This is Pastor Tim’s article that appeared in the Evening Leader on Tuesday, Nov 15
I am writing this article on Election Day. I stopped in to the Union Hall a few hours ago and cast my vote. That means that by the time you read this article, you will know more about the results than I know now.
What I would like to reflect on is what we have all been subjected to for the weeks leading up to today. “Democracy is on the ballot.” Meaning, if you vote for my guy, everything will be fine, but if you vote for the other guy it will be the end of America. I know, you think I am talking about whichever political party you don’t belong to. And you are right, I am talking about that party, but I am also talking about the other party as well, because if there is anything in this world is truly non-partisan, it is lust for power.
Both the Democrats and the Republicans are guilty of it. We are just one election away from the whole system coming unraveled as our beloved country goes down in flames. We hear words like Fascism, Naziism, and dictatorship thrown around like they are just simple insults. How many people even know what a Fascist is? Has anyone born in the last 50 years ever met an actual Nazi? Would you know it if you did?
I believe these big words are thrown around to make arguments seem stronger. But I also believe that all these accusations have done is detach politics from actual life. People are worried about being safe from crime, being able to afford a good life for their families, and to be able to carve out a piece of the American Dream. I am ashamed at how little I heard about these issues during this election season.
What the overreaction tells people is we are voting for those who are going to be of no consequence to how normal people like us live their lives. So we go to the ballot box and vote for the person we believe won’t make our situation worse. The best-case scenario is we vote for the least bad candidate. In truth, most of us go to vote against someone.
I want you to hear this, I am not in any way faulting anyone for going in to vote against someone. That is what I did, I voted against the people I thought would do the most damage.
So where am I going with this? I actually have a point to make. Do not put your faith in politicians. What does our money tell us? It is not “in Washington we trust.” If we want to have something to believe in today, it is going to have to be local. We have to come together and build something that will sustain us. Then we have to do it. We don’t elect Messiahs.
We have a lot of places here locally where we can get together and make something good happen. We have our local churches, civic organizations like Kiwanis and Rotary, SMART, the Chamber of Commerce, and many excellent local businesses. None of these organizations are elected, they are selected. God willing, they are selected by you. You make the choice to get involved in these organizations where good things actually happen. We change lives, improve situations, and rebuild brokenness. And 100% of the prayers, presence, gifts and service it takes to make these organizations function come from local people you know by name. You eat ice cream with us at Scoops, pass us walking on the tow path, and share pews with us on Sunday morning. And we would love nothing more than for you to select one of these local organizations to serve your community and do what no elected politician can ever do, make a difference in the lives of real people.
If you are looking for an excuse to not get involved, those excuses are so easy to find. But I encourage you to avoid those excuses. Changing the world is not something we find someone else to do. It is something that we have to take responsibility for because that is the only way it will ever get done.
If one day, you stand before God and He asks you what you did to change the world, for your own sake, don’t allow your answer to start with the phrase “I voted for…”