Politics

I really want to rant, but I won't.

Don't be fooled. Both parties desperately want your vote and will do most anything to get it.

The smear tactics are out in full force. There are a dizzying array of facts flying around. They might be facts, but they might be lies. It is incredibly difficult for the average American citizen to sort all of this out.

So what's a guy to do? Can Joe or Jill American know the ins and outs of Wall Street? How about foreign affairs? Would you be willing to sit across the table from a man like Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and talk about the future? If that name is not familiar to you, he is the president of Iran. He believes that Israel should be, "wiped off the map." He also believes that the Holocaust never happened. What should be done with Social Security? What about Medicare? What about all these people who are in danger of losing their homes? Should the government help them? Is the answer more money for the people of America? After all, the government recently approved a $750 billion bail out plan for struggling financial markets.

These are difficult questions to answer. Call me crazy, but I must admit that I have educated opinions on many of these issues, because this stuff is exciting to me. My wife is not at all excited about it, and I think many people share her sentiments. Let the leaders handle this, right? After all, they get paid the big bucks.

So if we are to let the leaders take care of these things, who should we choose to represent our best interests? What should we base our vote on? It really comes down to a single principle: character. As Christians, we are involved in progressive sanctification . . . we're growing more and more like Christ each day. We should be known for our character, our integrity, our honesty. You may not know where I stand on a certain issue, but if you know my character, you can probably determine my position.

We need to look at the candidate that most closely aligns with the character of God. No, I'm serious, keep reading. Evaluate the issues and the candidate's positions on those issues and line all of it up with Scripture. It is not a choice between good and evil (although some may think it is). That decision would be easy. Its a choice between bad and worse. Both candidates have some left field ideas. Go with the candidate that most closely aligns himself with biblical principles. There are some great websites out there that can help you sift through the rhetoric and get to the issues. Here are some links to help you out:

• Factcheck.org
• ProCon.org
• Votesmart.org

In my opinion, the choice is clear, but it doesn't mean happy days are here again. I encourage each of you to educate yourself on the facts and vote on November 4th. For Christians, in the long run, it really doesn't matter who the president will be because we know who the King is.