If You Don’t Like the Person, Vote for the Only Party with a Bailing Can and Some Life Preservers
If it hasn’t been obvious for years, the Wikileaks revelations make one thing abundantly clear:
The Democrat Party in the United States is wittingly or unwittingly committed to elitist attitudes and policies that could destroy the American republic.
Actually, they’ve been quite effective at it during the past forty years because an unthinking, complacent and immoral populace have allowed them to do so.
With three weeks left until one of the most consequential elections of our lives, and with two poor presidential candidates leading the major parties, I have one practical suggestion to make (outside of fervent prayer):
If you don’t like the person, vote for the only party that still possesses a bailing can and some life preservers.
I would not have made that statement years ago. I have voted for both Democrats and Republicans during my forty-five years as a voting citizen. In 1960, if I’d been eligible, I would have cast my ballot for John F. Kennedy because, despite an adulterous lifestyle, his policies were more in line with biblical principles than Richard Nixon’s (whose character sins became known in the 70s).
But today’s Democrat party today is not the party of your father or grandfather. It has morphed rapidly and even explosively over the past few years into being largely immoral, anti-American, anti-Christian, pro-socialist and pro-world government–which is against the majority of the people.
To make that clear, all you need to read is this year’s Republican and Democrat platforms. They used to be similar and only disagreed on a few issues. Today, there is a vast chasm between them. For all the faults, warts, and wimpiness of the Republican Party, it still remains committed to life, liberty, national sovereignty and economic growth.
The Dems are against all four and are actually destroying them just like unborn babies in the womb.
I can’t sit by any longer and be unclear. The Republican Party cannot save or renew us–only the power of Jesus Christ through an awakened Church can do that. But the role of government is to protect people from injustice–to resist evil through good and just laws, which is a defensive form of bailing out and preserving human culture.
No matter how asleep and compromised they are, the Republicans are the only party in America right now with some bailing cans (good principles which could bring renewal)–and life preservers (some good leaders who could point the way forward in the future).
The Democrats have none–and are only becoming emboldened to destroy the American destiny and sink the national ship.
Listen to two wise voices on why we must vote R and resist the Ds at this watershed of American history.
Historian and author Eric Metaxas:
“What if not pulling the lever for Mr. Trump effectively means electing someone who has actively enabled sexual predation in her husband before—and while—he was president? Won’t God hold me responsible for that? What if she defended a man who raped a 12-year-old and in recalling the case laughed about getting away with it? Will I be excused from letting this person become president? What if she used her position as secretary of state to funnel hundreds of millions into her own foundation, much of it from nations that treat women and gay people worse than dogs? Since these things are true, can I escape responsibility for them by simply not voting?”
“Many say they won’t vote because choosing the lesser of two evils is still choosing evil. But this is sophistry. Neither candidate is pure evil. They are human beings. We cannot escape the uncomfortable obligation to soberly choose between them. Not voting—or voting for a third candidate who cannot win—is a rationalization designed more than anything to assuage our consciences. Yet people in America and abroad depend on voters to make this very difficult choice.”
“Children in the Middle East are forced to watch their fathers drowned in cages by ISIS. Kids in inner-city America are condemned to lives of poverty, hopelessness and increasing violence. Shall we sit on our hands and simply trust ‘the least of these’ to God, as though that were our only option? Don’t we have an obligation to them?”
“Two heroes about whom I’ve written faced similar difficulties. William Wilberforce, who ended the slave trade in the British Empire, often worked with other parliamentarians he knew to be vile and immoral in their personal lives.”
“Why did he? First, because as a sincere Christian he knew he must extend grace and forgiveness to others, since he desperately needed them himself. Second, because he knew the main issue was not his moral purity, nor the moral impurity of his colleagues, but rather the injustices and horrors suffered by the African slaves whose cause he championed. He knew that before God his first obligation was to them, and he must do what he could to help them.”
