Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Our two choices this election?

There is more fear in this election then I have seen in my short lifetime.  Even among believers who should be trusting God, as we (should) know he has the situation well in hand. 

The rationale for voting for the lesser of two evils to try and control what takes place seems a lot like the ends justifies the means which as most who read this blog would agree (I think) is very unbiblical. 

If someone tells you to kill someone or they will kill 3 people, are we justified in murdering an innocent to possibly save three?  What about to save 5, 10, a million?  What about nuking Iran to possibly prevent them from attacking Isreal?  What about killing an innocent pregnant woman who is about to scream and prevent a special forces team from taking out a terrorist? 

Tough situations, I agree, but the Bible seems to tell me that I am to do good, and to trust the results to be in God's hands.  This would seem to mean that the ends cannot justify the means, because I can't control the end, only the means.

Ok, back to the election.  If this is true, then I should vote for the best man for the job based on my knowledge, regardless of what I think the end should be.  I am responsible for my actions, not the actions of others. I do not know God's plans, but I know he loves me and wants what is best for me.. and he knows more then me.  That means, that I should vote for the man I am convinced is the best whether Romney, Johnson, Obama or Goode.. or even that Jill character.

Lastly, as this is not an eternal issue, do not part friendship over this.  Debate, argue if you can do it and still break bread, but don't break fellowship with our eternal family.  

I would love to see what people have to say about this. 


7 comments:

Bill Ball said...

There is a vast difference between choosing "the lesser of two evils" and "the end justifies the means." We all are often faced with genuine ethical dilemmas in which our only choice is between two evils.

Bill Ball said...

The situations you cite in your post "Hoping to ... etc." are actually illustrations of this choice.


Rahab had to choose between lying to the king's messengers and turning over the two Hebrew spies.

The Hebrew midwives had to choose between lying to Pharaoh and killing the Hebrew baby boys.

In both cases either action taken would have been a sin, and in both cases the choice was made to save lives. In both cases they were commended by God, but we're not told that God commended their lies. In Rahab's case, it was her faith that was commended -- twice -- in the New Testament (Hebrews 12:32; James 2:25).

During the election, we were faced with a number of choices, but let's limit ourselves to our choice for president. Moral arguments were made on both sides and for many of us it was a difficult moral choice (which I've discussed elsewhere).

And our choices are not made "to control what takes place," but in recognition that our vote does influence the outcome of the election. Belief in the sovereignty of God does not remove our responsibility for our choices.

Trent said...

Hi Bill. My apologies, I did not realize I had turned my comment moderation on. Your first statement I agree. If you only have two choices, then picking the better one makes sense.. though sometimes there is a 3rd choice to do nothing. In this case It would not apply because I believe in taking advantage of the privilege we have in voting. :) I also think that Rahab may have had other options where she could have exercised her faith with out sinning..but it might have taken even more faith. I won't second guess her, just pondering. My point though is that for president, we had more then 2 choices for President. Many people were voting for someone they did not think was good, to prevent someone else from becoming president. This even though many of them agreed that a 3rd person would be better, but in there opinion did not have a chance of winning. THat was what I mean by saying "ends justify the means" since in their opinion God apparently was going to suffer if a certain person won. Does that clarify my position? :) Thanks for visiting!

lightninboy said...

It seems the Republican Party is getting stinkier by the day. But will people have enough guts to leave it? I'm afraid not.

Trent said...

I agree.

lightninboy said...

I have been listening to The Steve Deace Show. He is not on the air in every radio market, however.

http://stevedeace.com/radio-affiliates/

Trent said...

He looks interesting. I don't know if he is in my area and did not see where to find stations..