So what do all the TV ads say about our 2 potential
leaders? Early on in the campaign, even
before the primaries had been decided the talk was so much more positive in
nature. The main message then was that
“my program is best for everyone”. The
only common enemy was the current administration. Then as the candidates began dropping out,
and the finalists emerged in both parties, the language gets more terse, less
positive, more accusatory. Down to only
the main 2 candidates, and the last 2 weeks, the barrage on the TV is now
almost constant. What happened to all
that initial positive language, and commitments in public to remain so? Can any candidate survive attack ads by their
opponent while only running positive message ads about themselves? Does an eye-for-an-eye thinking rule the TV
airwaves? If so, is this the character
of our future leaders on display when they really really want something; in
this case, the office of President?
I guess the “testing” is needed to ferret out real values
from empty promises. The words spoken by
both of the candidates early on sounded good to our ears. The promise they made to run a positive
campaign that would not stoop to the attacks of the past made perfect sense,
and was a long awaited welcome sign.
Those words are now forsaken; the promise of peace, replaced by the
reality of political war (even if the war is of words). The eloquent speaker is not immune. The die-hard straight talking maverick does
not seem to mind miring in the dirt either.
Both are pursuing a goal they believe requires using these tactics to
achieve. Both are wrong. Neither would admit it, or become the bigger
man. Both have seen the
nice-guy-finish-last before.
Now take all this under consideration for a bit, and add to
it the old wives tale expression – the only thing you take to Heaven is your
character. Seems to me, a character that
abandons commitments of peace to attain what it really wants, is not the kind
you want to see in Heaven. Does this
mean neither man can go? NO!!!! I am simply pointing out the obvious, the
“character” we aspire to, is not the “character” we have. When was the last time you personally took
the quicker, easier way to get something you wanted, rather than risk the rough
road of hard work and possible failure of maintaining the highest standards of
ethics? Politicians merely reflect our
society at large, they are products of it.
They do in their campaigns, what you have done your entire life –
whatever is necessary to achieve your end goals.
No I am not saying that you are a cheater, liar, or thief –
nor am I saying that the pursuit of life goals does not require sacrifice, or
is in some way inherently bad. But to
say you are not a cheater, does not mean you have NEVER cheated in your
life. It may have been rare, maybe only
once you can remember, maybe something small that everyone does, or nobody
cares about, but you know what you did.
Having said you are not a liar, does not mean you have NEVER lied. You get the idea. Our 2 future leader prospects are just like
you in that sense, they actually did follow through on their commitments for a
while. They are not bad people, or criminals, or perpetual liars. But in a time of extreme testing they
failed. They did what they knew to be
wrong, to achieve what they believed would justify the momentary lapse of
judgment.
So what kind of “character” do we really have anyway? Is there anyone of honor, anyone you can
respect, who deserves the role of leader?
Yes, there is one, but He does not live here anymore. One of the most remarkable characteristics
about our Lord Jesus Christ, is the inability of any skeptic to tarnish his
message, his words, or his actions. Even
those who do not believe in miracles, the Bible, or anything of a spiritual
nature – can read the story of Christ and be amazed at His teachings. Christ had character. It endured all things. All the way to His earthly grave and death,
Christ did not betray His values, His mission, His character. Those around Him were not so favored. One betrayed Him directly to His enemies and
committed suicide after being at His side for 3 years. Another denied even knowing Him; mind you the
denial was not that he accepted the teachings, divinity, or mission of Christ,
merely that he might have known Him – and he did it 3 times during the ordeal
of that night. Those closest to Him;
after time at His side, hearing His words, feeling His embrace, witnessing His
miracles, even performing miracles in His name, could not pass a simple test of
character. They scattered like sheep
into the night and hid themselves in shame (until He came for them).
No other purported God has spoken the words, or lived the
life of Christ. No other purported deity
can show how they passed the “test” of character. No other competition for worship and
admiration ever dared to die for those they loved. Mohammed did not. Buddha did not. Confucius did not. Even Moses did not lay down his life for his
people. Only one true God could define what
true character was. It was, and it is,
Love.
Part of the problem Christians have, and another reason why
God takes a ding in His image, is that we as a group buy-in to the “character”
line of thinking. We somehow forget that
our natural state is carnal, and believe that somewhere deep within himself man
is capable and inclined to do good, not evil.
We delude ourselves into thinking that good and evil are a mere choice
we have to make. We ridicule those
caught in the acts of evil, while all the time hiding our own misdeeds. The hypocrisy smells up the world, and non
believers are not stupid enough to be fooled by it.
I remember when then President Clinton was being put through
the ringer for an illicit relationship that had nothing to do with his
political leadership in any way. He did
wrong. And he was publicly put through
extreme humiliation for acts done in private, where the damage would have
otherwise been contained to the families involved. But his Christian accusers, the Republicans
so bent on holding him to the highest of standards, and so insulted that he
might lie about infidelity, were to a man involved in their own similar sets of
illicit affairs. No accuser was
guiltless. The only question was ever
one of timing. And most were guilty at
the time of their accusations.
Hypocrisy.
Christians would do better to recognize there is NO natural
goodness in any of them. The ONLY
goodness ever found in the words, or deeds of men, comes directly through the
grace of our Lord. Blessings poured out
on just and the unjust, the believer, and the non-believer. It is a bit ironic but this means that every
good word or deed you have ever done has only been through, inspired by, the
grace of our Lord. Your natural tendency
would have been to do evil in every circumstance. It also means the good that Mohammed did, the
good that Buddha did, the good that Moses did, all came from the same source –
the one true source of goodness and love.
The natural state of evolution is in decline, not in elevation.
Men argue this point, stating that so many things have
improved over the years, our technology, our medicine, our knowledge; but never
argued is an ever improving state of our morals. Drug addiction is worse than ever worldwide,
crime more violent and horrific and is ever spiraling up, and bad times tend to
exacerbate both these conditions. Indeed
“testing” points out the truer nature and character of man. There is no natural goodness in us. Once we accept this, we can begin again to
seek goodness from its source. We can
avoid the distractions and illusions of self-fulfillment and focus on the only
source we can find it in. As we define
love, and self-less-ness, we find what real character is. And as we learn to trust Him, “testing” does
not have the same ruinous effect as before.
Slowly but surely, we are tried in a fire, and emerge as pure gold. This is the promise of our God. This is the good news we should seek …
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