“The anti-Nazi martyr Dietrich Bonhoeffer also did things most Christians of his day were disgusted by. He most infamously joined a plot to kill the head of his government. He was horrified by it, but he did it nonetheless because he knew that to stay ‘morally pure’ would allow the murder of millions to continue. Doing nothing or merely ‘praying’ was not an option. He understood that God was merciful, and that even if his actions were wrong, God saw his heart and could forgive him. But he knew he must act.”
“It’s a fact that if Hillary Clinton is elected, the country’s chance to have a Supreme Court that values the Constitution—and the genuine liberty and self-government for which millions have died—is gone. Not for four years, or eight, but forever. Many say Mr. Trump can’t be trusted to deliver on this score, but Mrs. Clinton certainly can be trusted in the opposite direction. For our kids and grandkids, are we not obliged to take our best shot at this? Shall we sit on our hands and refuse to choose?”
“[If we don’t choose correctly} we would be responsible for passively electing someone who champions the abomination of partial-birth abortion, someone who is celebrated by an organization that sells baby parts. We already live in a country where judges force bakers, florists and photographers to violate their consciences and faith—and Mrs. Clinton has zealously ratified this. If we believe this ends with bakers and photographers, we are horribly mistaken. No matter your faith or lack of faith, this statist view of America will dramatically affect you and your children.”
“For many of us, this is very painful, pulling the lever for someone many think odious. But please consider this: A vote for Donald Trump is not necessarily a vote for Donald Trump himself. It is a vote for those who will be affected by the results of this election. Not to vote is to vote. God will not hold us guiltless.”
Evangelist Mario Murillo:
“One of the most amazing and revealing statements Trump ever made—he made to pastors. He asked them why they let the country get in this condition when—all along—they had the power to get what they wanted.”
“He told them that there are 50 million of you, and if you had worked together you could have elected everything from city councilmen, to state Assemblymen, to Congressmen and presidents. He is painfully correct. That is not just a statement of our influence but of our responsibility.”
“To the [naive Christians] I say this: Nothing matters more in this election than what Hillary Clinton (the Democrats) will do to America. She will fill the Supreme Court with leftist judges–she will destroy our economy—she will cause a war–all forms of abortion will be legal–and the Church in America will be severely crippled.”
“We could stop this insanity if we unified against real—not imagined evil. If we could see our real duty in this election–if we could get over our false sensibilities and hurt feelings…we could save the country. The great heroes of our faith, who witnessed tyranny would grab us and shake to our core if they saw our apathy and naiveté in the face of this threat.”
“I am not fretting over the fate of Christianity. I am fretting over my nation. I know Christianity will survive without America, but America will not survive without Christianity. America…as you have known it will not survive Hillary Clinton.”
* * *
So, when you cast your ballot on or before November 8, think about the millions of people-ramifications of your choices and vote Republican for your city council, governor and state representatives.
When you look at the national ballot, vote for a Republican administration, Senate, and House of Representatives.
If you don’t like the person, vote for the only party left with a bailing can and some life preservers.
The Tragic Tale of Lewd and Liar
Once upon a time there was a battle for Leadership in a republic that had once been filled with Light. The Light of Liberty was waning, and Lawlessness ascending.
Out of the shadows emerged a contestant for the throne named Lewd. From the same twilight appeared his political combatant, Liar.
Both were products of their time because truth was growing dim. One day, they hooked up in mortal combat for Leadership of the republic.
This is the tragic tale of Lewd and Liar.
Lewd and Liar were not produced in a vacuum, or were extremely different from their subjects–called the Little people. Here is the story of how they came to be.
The republic of the two aspirants to the throne had been formed hundreds of years before by the sons and daughters of Liberty. They loved their Lord, Law and Liberty more than they loved themselves. They created a unique nation in history–a land filled with moral Light–and warned their future prodigy that the preservation of that Liberty was dependent upon their future vigilance.
