Jesus told the story of two houses built upon two entirely different foundations, one on sand and the other on rock. When the storm came, the house built on sand collapsed, but the house built on the solid foundation survived. What was the reason for the differing outcomes? Was it the type of house? Was it the severity of the storm? Was one builder just fortunate? No, the outcome was entirely based on the integrity of the foundation. During the 2016 election, a choice will be made to once again either build upon the sand or a solid foundation. That foundation is the official platform for each of the major political parties.
Like a building foundation, the political platform, a party’s statement of official values and positions, will affect how well our nation weathers future storms and challenges. Political candidates will come and go, but the ideas, values, and agendas remain for generations. Too many Christians have bought into the lie that the presidential election of 2016 is about two personalities. The truth is the election is about two different views of the world and two different directions for the United States. Both candidates are deeply flawed but we must look beyond the personality and potential time in office and discern and project what policy and cultural legacy they will leave behind for the next 50 years. The two major party candidates represent two very different platforms, and the values, views, and policies reflected in those platforms will impact our country long after the candidates are gone.
The consequences of standing on the wrong platform will be severe and lasting and why I believe this truly is the most critical election of my lifetime. We will have Supreme Court justices who bend the constitution to suit political ideology and persuasion. We will have the unrestricted slaughter of the unborn, including late term elective abortion such as partial birth abortion. We will have an all out assault on our right of religious expression, teaching, autonomy, and practice. We will watch our right to bear arms watered down and severely restricted. We will see rampant wickedness and abomination further normalized in our nation. We will watch the greatest healthcare system in the world devolve into a single payer system where medicare and social security are raided and destroyed, where healthcare premiums skyrocket, and where quality is compromised. We will lose our national autonomy to the march of globalism putting world interests above the interests of our people. Socialistic policies will continue to drain our national wealth rather than increasing it. The national debt will balloon to nearly 30 trillion dollars. Corruption and collusion in the government between the Justice Department, the FBI, the State Department, the White House, and the Clinton campaign will never be brought to accountability. The economic stagnation experienced under Obama (the only president with no quarter with GDP at 3 percent in U.S. history) will continue because of poor tax policy and over regulation. Our foreign and military policy will continue to lack common sense, vision, cohesion, and execution trying to control monsters like ISIS instead of releasing our full war capabilities to annihilate them. We will continue to follow immigration policies that violate our current laws, disregard rules of fairness, and ignore our security. Energy policies will continue to destroy American jobs while failing to tap our own resources toward energy independence. Inner cities like Chicago, Baltimore, St. Louis, Detroit, and Milwaukee, completely neglected by Obama, will continue to crumble under the weight of crime, unemployment, degradation, and failing schools.
As believers we have the responsibility to evaluate the platforms of the political parties through the eyes of Scripture. For the purposes of comparing the most critical components of the platforms, consider where the Republicans (R) stand, where the Democrats (D) stand , and where the Kingdom of God (K) stands on the issues:
The Sanctity of human life: (R) Life begins at conception and should be protected. (D) Abortion should be on demand, without restriction and funded with tax money. (K) “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you” (Jeremiah 1:5).
Marriage: (R) Marriage is between one man and one woman. (D) The definition of marriage should include anyone a person loves. (K) “God made a woman and brought her to the man” (Genesis 2:22).
Religious liberty: (R) Religious speech and practice is constitutionally protected. (D) Religious speech and practice is subservient to protected lifestyles. (K) “Preach the truth in love” (Ephesians 1:5).
God in government: (R) Rights given by God trump human or government given rights. (D) God has no legitimate role in government or place in the platform. (K) “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord” (Psalm 33:12).
Israel: (R) The security of Israel is supported unconditionally and it’s capitol is Jerusalem. (D) There should be a two-state system with no claim of Jerusalem as Israel’s capitol. (K) “I will bless those that bless thee, and curse those who curse thee” (Genesis 12:3).
America’s security: (R) ISIS is an existential threat to our security and way of life and must be destroyed. (D) The greatest threat to our national security is climate change. (K) “But if you do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God’s servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer” (Romans 13:4).
America’s place in the world: (R) The interests of the United States should be placed above the world. (D) The interests of the United States are subservient to those of the world. (K) “The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon the earth, which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth” (Daniel 7:23).
Like many of you, I find different aspects of each candidate disappointing and distasteful. But I have made the quality decision to look beyond the personality and the limited time each would be in office and consider the long-term implications of their policies and agenda on our nation, our children, and our children’s children. Instead of the candidate, I am voting for the platform and the future impact of that platform on the country I love. I am voting for the platform that best aligns with the Kingdom of God. Christian, if you believe that abortion, redefining marriage, restriction of religious liberty, the exclusion of God from government and public life, the manipulation and persecution of Israel, lip service to threats to our national security, and advancing globalism at the expense of our national interests lines up with the Kingdom of God, then please do vote for the Democrat. If, however, you reject the death and darkness of the Democratic platform choosing instead life and light, then you should join me in supporting the Republican nominee for president. I encourage you to assess which platform is better for building a great nation, sand or rock?
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