Good afternoon from the desk of Pastor Fink, minister of Trinity UMC Kentland, IN. as I reflect on last nights debate I will confess that I was distracted by the Cubs@Pirates game. I switched back and forth trying to get the most out of both channels. I must confess that neither game was real rewarding as the Cubs put a wiping on the Pirates and the debate, although full of drama, was the same old same old.
One thing I want to bring to your attention is clarity of thinking because I don't think our candidates are real clear about where they stand on the issues that we as Christians hold dear to our hearts.
When I think about what is dear to me I look to the Beatitudes Matthew 5 and in Matthew 5:3 I see that, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." What should this mean to me as a citizen of the United States? Perhaps it should mean that my political counterparts should be focusing on the meager individuals rather than trying to build greater fortunes for themselves. I try to be neutral politically but it is hard at times. What I look for is a candidate that wants to help people and I am truly struggling with this political landscape.
One thing that really caught my attention last night was when Hilary challenged Trump about his tax returns, which he refuses to release to the public, and he replies to her suggestion that he might not want the public to know that he has not paid taxes for years, that this made him smart. Let me ask you do you think it is fair for our future president to not pay taxes,which he would want us all to pay, as a matter of fact nearly all working people have no choice in the matter because they take it before we can even count it.
To me this is a disqualifying matter because it shows that his interests are not the interests of the American people. If he refuses to pay taxes how can he ask us to pay our share. I will say that what it sounds like is a dictatorship rather than a presidency. Maybe that is why Trump is so close to the Russian leader.
Hilary does not get a pass either as she has made a mess of her email scandal and it leaves one wondering where did it all begin. I do think that her and her scandalous heritage leaves more than a bad taste in my mouth. I think it is high time we Christians demanded more from our leaders. But where will we begin to look to make changes. Most righteous would not even think twice about leading the free world that obviously has not stepped two feet away from the prejudices and bigotries that continue to cripple this once great nation.
Christians have been called to be the light and salt of the world, "For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." (Matthew 5:20). What are we to do in this age? Remember who we belong to and hold ourselves to a higher standard than those of this world. Matthew 7:15-20 describes the tree and the bad fruit. Perhaps we need to turn back to a scriptural standard rather than attacking each other on social media. I get to the point where I want to join in and bark out my anger over the way we speak so often for our personal thoughts without much thought of what the Bible has to say on the matter and then at the same time people want to call themselves Christian. I find them to be statements that contradict rather than compliment the person speaking.
Matthew 7:12 "In everything do to others as you would have them do to you; for this is the law and the prophets." What then should we as Christians do? Read the Bible, believe the Bible, and follow the word of God. This world has been turned upside down and as I see it the biggest problem is that we would rather point fingers at the other person than to accept the responsibility that each one of us has in the game. I suggest that God has a plan and it is high time we decided to give Him control of our lives and not just the ten minutes a week we carve out but every aspect of our lives. What are you doing to fix the problem? What should you do? Matthew 7:21-23 says, "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my father in heaven. On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophecy in your name, and do many deeds of power in your name?' Then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; go away from me, you evildoers."
Understand your part of the mess that we call the American system. John F. Kennedy said once, "Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country". As I ponder those now famous words I think to myself how can we as Christians apply this to our churches, our world, our lives?
