which question is more important... ..."who?" ...or "how?"

something's been stirring me out of my blogging-slumber. 

the election. 

well... kind of.  but before you retreat back to facebook...  ...aren't you just a little bit curious about why november 4th is clogging my brain-waves?

we're all more than tired of the campaigning... the rhetoric... the tv ads... the posturing... the "half-the-story" lies.  yet we tolerate them year after year... and somehow manage to proclaim one candidate "good".  if we're not careful... we could easily be lulled into thinking that all of life itself pivots upon who'll be sitting in that oval office.

but that's not exactly the whole story, is it?

in our confusion, many of us flip to "the office" and mumble "whatever, i'm just one vote" under our breath.  ...an equally irresponsible posture. 

but above "the who"... what's troubling me more is "the how".  how are we deciding who to vote for come tuesday?

likeable?  convincing?  experienced?  youthful?  credible?  fresh?  fierce?  key issues? 

one term that always finds itself under my essentials for leadership is "humility."  hmmmm... not sure where that fits with either  presidential candidate... or any politician for that matter.  but the more i think about it... it's huge for me.  rarely do i trust anyone in authority unless i observe a healthy slice of good ol' fashioned humble pie snuggled between self-confidence and a defensible plan.

but i've lost focus.  back to the question. 

let's expose it even more.  "how do we (as people who claim to be christian) make any significant conclusion?"

decision-making and the will of G*D is a huge bag of paperclips... and i don't pretend to have the answers.  at the same time... i don't like what i see.  or maybe it's what i don't see.

frankly, i'm disturbed by the overall incompetence in christians regarding their ability & willingness to engage G*D in their decision-making regarding political issues or otherwise.

maybe i've lost something in our post-modern context, but shouldn't becoming a christian reorient us from the ground up?  it seems to me that the re-allignment of becoming a christ-follower initiates a fundamental shift in how one approaches everything.  sure... it may start slowly and take time... but eventually it infiltrates & transforms completely.  or at least, isn't it supposed to?

seems to me that we rest our elbows on a table with legs vastly different from those of other leaders or ideologies.

1. no matter how old, wise, or learned we become, we will always have limited capacity for understanding all the factors surrounding any given issue.
2. similarly... we will always have limited understanding of the value G*D places on each of those issues.
3. only G*D knows the total history, mind & heart of a person (or candidate).
4. as important as it is... government is never the end-all solution to our personal, moral & cultural predicament.

the christian understands himself to be a finite being.  so... saturating & transcending all our thoughts must be an approach to life & decision-making that is fundamentally dependent... outside ourselves.

jumping off a more positive ledge... ...humility & dependence strip bare the leads... uncover the wonder of re-discovering Jesus' pulse... and offer us the healing infection of dignity, purpose, & relationship that we so desperately fought for when we carried life on our own shoulders.

so... given these realities... the christian swims in the reality that our decisions are only as good as the ongoing relationships that restore us. 

to fight my own illusion of independence... i ask G*D & others for insight.

1. am i becoming hateful & ungodly in my thoughts toward the candidates and/or others?
2. am i listening honestly to the opposing perspectives?
3. am i growing numb to the shortcomings in my own viewpoint or candidate?
4. am i becoming cynical or resentful?
5. does my political slant betray an inflated dependency upon my own intellect & emotions?
6. does my posture indicate that i'm abdicating my G*D-given abilities... or using them for self-interest?
7. when is the last time i felt challenged to look at something differently... or to adopt a different position?
8. have i become convinced that i understand the mind of G*D in scripture so completely that i no longer need to listen to him about such issues in order to gain his fresh perspective & insight?

i'm by no means perfect at all this.  but it helps me to realize that when formulating conclusions about complex issues... my goal is less to come up with the "right" conclusion as it is to yield to the movement of G*D within me... allowing him to make me aware of my narrowness & infancy... and the next steps in my recovery.  in that posture of dependency, he often reveals my pride, my shallowness, my self-focus, my failed systems of thinking... and offers new ways of approaching everything.  i may even discover that he's trumping my conclusions... shifting me miles away from the map quest coordinates i originally entered.  without question, i begin to see life's complexities more vividly and am challenged to pray more respectfully for the heart & mind of the person who will hold the highest office in the land.

