Observations©
By Donald S. Conkey
Tired of all the political rhetoric yet? Many are, including me, but this vetting process is an important part of choosing our elected leaders, especially the president of the United States. Only the Lord’s way is a better way. This process still has a year to go before the November 2012 election, which likely will be the most important election Americans will ever vote in. Who they choose to be their president in 2012 will determine the future of America for years to come. If Obama is reelected and given an additional four years it will solidify the progressive movement and America will be ‘fundamentally changed’ for years to come. Not good!
If the republicans elect their candidate America will also change. Either way, America will change – hopefully for the better but it could be for the worst. It will all depend on the voters and who they choose for president. Their choice could not be clearer: one party wants to reduce the influence of government in individual lives, the other party wants to increase government’s role in the lives of individuals. The freedoms Americans have known for over 200 years hangs in the balance of the 2012 vote.
When I ponder the aggressiveness of the progressive movement of recent years and then think of how long it has taken most Americans to wake up to see the direction the progressives are taking America I reflect on the words of Jehovah to Samuel as recorded in 1 Samuel 8.
In many ways the governments of ancient Israel and modern America parallel one another. Both governments were greatly influenced by God, but in slightly different ways. For Israel if was a very direct approach: Jehovah sent Moses and gave him the power to free the enslaved Israelites. The creation of America was more subtle – there were no overt miracles, but there were miracles nonetheless, obvious to any student of history. Both governments chose their leaders from amongst the people, and both were plagued by the same freedom destroying human traits that have plagued all nations, including America: greed, pride, lust for power, idolatry, corruption, incompetence, and ignorance of God’s laws, at all levels of government.
Even Samuel’s sons were corrupt when the Israelites asked Samuel to give them a king. Samuel, concerned, went to the Lord in prayer. The Lord responded to Samuel’s prayer with: “Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them.” The Lord then told Samuel to “shew them the manner of the king that shall reign over them” and what would happen if He removed himself from their midst. The Lord’s words included a clear warning that they would eventually “cry out in that day because of your king which ye shall have chosen you; and the Lord will not hear you in that day.” But “the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel;” and said, “Nay; we will have a king over us. …” (1 Samuel 8:-1-19)
The Lord’s words to the Israelites are sobering and any true biblical historian can tell you what happened to the Israelites: they were enslaved by their kings and led into idolatry and were eventually led into captivity by terrorist armies sent by the Lord. They sold themselves into bondage and were scattered and continue to wait to be gathered.
The question many ask: “has America rejected God today” as did the Israelites of old? If America has, and many think America has rejected God thanks to the progressives who have been so successful in removing His influence from America’s class rooms and court systems, will the Lord then say to America, “I will not hear your cries in your days of trial.”
There is another question that could be asked, but isn’t: “could America suffer the same fate that led to ancient Israel’s self destruction and dispersion?” This is the question freedom loving Americans prefer to ignore, and often do, by sticking their heads in the sand and totally ignoring the question because they know they will not like the answer they hear – much like Samuel didn’t like the answer the Lord gave him.
Americans may not like today’s seemingly harsh rhetoric but they should pay attention to it and listen carefully because out of these debates will come their next president. It’s not a perfect system but it’s America’s way of choosing their leaders.