Voting, as a Christian.

Elections are just around the corner.

Here for your pleasure and edification (Lord willing) is my ideal candidate, and why I question whether many of our present slate of nominees will be a blessing for our country.

The first and foremost command is to love the Lord our God with all of our heart, soul, strength and mind. The God of this command is not just any ole god. He is our Creator and Judge. The God who provided His Son as the Way, Truth and Life – the God of the Bible.

The candidate must have a life that shows consistence in living this belief, as this is the foundation for a sound world-view.

Secondly, the candidate must love his neighbor as himself. This point may be fleshed out by looking at the last 6 of the Ten Commandments (according the traditional Protestant numbering of these).

I would like to highlight just three.

God commands us not to covet our neighbor's . . . (filling the blank). The ideal candidate will not encourage us to look at our neighbor's wealth, success and prosperity with envy. He will teach us by example, by veto power, and other means, that our trust is to be in the God who made us. This candidate will encourage work. He would take steps to take the rewards way from laziness and a lifestyle of deliberate dependence upon others.

This leads to the second point. He will not pass legislation that amounts to stealing from one's neighbor. There are legitimate roles of the government, both arising from the Bible and from our Constitution, which he would seek to fund. He would not be known as a man who has enlarged government.

The role of our government in his administration would be to punish evil, rather than in legislating programs. Government would not be 'god' to him or his people.

Third, the murder of our infants and infirmed would have to be addressed. This would include not just these acts but the world-view that cultivates the environment for these deaths.

Lastly, one general comment regarding international diplomacy. Democracy, while being greatly blessed by God in our country, is not necessarily the only good form of government. Democracy requires a philosophical/religious foundation that some cultures just do not have. Early America had it. It is doubtful that the America of today would have gotten off to such a good start if we had to do it over again. We are theologically/philosophically a different culture today.

He would realize that, both at home and abroad, the ugliness of sin (the breaking of these commandments) is going to corrupt all of the best laid plans of mice and men. His hope of being a good ruler would be that the Lord of Heaven and Earth would bless him, and thus, faithfulness to his God would be his light rather than his standing in the polls.

(This candidate would not seek to set up a Christian state, but would life his faith in the political arena.)

Pay for by . . . .