Political
Humor
I watched this great commercial recently by Ballpark Franks,
where the company was poking fun at patriotism.
I could feel the flames of passion I once had for politics start to
light themselves inside my soul again and my mind started to wonder into the
land of American Ideals…My passion for this great nation has never been stronger. Alternative thinking has pulled back the curtain to reveal to me what I now believe is the current system of power in our world and wrote about it in my blog “Simple & Humble Beginnings”. As I wrote before, I believe simple and humble beginnings is the hope of this great land we live in called America and something even bigger then that…our world. The political game is something I was blinded by before.
My hope now is to offer what I feel is a very simple and humble solution that can transform our political system, and build a leadership body for our country that can help take us to that glorious land created in our American dreams of freedom, liberty, equality & strength.
Greed
18But
these people set an ambush for themselves; they are trying to get themselves
killed. 19Such is the fate of all who are greedy for money; it robs them of
life. (Proverbs 1:18-19, NLT)
The bible tells us that when we are controlled by greed
that our life is robbed from us. Not
only spiritually
but the heart of our life is taken from us. Our lives can be corrupted by our love for
money, even going so far as to trap us in our self-imposed prison. The chains that the enemy places around us
from greed is often more than many can bear and is a weight that crushes the
joy and peace from even the strongest heart.9But people who long to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction. 10For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows. (1 Timothy 6:9-10, NLT)
The bible speaks of the kind destruction and ruin that can only come from greed. Even God’s chosen people of Israel were warned by the prophets of the Old Testament to the consequences of building a nation on corruption.
9Listen to me, you leaders of Israel! You hate justice and twist all that is right. 10You are building Jerusalem on a foundation of murder and corruption. 11You rulers make decisions based on bribes; you priests teach God’s laws only for a price; you prophets won’t prophesy unless you are paid. Yet all of you claim to depend on the Lord. “No harm can come to us,” you say, “for the Lord is here among us.” 12Because of you, Mount Zion will be plowed like an open field; Jerusalem will be reduced to ruins! A thicket will grow on the heights where the Temple now stands. (Micah 3:9-12, NLT)
Great
Leaders
When I look out on the political landscape, the lack of
great leaders only becomes more and more apparent. I have to say that I am disappointed over and
over again in how cumbersome and ineffective our political system has become. Once my eyes were opened to the system of
greed & control that governs our world, all the pieces started falling into
place. American success and a core
belief in our ideals is to acquire wealth.
Our system is built on money, where the rich control all the pieces on
the board. I think back to the dreams of
our founding fathers for complete equality & opportunity and it saddens me
that the American ideals of freedom and liberty are mostly lost in our current
system.
Leaders
in the Church
1This
is a trustworthy saying: “If someone aspires to be an elder, he desires an
honorable position.” 2So an elder must be a man whose life is above reproach.
He must be faithful to his wife. He must exercise self-control, live wisely,
and have a good reputation. He must enjoy having guests in his home, and he
must be able to teach. 3He must not be a heavy drinker or be violent. He must
be gentle, not quarrelsome, and not love money. 4He must manage his own family
well, having children who respect and obey him. 5For if a man cannot manage his
own household, how can he take care of God’s church 6An elder must not be a new
believer, because he might become proud, and the devil would cause him to fall.
7Also, people outside the church must speak well of him so that he will not be
disgraced and fall into the devil’s trap. 8In the same way, deacons must be
well respected and have integrity. They must not be heavy drinkers or dishonest
with money. 9They must be committed to the mystery of the faith now revealed
and must live with a clear conscience. 10Before they are appointed as deacons,
let them be closely examined. If they pass the test, then let them serve as
deacons. 11In the same way, their wives must be respected and must not slander
others. They must exercise self-control and be faithful in everything they do.
12A deacon must be faithful to his wife, and he must manage his children and
household well. 13Those who do well as deacons will be rewarded with respect from
others and will have increased confidence in their faith in Christ Jesus. (1
Timothy 3:1-13, NLT)
The bible tells us how to seek the kind of leaders that
are to guide the church and I feel there is no better “playbook” to use then
God’s word when looking to the next generation of leadership for America.
Setting
Politics Free
If our system is controlled by money, to me the simple
solution is to eliminate money as the controlling factor in our political
system. I believe we should outlaw any
campaign spending in politics.
If we truly leveled the playing field, eliminating money from campaign
spending, putting our faith in and holding our local media to a higher standard
in spreading the word about local aspiring politicians—then a candidate would
gain traction based on their ideas and not how much money
they had to spend.
Since the fall of man, the heart of people has darkness
in it. Corruption is going to find its
way into any system we put in place. In
my idea, the media I fear would be corrupted by the influx of greed and
temptation, but by eliminating the cost to entry, I see great hope in finding
those truly great leaders who can take our country to a brighter tomorrow. When I say we have to hold our local media to
higher standards, we as a nation have to get more proactive in such a system
and pull together to ensure that the media does not yield to temptation and
fall.
12And
we are instructed to turn from godless living and sinful pleasures. We should
live in this evil world with wisdom, righteousness, and devotion to God,
13while we look forward with hope to that wonderful day when the glory of our
great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, will be revealed. (Titus 2:12-13, NLT)
2The
people who walk in darkness will see a great light. For those who live in a
land of deep darkness, a light will shine....6For a child is born to us, a son
is given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders. And he will be
called: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
7His government and its peace will never end. He will rule with fairness and
justice from the throne of his ancestor David for all eternity. (Isaiah 9:2;
6-7. NLT)Peace be with you brothers and sisters.
