go about choosing the best candidates? Not by pulling a partisan lever—that’s knee-jerk ideology. Christians live instead by revealed truth, never captive to any party. Thus, the best place to go for wisdom is not the candidates’ websites, but the Bible.

Colson gives some important principles that should guide our decision:

1. Government’s role is to wield the sword to preserve order and restrain evil. So we should seek leaders best able to do that and to pursue justice.

2. We are commissioned to choose leaders of competence, virtue, and character. That’s why not voting or rejecting candidates because they are not perfect on some biblical or political score sheet is a dereliction of our trust.

3. In casting a vote, judgment should ultimately be guided by what we perceive to be the common good, a term not often heard in today’s special interest charged political debates. So maybe a particular candidate isn’t going to cut your taxes or vote for your favorite program, but the real question is, will he serve all the people, or only the loudest?

In Augustine’s “The City of God” believers are reminded of Jesus’ teaching that while we may live in “the City of Man”, we do not belong to it. We are Kingdom people. But while we’re here on earth we are obligated to be good citizens “out of obedience to God and love of neighbor.” Colson explains:

Augustine’s teaching also helps us to put the coming election into perspective. On Election Day we should be the best of citizens, voting for the candidate best for all the people. And then the next day, after indulging in your celebration—or pity party—get busy working to advance God’s kingdom in this earthly society.

Walton goes on to say, “The economic boom ’90s and financial overextensions of the new millennium contributed to the success of the Prosperity message. Narratives of how ‘God blessed me with my first house despite my credit’ were common. Sermons declaring ‘It’s your season to overflow’ supplanted messages of economic sobriety,” and “little attention was paid to … the dangers of using one’s home equity as an ATM to subsidize cars, clothes and vacations.”

Will the current economic crisis challenge the prosperity message? Probably not. Walton predicts it will likely continue, since the promise of financial blessing is just as attractive when times are hard. Is there any other reason to denounce prosperity theology for the dangerous teaching that it is?