but how helpful is all this G*D conversation when it comes down to it anyway?  sounds like a lot of effort when we just end up staring at the same list i mentioned at the top of this post to make our "good" choice before the polls close.  after all... i've never heard G*D say, "thou shalt vote for..."   

so... which is the more important question?  who?... or how?

i don't know.

i just think that for most of us, the "how" has gotten lost on the campaign trail someplace... and in pretty much every other life arena where decision-making is required.  i fear we're trading the wonder of intimacy with The Almighty for the fascination of analysis... mesmerized by our thirst for enlightenment.

and in the process, i fear we are training our children and those around us to think strikingly similar to the religious right, and the decidedly left, and the foolishly apathetic who surround us...

...instead of revealing that we are followers... first & foremost.

 

talk about time for a change.

Comments

[Tim M]

Soo good to hear from you again! Thank you for posting this, your insight on the election is like water on the dry, cracked earth of my soul. If that sounds ridiculously gushy, chalk it up to me being excited the fog party is back ;)

[Rick Lingenfelter]

I read that whole thing and you never told me who to vote for! Come on! Or is it that you don't know who we should vote for? Reading that entry was like the poisoned wine scene in the Princess Bride. But it is good to see something new on your blog. I still check it everyday.

[randy]

ah... my 2 insanely faithful readers. surely you have something more important to do.

poisoned vine scene, rick?

[James]

Ah... that was good. I agree, sometimes Christians tend to get more rabid about this time. Let's not lose our focus and become absorbed with whether or not we're right-- we both know that isn't going to happen.

It's good to have you back. ;)

[Rick Lingenfelter]

It is good to have you post this. Your words are comfort food to me, even though I am incapable of understanding many of them. Frankly I don't want to know how you vote. I would be crushed to find out you voted for the wrong guy. Do some walking in this beautiful fall weather and I will keep an eye on your blog for you.

[Janet Hurt]

Ahhh, Randy, so great to read your deep thoughts! Having gone thru "fogparty withdrawls" this was a blessing to me today. We drove to NIH and became almost consumed with the talk radio and counting signs and bumperstickers along the 26 hour roundtrip drive. Thanks for the reminder of what is truly important combined with a twist and challenge to see things differently! Loved the "Princess Bride" analogy by the way, too funny!
A joy to hear from you and as always...praying.

[Tim M]

Clearly, I cannot choose the wine in front of me!

Was good exchanging a 50mph hello with you yesterday! Such is the business of navigating church hallways.

[justin]

So glad you have returned to the blogosphere! I've been trying hard to swallow the election results and hoping that the good that has been promised will somehow magically come true. Good thoughts, Randy, good thoughts...

[Judy]

Finally, the election is over. And I, too, enjoyed your post. But I have one lingering thought....is there any one simple question...I mean, isn't there a point where all other talk is rhetoric when aligned with the truth? To me, there are some things that ARE black and white. I use those things to define my day and I would certainly use them to choose a candidate; or a business partner; or a spouse,etc. When a man or woman says they stand for a certain thing, aren't we to believe them and line them up with what we know about God? I certainly don't presume to know the inner workings of God's thinking, His timing or His choices, but there are some things He makes perfectly clear. Later...Judy

[randy]

i agree completely!

my point is not to suggest that the "who" is unimportant... or that there is never one candidate that is better for the job than another. it's just that we must be careful in our conclusions about how G*D would vote. the hardest part is letting go of our conclusions long enough to give G*D a chance to speak into our assumptions so that he can lead us to current & fresh conclusions. G*D's black & white things never change. but the issues aren't often as simple as we'd like to suggest... and at other times there are competing issues that weigh in to make it even more confusing to know G*D's mind on it all.

but someday... everything will be as it should. however... that's not going to happen through a presidential election.