the upcoming election blues

I was recently culling through files on an old computer and came across an article I wrote for my previous church's news magazine, The Salt & Light. The article was about the upcoming 2012 election. In it, I talked about the anxiety we sometimes have over the constant name-calling and rancor that occurs during a presidential election. I recall at least one person said it helped him during the time. I'd reprint it below in case it might be helpful to someone. Spoiler: I don't take sides.
                                              THE GOSPEL AND PRESIDENTIAL POLITICS

Then the Pharisees went and plotted how to entangle him in his words. And they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that you are true and teach the way of God truthfully, and you do not care about anyone's opinion, for you are not swayed by appearances. Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?” But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, “Why put me to the test, you hypocrites? Show me the coin for the tax.” And they brought him a denarius. And Jesus said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” They said, “Caesar's.” Then he said to them, “Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's.” When they heard it, they marveled. And they left him and went away.   (Matthew 22:15-22 ESV)
 
Working nights has afforded me a new interest. Because I have a hard time sleeping in a strange bed, during the off times on the job, I have taken to viewing or sometimes listening to CNN or Fox News while lying in the very uncomfortable bed in the call room while attempting to catch some shuteye. Since this is an election year, the talk on these programs has been the Republican Primary and the upcoming general election. At the time of this writing, it appears that Mitt Romney will oppose President Obama in the fall election.
    What has fascinated me is the anger and vitriol with which each party seems to hold for the other. If you're a Republican, Obama and the Democrats are driving the country toward a socialistic totalitarian state. And, if you belong to the Democratic Party, the Republicans want to reward rich industrialists with huge tax breaks at the expense of the working man leaving him in no better shape than the workers of the sweat shops of the 1920's. Obviously, the truth lies somewhere between these two extremes.
     Where did this enmity begin? Historically, I'm not exactly sure, but I can at least date when I first became aware of the problem. It was during the election of 1976 when Jimmy Carter was running against Gerald Ford. Right after a bible study in a fellow church member's home the talk drifted into presidential politics. I made the mistake of stating that we should vote for Jimmy Carter as he was a professing Christian. He roundly set me straight. Carter was a Democrat and therefore, despite his profession of faith, was a liberal politician and someone a true conservative Christian could never vote for.
     Thus, for me, began the fall from that slippery political slope of casting the opponent as the "friendly opposition" to that of the hated enemy. Recalling elections prior to 1976, such as Kennedy versus Nixon or Johnson versus Goldwater, I could not recollect any real name calling or political smearing to the degree that has gone on in recent years.
     Since then, I've witnessed George H. W. Bush refer to Clinton as "Bozo" and Gore as "Ozone Man" during the 1992 election. And, recently Romney has been chastised as a high school bully while Obama has been accused of being born outside the United States, therefore not eligible to hold the office of President.
     Now, before I'm accused of being naive about Presidential Politics, I will confess that I understand that contention has gone on between political parties since the founding of this country. For example, during the election of 1848 the Democrats cast Zachary Taylor as cruel, uneducated, vulgar and greedy. And, the Whigs accused his opponent, Lewis Cass, of graft and dishonesty. As another example, lets look at the election of 1912. The Socialist Candidate, Eugene Debs accused the Progressive candidate, Theodore Roosevelt, of being "a charlatan mountebank, and fraud, and his Progressive promises and pledges as the mouthings of a low and utterly unprincipled self seeker and demagogue."
    What's the big fuss? I've noticed that some Christians seem to buy into the name calling and criticism, placing an inordinate amount of emphasis on politics, as if voting for the correct candidate was as important doctrinally as believing Christ is the Second Person of the Trinity. I get the feeling that if their candidate lost they'd be willing take a four-year sabbatical in Canada.
     Scripture commands us to live in obedience to human authority, as it is God's will to do so. In I Peter 2:13-17 it states:
Be subject for the Lord's sake to every human    institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God. Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor.
   Perhaps I'm being too sensitive. Scripturally, we should be good citizens and that means being aware of each candidate's platform and being able to make a cogent argument for why we vote the way we do. But, it doesn't mean pinning all our hopes on one man's election to office. Being a Christian isn't defined by party affiliation. It transcends party politics.
    As Christians we live in this country and on this Earth as ambassadors of a greater government ruled by an omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient King. Fittingly, our concern should be for the welfare of people everywhere as creatures created in the image of God and for fellow believers bought by the Blood of Christ. And, within that context, voting for the right candidate is altogether fitting and proper.
    As Christians we are not some voting block, demographic, or focus group. We are bought with a price, loved beyond measure by the Creator of the Universe. Some people believe that we must bring our Country back to Christ and see electing the "right" candidate as a legitimate way of doing so. The way we bring this country back to Christ is by going to our knees and not to the voting booth. And out prayers should continually be that we would be conformed to the will of Christ, not necessarily to make politicians do our bidding.
    Where Presidents are in office for four to eight years, our God reigns forever. Where policies change with administrations, Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. And, where Presidents are sinful men (sometimes glaringly so), we have a Savior who knew no sin, yet became sin for us.
    Oh, yes, and one more thing. Don't forget to vote.