Sunday, October 31, 2004
Being a Witness When You Vote
Moses was commanded by God to tell Pharaoh to let His people go. Moses told Pharaoh, "Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Let my people go" (Exodus 5:1). He was addressing a political figure, Pharaoh, and was "lobbying" to let the people of God go. Pharaoh, himself not a Hebrew, treated the people of God badly as if they were simply robots to be commanded. He did not recognize the dignity of each individual person. Moses was then commanded by God to lead His people out of the chains of Pharaoh. God told him not to put his faith aside even when confronting political issues. When confronted, Pharaoh said, "Who is the Lord, that I should heed his plea to let Israel go? I do not kow the Lord; even if I did, I would not let Israel go" (Exodus 5:2). Why wouldn't Pharaoh let Israel go even if he knew the Lord?Today, many politicians who claim to know the Lord would still not let His people go. Today, anyone who does not put his faith aside, like Moses, are being demonized as if religion should not be taken seriously. Anyone who takes the Lord's commandments are labelled as "religious fundamentalists."
In the past, Christians did not put their aside for political reasons. When the Roman Empire told the Christians to offer sacrifices to him, they disobeyed him because they knew that to separate their faith and politics is to separate themselves with Christ. They did not believe that you cease to be a Christian when you leave your house or the church. Christianity is not something you can switch "on and off" on. Christianity is a total commitment. Either you give your whole self or you don't. This includes the public sphere, including the political sphere. Should we let politicians like the Roman Emperor change our whole life?
Half a decade ago, Pope Pius XII was a modern day Moses who saved many lives. He stood up against the politician from Germany though he was very dangerous and was thinking about attacking Rome. The politician from Germany took away many lives, about 10 million persons, each with their own biography. Pope Pius XII did not let his faith be separated from politics. He stood up for each and every person's dignity, trying to save lives as much as he can.
What about me? I am 19 years old and this is the first time I'm going to vote for a President. Who will I vote for? Well, I'll tell you who I won't vote for. I won't vote for a person who would let the government fund the murdering of people. I will not vote for a person who supports a woman's right to contribute to the holocaust of today. I will not vote for a person who claims he knows the Lord and won't let His people go. I don't care if people demonize me for putting my faith in politics. I stand with great men: Moses, the Christian martyrs, and Pope Pius XII. I stand on the shoulders of these great men. I will vote because of my religious convictions because so did they. I will not put their efforts to oppose politicians when they are against the Gospel to waste. I am a Christian and I stand in a long tradition of heroes. Their heroic virtues is not wasted and I won't let it go into waste. I will continue their efforts, thinking about them when I vote. I will walk towards the same direction they walked on: Calvary.
Let us not put the great men's heroism in vain. Let us stand with tradition. Let us stand up for life. Let us stand up for marriage. Let us stand up for truth. And in addition with all the great men above who stood up for truth, let us stand up for truth just as Christ stood up for it--stood up for it all the way to Calvary. And I will not let His sacrifice be put in vain. Truth needs to be our guide so that we can be the light of the world and the salt of the earth. When you vote, don't be a Republican or a Democrat. Be a witness to Christ, the way, the truth, and the life.
Moses was commanded by God to tell Pharaoh to let His people go. Moses told Pharaoh, "Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Let my people go" (Exodus 5:1). He was addressing a political figure, Pharaoh, and was "lobbying" to let the people of God go. Pharaoh, himself not a Hebrew, treated the people of God badly as if they were simply robots to be commanded. He did not recognize the dignity of each individual person. Moses was then commanded by God to lead His people out of the chains of Pharaoh. God told him not to put his faith aside even when confronting political issues. When confronted, Pharaoh said, "Who is the Lord, that I should heed his plea to let Israel go? I do not kow the Lord; even if I did, I would not let Israel go" (Exodus 5:2). Why wouldn't Pharaoh let Israel go even if he knew the Lord?Today, many politicians who claim to know the Lord would still not let His people go. Today, anyone who does not put his faith aside, like Moses, are being demonized as if religion should not be taken seriously. Anyone who takes the Lord's commandments are labelled as "religious fundamentalists."
In the past, Christians did not put their aside for political reasons. When the Roman Empire told the Christians to offer sacrifices to him, they disobeyed him because they knew that to separate their faith and politics is to separate themselves with Christ. They did not believe that you cease to be a Christian when you leave your house or the church. Christianity is not something you can switch "on and off" on. Christianity is a total commitment. Either you give your whole self or you don't. This includes the public sphere, including the political sphere. Should we let politicians like the Roman Emperor change our whole life?
Half a decade ago, Pope Pius XII was a modern day Moses who saved many lives. He stood up against the politician from Germany though he was very dangerous and was thinking about attacking Rome. The politician from Germany took away many lives, about 10 million persons, each with their own biography. Pope Pius XII did not let his faith be separated from politics. He stood up for each and every person's dignity, trying to save lives as much as he can.
What about me? I am 19 years old and this is the first time I'm going to vote for a President. Who will I vote for? Well, I'll tell you who I won't vote for. I won't vote for a person who would let the government fund the murdering of people. I will not vote for a person who supports a woman's right to contribute to the holocaust of today. I will not vote for a person who claims he knows the Lord and won't let His people go. I don't care if people demonize me for putting my faith in politics. I stand with great men: Moses, the Christian martyrs, and Pope Pius XII. I stand on the shoulders of these great men. I will vote because of my religious convictions because so did they. I will not put their efforts to oppose politicians when they are against the Gospel to waste. I am a Christian and I stand in a long tradition of heroes. Their heroic virtues is not wasted and I won't let it go into waste. I will continue their efforts, thinking about them when I vote. I will walk towards the same direction they walked on: Calvary.
Let us not put the great men's heroism in vain. Let us stand with tradition. Let us stand up for life. Let us stand up for marriage. Let us stand up for truth. And in addition with all the great men above who stood up for truth, let us stand up for truth just as Christ stood up for it--stood up for it all the way to Calvary. And I will not let His sacrifice be put in vain. Truth needs to be our guide so that we can be the light of the world and the salt of the earth. When you vote, don't be a Republican or a Democrat. Be a witness to Christ, the way, the truth, and the life.