But, alas, over time, the sons and daughters of Liberty forgot their Light-bearing past and and began to pursue the Lawless ways of the nations around them. They started to follow another lord of the universe who had rebelled against the Light.
His name was Lucifer–the father of Lies.
The Liar followed Lucifer’s ways and lived by lies much of her life. She was born wealthy, married into ambition, and developed a hunger for power and prestige. The way to attain her dreams of Leadership was to fib her way to the top:
- to lie about her marriage and its brokenness.
- to lie about her beliefs, positions, and identification with the Little people.
- to lie about sexual liaisons, corrupt deals, missing e-mails and harassment of bimbos.
- to lie about helping the Little people.
- and to lie her way into making history.
She married one worse than herself, a man named Most Lewd. He was more filthy than her opponent and he had previously come to the throne by using his charm and a string of false tales. Most Lewd not only had a filthy mouth, but a reprobate life that didn’t change over his lifetime.
When he first married Liar he was wildly unfaithful. While he occupied the throne of the republic, his lewdness entered into the very throne room. After leaving the kingdom, he continued his debauchery at his private residence in NY, on pleasure jaunts to Lewd Island with his friend Perversity, and even in his fifth floor apartment in Little Rock.
Most Lewd was the most sensually cunning of all the kings of the republic. Most Lewd broke Liar’s heart–but she continued to carry his name to pursue her own dreams.
Eventually Liar reached the pinnacle of her craft by becoming the leader of the Lying party. This party began well during the early days of the republic, but over centuries stopped believing the truth and practicing virtue. The Lying party now hideously believed:
- That it was okay to kill its Littlest subjects in the womb. Ten of millions of them.
- That sexual pleasure was king and marriage archaic and out-dated.
- That it was better for the Little people to be dependent on the kingdom and not on themselves.
- That they should control all aspects of Life because they knew better.
The Liar’s opponent, Lewd, was also born into wealth–much more so than Liar. He turned his millions into billions by selling things to the Little people–very successfully. (Liar made her millions by selling favors to international kings and other ambitious folks. Both became rich–one in the private world and the other on the public dole.)
Lewd also lived a perverse life for many years, even during some of his three marriages. Because he was well known and prosperous, his loose lips and lifestyle often made it into the news of the day–and got him into trouble.
Lewd burst into the public eye by changing from the Lying party to the Lousy party. The Lousy party had also once been faithful to the principles of light, but eventually began to enjoy status and privilege more than principle. By the time Lewd emerged on the scene, the Lousy party had become stupid, inept and intoxicated by its own flirtation with power.
In the jousting matches that led up to the final clash, the Lousy party fielded a number of champions with leadership, experience, character, and faith to possibly renew the the kingdom. But the Little people had been drawn to Lewd’s swagger and riches–and he had soundly vanquished his challengers.
(As for Liar’s preliminary jousts–only an aging Santa Claus/Robin Hood came close to winning that match by promising to give the Little people everything they wanted–for free! He was eventually defeated by Liar’s cunning use of the party politburo and its endless offense of deceit.)
Liar also had another ally for the final battle–Liberal scribes, poets, actors and jesters of the day. They “kept the court of public opinion” by elevating the lies of the Liar and suppressing the remaining light that still dawned, though rather dimly, through the Lousy party. The “prince of the power of the air” controlled the air waves–so lies were more prevalent than truth.
The Little people were not without fault, though suppressed by the Lying Party and disappointed by the Lousy party. They had produced both contestants by participating in the same sins and by tolerating iniquity in their own lives. Lewdness was publicly acceptable because many people threw F-bombs around and engaged in locker room talk. Lying was du jour because many lived their lives by creating allusions about themselves.
Both Lewd and Liar were mirror images of the what many Little people had become. A lewd and lying culture was now rooting for champions in their own image.
