A young man, quite religious, asked me to help him make a decision about which job to take.  One was an entry level, career position, providing good pay, benefits and a healthy work environment.  The other was a temporary Summer job, working at a camp along with his girlfriend.  The choice to me seemed obvious.  I was in the midst of explaining why I thought he should value this first opportunity, as he was looking my way with skepticism.  Then he hit me with a bomb.  "I feel God wants me to work at the camp."  I stopped, hesitated for a second, and replied, "I guess that puts an end to all discussion."  I mean, who can argue with God?

Now Summertime is over and he is without a job.  The supervisor, whom I know and respect, was doing this guy a personal favor in making the initial offer.  He felt a bit insulted and now tells my friend there are no positions available.  The young man is having a hard time, and is trusting God to take care of his needs.

Does God have a specific will in every matter of life?  Or, does He sometimes say to us, "I'm flexible.  You decide."  I vote for the latter.

Before I met my wife, she was told by another man that she was "God's woman" for his life.  He was rather strange, and she did not agree with his spiritual insight.  Later we married and have traveled through life together for 26 pretty good years.  Perhaps I could have done the same with another woman, but I know myself to be a difficult person and she seems uniquely qualified to connect with me.  Throughout life I've made some wise decisions and some stupid decisions.  And both categories have been populated with matters that I discerned to be God's will.  Life is difficult and God can certainly be puzzling.

There is a Minister around these parts who has asked us to pray for Barack Obama to be elected as President.  I will not.  And neither will I pray for McCain to become President.  I have personal convictions about who would make the best leader for America in these times and it is pretty obvious where I fall.  But I will not be so presumptuous as to insist that my preference equals God's will.  If the other guy is elected, I do not think America will fall apart.  Likely he will do his best, Congress will continue to be inept, some things will get better and some will get worse.  Foreign policy will not change that much.  And, success or failure in my personal life will continue to be largely up to me.  In my opinion a Minister has no business telling his paritioners for whom to vote.

As a side note, this Minister told me I am racist because I do not support his distinctive call to prayer.  He must consider himself to be quite a divine seer.  He knows who God has anointed as our next President, and he can discern the thoughts and intents of my heart.  Wow.

Pray for Barack Obama?  Certainly.  And John McCain.  For good measure, throw in Bob Barr, Cynthia McKinney, Mike Gravel, Wayne Allyn Root, and Alan Keyes.  Prayer is good.  Presumption, not so good.

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posted by: toztee (reply)
post date: 09.19.08 (9:46 am)

Got to agree with you on this one, PD. I'm not big on politics as you know. I sort of keep quite about my choices and the why's of it all. BUT...I do not want my Pastor telling me (or others) how to vote. I pray for my county and it's leaders and trust God to handle it as He pleases. In God I do trust! I trust too, that he has given me a brain and the sense to use it appropriately.

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posted by: PastorDave (reply)
post date: 09.19.08 (10:06 am)

Reply to: toztee
Don't let anybody tell you that know how God wants/expects you to vote.

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posted by: thoolou (reply)
post date: 09.19.08 (10:43 am)

Good post, PD.

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posted by: fractalmom (reply)
post date: 09.19.08 (11:11 am)

Reply to: kurtmaddox

you just get further and further 'out there' kurt.

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posted by: intricategirl (reply)
post date: 09.19.08 (12:27 pm)

Pray for wisdom- for yourself and others to make the right choice. Pray that whoever becomes President will lead with a proper mixture of strength and flexibility to be able to meet the challenges they will face. And yes, pray for the candidates and their running mates (and spouses, children, etc). But I think that if there is a being competent enough to set the Universe in motion, He probably doesn't need your input on the election.

And beyond that- vote your conscience.

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posted by: PastorDave (reply)
post date: 09.19.08 (1:23 pm)

Reply to: thoolou
Thanks for reading. Happy blogging!

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posted by: PastorDave (reply)
post date: 09.19.08 (1:28 pm)

Reply to: kurtmaddox
I am pro-choice when it comes to your right to vote. I don't think God has a preference in the matter.

By the way, I am pro-choice with abortion, you know. I grit my teeth and even want to throw up as I say it. But I'm quite specific and narrow with my pro-choice view. Morning After Pill- o.k. No reservations. First 40 days, before brain waves- no judgment on my part- your call, you will answer to God. Afterwards, it gets sticky. After 3 months, I say no abortion. After viability, I say it should be a crime. And, the time of viability, with the advances of science, is becoming earlier and earlier.

