I voted
yesterday. I got some winners in those elections. I lost some. I recognize that
in the big scheme of things my one vote may not count for much, but then again
in a close race it might be the deciding vote. I would never know if I didn’t
vote.
I have been exercising
my right as an American citizen in good standing since 1968. That presidential election
was my first opportunity at the age of eighteen to vote. I may have missed one
election since then. I take my right to vote seriously.
I use the word
“right” with some fear and trepidation. I am not a constitutional lawyer. Is
voting a right or a privilege? My high school government class said it was a
right. Obviously you can have rights, but those rights can be taken away because
of some kind of abuse or illegal activity. Does that turn the right into a
privilege only for those who meet all the requirements? Ask a lawyer.
All I know
is as an American citizen, voting in our free elections is something I prize.
For the most part our elections are honest. We spend too much on campaigning and
saying half truths or outright lies about the opponents. We depend, however, on
a citizenry who can see through it and make a somewhat educated decision about
who will make the best public official. We don’t always get the best person,
but so far our country has been strong enough to survive the mistakes.
Voting is
the way we most often talk to our government. We cherish that right, privilege,
or whatever you want to call it. A far more important freedom can never be
taken away from us. The freedom to talk to our God, and all too often we don’t
use it any more than we talk to our government through voting.
Luk 18:1 Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to
teach them that they should always pray and never become discouraged.
Luk
18:2 "In a certain town there was a
judge who neither feared God nor respected people.
Luk
18:3 And there was a widow in that same
town who kept coming to him and pleading for her rights, saying, 'Help me
against my opponent!'
Luk
18:4 For a long time the judge refused
to act, but at last he said to himself, 'Even though I don't fear God or respect
people,
Luk
18:5 yet because of all the trouble this
widow is giving me, I will see to it that she gets her rights. If I don't, she
will keep on coming and finally wear me out!' "
Luk
18:6 And the Lord continued,
"Listen to what that corrupt judge said.
Luk
18:7 Now, will God not judge in favor of
his own people who cry to him day and night for help? Will he be slow to help
them?
Luk
18:8 I tell you, he will judge in their
favor and do it quickly. But will the Son of Man find faith on earth when he
comes?"
Jesus taught
his disciples to pray always. Talk to your heavenly Father. He is listening. He
wants to hear what you have on your heart. He already knows but he wants to
know if we know what the real priorities in life are.
When we
vote, we are declaring these are the important civil and moral matters to us. We
believe this person can do the most to support what we feel is important for us
and our country. These are our priorities.
When we
pray, we do the same thing. We are expressing through our words, our attitudes,
and our deepest feelings about what are the most important things to us. God wants
to hear them all.
The best
part is we all have the right to come to him with all that is on our minds.
That is our right, purchased by the blood of Jesus Christ when he died on the
cross. His death opened the door for us to enter the presence of God with our prayers.
No one gets turned away.