But most responsible for the penetrating darkness threatening the republic were the spiritual ancestors of the sons and daughters of liberty. They had failed to cherish the light, increase its brightness, and pass on its liberating ways to succeeding generations.
The Light bearers had failed to be salt and light… and Lewd and Liar had emerged.
Most of the remaining sons and daughters of Liberty would reluctantly vote for Lewd because the Lousy party still contained some elements of truth. But many wouldn’t vote at all, some were deceived by Liar, and Liar and her public minstrels held court over the majority of the Little people.
Just before the final jousting match between Lewd and Liar, it looked like Liar would win–and take the kingdom into abysmal darkness. But it was unwise to count out Lewd. He had the ability to produce a populist revolt that could overrun Liar–though that possibility was slim.
So what is the moral of the story?
Sons and daughters of Liberty:
We must personally forsake all lewdness and lying and cry out to the only one that can save us.
He is the Lord of all–pure and truthful. He is the Lamb who takes away the sins of the whole world. Only those who are redeemed by his Love can bring that Light to the nations.
And live happily ever after.
It’s Only Real Love When It’s Hard
I possess a doctoral degree in Strategic Leadership, but sometimes I feel like I’m still in Kindergarten when it comes to some areas of life.
One such course of needed study and growth is the biblical quality of love.
Next week my wife, Shirley, and I celebrate forty years of marriage. I would have liked to have taken her on a cruise, a romantic getaway, or even to a nearby Bed ‘n Breakfast.
But yesterday, Shirley had major female surgery (a seven hour procedure), and for the next 6-8 weeks she will be convalescing and I will be her main caregiver at home.
But that’s okay. I know I have a lot to learn about the greatest subject in the world–love.
It’s only real love when it’s hard.
I know I could be writing about a lot of world events today. As I punch the keyboard, Hurricane Matthew is bearing down with ferocity on the US east coast. Two nights ago, Mike Pence proved his worthiness of Donald Trump’s VP pick by easily upping Tim Kaine in the vice presidential debate.
In about thirty days one of the most important presidential elections of our lifetime will take place between Donald Trump–weak on character and good on policies–and Hillary Clinton–who is corrupt in character and disastrous on policies. She would lead the American nation off of a progressive cliff.
But today, I’m thinking about none of those issues because love calls. My wife is resting comfortably at home while still hooked up to some technology. Her seven hour surgery two days ago was longer than the four surgeries that I have experienced before combined.
While I waited anxiously for her in the waiting room, two hours beyond the scheduled time, I thought about our lifetime of love and countless expressions of it. I pondered the privilege of having six great children–ironically the cause of her female surgery. I also had some tearful moments wondering why it was taking so long while pushing the thought from my mind that maybe something was wrong.
I knew she wasn’t having life threatening surgery, but this was the first time in six decades she’d been under anesthetic–and at our age, anything can happen. I was actually a little surprised at how emotional I was throughout the day. Tears came to my eyes when I saw her smiling face a few hours later.
Our love goes deep, and it’s only real love when it’s hard.
What do I mean by that?
Jesus told us that it’s easy to love people when things are familiar and good: “ If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? (Matthew 5:46,47).
What’s hard about love is when you are not friends and things are not going well. That applies to two primary situations–loving your enemies and loving sacrificially when times are difficult. Let me focus on the second scenario.
For many years, I’ve defined love this way: Love is doing what’s best for another person from God’s point of view. In difficult circumstances or situations love oftentimes demands great sacrifice and continual death to self to really benefit another. The other person needs you, sometimes desperately. You need to change your schedule, your commitments, your likes and dislikes, and many other self-oriented things.
Right now, that’s what love demands of me in caring for Shirley. For the next week or so I need to carry her through a difficult time–loss of sleep, caring for wounds, dealing with the unpleasantness of restoring bowel movements and cleaning up messes.
For weeks after, I will cook some of the meals, do the grocery shopping, handle the laundry, and care for Shirley’s shut-in parents. For quite a while I need to do all the lifting–even a gallon of milk. Classes must be canceled, appointments postponed.