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posted by: PastorDave (reply)
post date: 09.19.08 (1:30 pm)

Reply to: kurtmaddox
Well, kurt, we sat down and sang Kumbaya for about 5 minutes. Now, here you go jumping on one of my favorite t-bloggers. This is a smart woman, with keen insights (usually!), and you need to be nicer to her! I believe she was speaking with a smile.

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posted by: PastorDave (reply)
post date: 09.19.08 (1:31 pm)

Reply to: fractalmom
Disregard kurt on this one! Does this involve conversations of which I am not privy? Thanks for dropping by.

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posted by: PastorDave (reply)
post date: 09.19.08 (1:32 pm)

Reply to: intricategirl
Amen! Vote your conscience. Just don't equate your conscience with God, and those who differ with Satan.

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posted by: intricategirl (reply)
post date: 09.19.08 (2:06 pm)

Reply to: PastorDave

You know, the watchmaker analogy is often used in theology. That is, if there is a watch, there must have been someone that made it. Good analogy, but it doesn't go far enough. A watchmaker does not stand over his creation and fine tune every little thing, wind it every day, and polish it. A good watchmaker sends it out into the world, assuming that he made a fine piece and the owner will take good care of it. Now, it may drop and break, but this is not the watchmaker's fault, nor is it his responsibility. Pick up the pieces, get help putting it back together, and move on.

Some people want to believe that God is standing over us controlling each step. I'm horrified at the thought of that sort of God. I'm actually comforted quite a bit knowing that when things go wrong, it's not a personal vendetta carried out by someone who's bigger and more powerful than me. That's called bullying anywhere else.

As far as the politics go, maybe God REALLY does want Obama, or maybe he's a McCain supporter. I imagine that He can pull it off either way. But if I start thinking that way, I'm going to need an explanation for what he was thinking with Bush. Ya know?? ;)

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posted by: surrogate (reply)
post date: 09.19.08 (8:00 pm)

Reply to: PastorDave

"By the way, I am pro-choice with abortion, you know. I grit my teeth and even want to throw up as I say it. But I'm quite specific and narrow with my pro-choice view. Morning After Pill- o.k. No reservations. First 40 days, before brain waves- no judgment on my part- your call, you will answer to God. Afterwards, it gets sticky. After 3 months, I say no abortion. After viability, I say it should be a crime. And, the time of viability, with the advances of science, is becoming earlier and earlier."

Nah. Too easy. Either human life begins at conception and any abortion is murder, at which point every woman who will ever have an abortion - or has ever had one - should be tried for murder, or a baby's life begins when the child is born - with the first breath.

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posted by: PastorDave (reply)
post date: 09.20.08 (8:19 am)

Reply to: madmel
Six Flags Over Jesus - now I've had my morning laugh. I really enjoy that description, and will now steal it and use it as I can.

There is a Christian organization that contacts churches, a week or so before election time, and makes available such score-cards for bulletin inserts. In the past I've accepted them, and placed them on a table in the back of the church for anyone interested. I wouldn't put them in the bulletin. With the last major election, a guy called me and emphasized to me how important it is to use their literature to persuade my congregation to vote his way. Or, as he was inferring, "God's way". I told him my church was pretty well split down the middle, Republican and Democrat, and that I am working hard not to allow politics to be a wedge issue. He chided me, telling me I must be more prophetic and bold in my proclamation and role as the shepherd of the church. I told him I thought Jesus was the shepherd, not me, and that I wasn't interested in his literature. Somehow, the stuff showed up in the mail, anyhow. I tossed it.

I vote Republican in most elections and consistently conservative. But I am not the political leader of my church. In my opinion, a preacher should never support a candidate from the pulpit.

And, somewhere along the way we will have to have an extended conversation about mega-churches. They're all around here, and I regularly have folks leave my church to hook up with their Walmart-type congregations, and I regularly have folks come to my church because they are dissatisfied with with these kinds of churches. And, in final analysis, maybe I'm jealous because I'm not pastoring one of those churches!

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posted by: One (reply)
post date: 09.21.08 (11:44 am)

The Minister who called you a racist - is he black? Cause if he is and if he isn't voting for McCain, then it must be that he isn't voting for McCain as McCain is white. And since this Minister is black, then he's a racist.

p.s. have you noticed how many similar letters are in Obama's and Biden's names and Osama bin Laden? Eerie, isn't it?

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