The Election of Fools

   There are things we hear on a daily basis that we've heard so many times, we just slip right past them without giving them much thought. It's not that we necessarily believe these things to be true. We've just become numb to them.

   One of these statements jumped out at me over the weekend. During a report on the upcoming election and the impact of Hurricane Sandy is having on it, the reporter said; "Mother nature really threw us a curve ball on this one. Suddenly, all of the things we've been fighting over have become meaningless. The economy, abortion, gay marriage, none of those things matter when communities are coming together while fighting for their lives."

   Mother nature??? Really???

   I don't claim to have any inside information on what God is doing in this world, or why. God doesn't let me know ahead of time what His plans are, nor does He ask my permission before He acts. But I do know this: We have seen more catastrophic natural disasters in the past 10 years than we've seen throughout the rest of my lifetime.
   As these events occur, we hear the blame being placed on everything from global warming to Mother nature. As I've watched these stories break on the news, I've never once heard a reporter say; "Hey, this might sound crazy, but is anyone else getting the impression that maybe God is getting a little ticked off with us?"

   Before I start getting hate mail with people asking me why God would be punishing good, honest, hard working people, families with young children, etc., let me respond by saying this: We are one nation, under God. We stand together, and we fall together. We argue and debate where our country should be heading, but in the end, the leaders we elect make those decisions for us based upon what we tell them we want. If God chooses to discipline us as a nation in an effort to show us the error of our ways, He will do so wherever and whenever He chooses to do so. And yes, innocent people will be hurt.

   We've all watched as this upcoming election unfolds. We've had the negative campaigning up to our eyeballs. We see a government that refuses to deal with the REAL issues, but one that instead fights with party politics, with the only goal being re-elected for their next term. Our government, which was created with very strong Judeo-Christian underpinnings, has become utterly useless due to greed, dishonesty, and a lust for power over the people it's supposed to serve. As believers, we can see the unmistakeable truth in these words:

^"For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.
   For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.  Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools."  Romans 1:20-22

   Yes, our nation has sadly become a nation of fools - claiming to be wise.

   Do I personally believe that Hurricane Sandy is God's way of trying to get our attention? Yes, I do. I don't think it's any coincidence that a "freak of nature" hurricane would strike at the heart of our country's economy, taking a path that hurricanes simply don't take, and right at Washington D.C., within days of what might be the most important Presidential election we've seen in our lifetimes.

   So, what can we do about this? Of course, we can vote, and we will. But the most powerful thing that any of us can ever do is to pray for our country. Pray for our leaders. Pray that God would move in a mighty way to put the people in office who will follow Him, not the most recent, trendy polls. Pray that Godly men and women will be lifted up during this election, and that we can begin the process of moving our nation back to the place where we can proudly announce that we are "One nation, under God."