How Important is Winning...
* Read carefully, this article may make you think. Don't assume you know this is about what you might assume it is about... Fox News, NBC, CNN: They were all talking about it last week. Can the Republican Party recover from last week’s loss? Can they ever win a national election again? The giddy liberal press seemed to delight in the supposed demise of conservatism. Lewis Black gleefully quipped it was the end of white men of his generation in control (I thought his bias especially interesting considering that few men are whiter or older than VP Biden). The somber and thinking minded conservatives talked about trends and cycles. One of the best quotes I’ve seen comes from Pew Research President Andrew Kohl: “Postelection talk of "lessons learned" is often exaggerated and misleading, and so it is in 2012.”
In the recent presidential election: 93% blacks, 71% Latinos, 67% of single women (more women of voting age are unmarried than married) voted for President Obama. The general consensus among the talking heads was that the Republican Party cannot survive and elect presidents in the future based on the white male vote.
The pundits debated what needs to change. The party’s platform on abortion, on homosexual rights, on immigration were all heavily nominated.
Has culture shifted to the point that they must soften their values? Can they fudge on them a little? The real and larger question is: Is winning more important for the Republican party than the values they espouse?
And while, if you pay attention, you know I’m mostly apolitical my interest is in the future of the church. As many of “our” congregations gray and many are little more than mirrors of themselves can the church survive in the current tide of pluralism, modernity, shift in demographics, and hyper-tolerance. Those aren’t bad questions for us to consider. But the bigger question is are we more about “winning an election” or pleasing the Father? Do we hold our views because they are winning in the arena of public opinion or because God has spoken? I suppose it’s OK for a political party to change it’s platform - they are after all a POLITICAL PARTY, but our “platform” must not shift. We “win” when we “win” with God.
One voice kept coming to the front as I surfed the cable striving to avoid what MSNBC called “PED” (Post-election depression). She asked: “Can the GOP ‘case’ its existing values in a more palatial manner? Can they communicate the importance of those values in a way that can convince others that these are the values that should be voted?” She suggested that they must “feature candidates that know how to defend those issues publicly.” I think she has a point that is valid for us to consider as Christians who are committed to the unchanging truths of God’s Word. There is a danger even in “grandstanding” our “stand” for truth. If we do not keep “winning” in front of our minds, winning the souls of men and women for Christ, then His death was in vain. Our mission is clear we are about the business of the Father (Luke 2:10), we are about getting the message of Jesus into the hearts of every man (Matthew 28:18-20). In a very practical sense, while I hold many of the same values they parrot, I could care less if the GOP ever wins another election. But I do care that my neighbor win the prize (Philippians 3:8-14).
It’s a fundamental reality that things have changed in America and the modern American mind is hostile to many of the morality views we hold. This election must be a wakeup call to Christians to strive to make arguments winsomely and effectively in the years to come. We are to, by our good character, “adorn” (KJV), “add luster to” (MSS), “make...attractive in every way” (CEB), “show the beauty of”, “the doctrine of God our Savior” (Titus 2:10).
“Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person” (Colossians 4:6, ESV).
Winning, then, is everything...
ed note: Please note that I am not "FOR" either PARTY.