In the past when I’ve had surgeries or accidents, Shirley was my gracious caregiver and performed it beautifully.
Now it’s my turn to learn true servant-oriented love.
When she came home from the hospital yesterday I needed to make her some dinner. Since moving to a new home three years ago, I’ve never cooked a meal and don’t even known where many of the kitchen utensils reside. I even had trouble turning on the gas stove! Then, I made the only thing that I’m really able to cook–scrambled eggs.
It’ll be a miracle if Shirley nutritionally survives the next month. But I’ve got to rise to it.
It’s only real love when it’s hard.
While I was waiting for Shirley’s surgery to be completed, I read the current number one bestseller in America–Bill O’Reilly’s Killing the Rising Sun. I strongly recommend it. It shares the horrific story of World War II in the Pacific Theater where the United States defeated the militant Japanese Empire. Twenty-four million people died because of Japanese aggression and savagery.
The book is dedicated to all those who served in the military to defeat Japan. It tells numerous stories of heroism and bravery of those who laid their lives down to free the world from tyranny. They did it because they loved liberty and their own nation more than themselves.
It’s only real love when it’s hard.
While I was waiting in surgery, I needed someone to deliver something to me at the hospital. I called a nearby family friend who had just gotten up. He didn’t seem too interested in helping me and kept trying to find a way out of the errand. Eventually, I did it myself.
His response instructed me. You don’t love if your heart isn’t willing to sacrifice. It’s easy to “love” when it costs you nothing. But that’s not true love–just doing what’s convenient.
It’s only real love when it’s hard.
I’ve seen real love demonstrated by my parents. For a number of years, my mother took care of my aging father as he faced various medical problems. Occasionally the roles were reversed. There were numerous ambulance trips to the hospital and the anxious prayers that accompanied them. There were weeks and months of exhausting care.
They both needed to look past the beauty of youth and deal with sagging skin, no privacy, clipping aged toenails, and cleaning up errant bed-pans. This sacrifice usually fell to my mom and she did a superb job of serving my dad until he drew his last breath. I learned much by watching them.
It’s only real love when it’s hard.
I also know that I haven’t come near to experiencing what some people have faced in the “exam” of real love, such as:
- Caring for a dying child who passed away at a young age.
- Dealing with a handicapped relative over a lifetime–putting another’s greater needs ahead of your own.
- Serving in a war zone or caring for the destitute after some terrible natural disaster.
- Enduring sex slavery, being abducted to fight as a child soldier, being raped and abused by evil aggressors–and having the opportunity to help.
Many people in our world daily face terror and difficulty that can only be eased or erased by those who reach out with true love.
Jesus is, of course, our greatest example of true self-sacrificing love. He left the comforts of heaven to walk the dusty streets of earth. He healed the sick and raised the dead, and most didn’t respond favorably to his compassion and concern.
He ultimately laid his life down on a barbaric cross to make atonement for the entire world–and this after they’d spit on him, whipped him and yelled “Crucify him!”
“Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (John 15:13).
It’s only real love when it’s hard.
Our 40th anniversary arrives on Monday. Between now and then I will be at home, caring for Shirley and trying to nurse her back to health. When our special day arrives, the only thing on the calendar is a trip to the doctor to have some technology removed. Then we will return home to keep healing, loving, remembering that we made a pledge four decades ago to stand by one another “in sickness and in health.”
It might be easy to feel sorry for ourselves. Wouldn’t our love be greater if accompanied by the blessings of health and excitement or luxury and travel?
No. Absolutely not.
This year we get the privilege of experiencing the true heart of love which is intimate sacrificial caring for another. The fluff will be gone, the dross burned away, and the real deal left to sparkle and shine. This is going to be the most loving anniversary we’ve ever known or experienced.
It’s only true love when it’s hard.
And… very precious to God.