17 for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.
18 For he who serves Christ in these things is acceptable to God and approved by men.
19 Therefore let us pursue the things which make for peace and the things by which one may edify another.
The Bible speaks to how we should visibly conduct ourselves, in a manner that exalts the Lord and points to Him. Colossians chapter 4 states:
5 Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside, redeeming the time.
6 Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one.
You'd think her name would be on the tip of everyone's tongue these days, a representation of the American dream.
But, in some media circles, she is getting scant attention, because ideologically, she doesn't subscribe to the mainstream media's political ideas.
You need to know Winsome Sears - the incoming Lieutenant Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Have you heard of her? And, returning to Colossians 4, the phrase "with grace," is also translated, "winsome." And, it certainly seems she is living up to her name.
She was born in Jamaica and came to America with her father when she was six years old, in 1963, according to a feature on CBN.com. It goes on to say:
Some of her favorite conversations were with her grandmother who taught her about God.
“The grandkids always knew: if you see your grandmother with her head under a sheet because she would pull it over, that was her prayer tent. She was very instrumental in everything I did,” Sears said.
As she entered adulthood, Winsome Sears joined the Marines. The article relates:
The Marines taught her leadership skills, but Sears still felt like her faith in God was lacking.
“I finally said to myself, ‘I’m tired of living this other kind of life. I need to be discipled,’” she said.
After she left the Marines, she moved to Virginia with her husband. They got involved in a local church and were discipled. She also went to college.
“I finished my four-year degree in three years. Then I was accepted into law school,” Sears said.
She went to law school at Regent University in Virginia Beach and in 2002, she was elected to Virginia's House of Delegates. The CBN article, written prior to the election, said:
“My campaign is really based on Psalm 133:1. ‘How good and pleasant it is when brothers (and sisters) live together in peace and harmony.’ This is America,” Sears said. “There’s nowhere else to run to. And people run to America for liberty and freedom.”
The Christian Post reported that "Sears was known for being involved in multiple faith-based charitable endeavors...;" that would include leading a prison ministry and being involved with a Salvation Army homeless shelter. The article goes on to say:
At her victory speech held very early on Wednesday morning, Sears said she believed “God was exactly with us, otherwise we would never have made it.”
“We ran an impossible, improbable campaign,” said Sears. “And so I want to finish up by thanking you, Jesus. How sweet it is!”
Sears is strongly pro-life and said during the campaign that she supports the heartbeart bills to ban aboritons when an unborn baby’s heart starts beating.
“Well, I can tell you that would be me, that I would support [it],” Sears told Newsmax.
“Here’s the thing,” Sears said. “When did it become the wrong thing for us to support the babies in the womb? And in fact, in Virginia, we’ve even gone further than that, where our current governor wanted to take us — and, by the way, my opponent wanted to take us — there, where the baby would be born, you would leave the baby on the table without any assistance or even keep it comfortable, and then wait for the mother to decide.”
But, already Sears has faced criticism from commentators who denounce Virginia voters for being motivated by the straw man of "white supremacy." According to FoxNews.com, she even called out the divisive Joy Reid, anchor at MSNBC, who traffics in that kind of rhetoric, and said she wanted to be on Joy's show. The Fox article says, regarding the victory of new Virginia governor Glenn Youngkin:
Reid was one of several liberal media pundits to have a public meltdown Tuesday night following Youngkin's victory. She and her colleagues Nicolle Wallace and Rachel Maddow lashed out at Virginia parents for their opposition to critical race theory, with Wallace even claiming the curriculum "isn't real..."
Someone may be culturally right but Biblically wrong. As Jim Garlow has said, it's not a matter of right or left, it's right or wrong. And, standing for God's truth can make you a target of criticism. But, you can stand strong in the Lord, even when you are a target. We have to make sure that the agendas we embrace are consistent with the teachings of the Word of God.
Critical race theory, which divides and typecasts people according to their skin color, is a dangerous ideology. It was a big issue in the Virginia race. So was who is really responsible for their children's education. The Bible teaches us that parents are ultimately responsible. And, Scripture also informs us that we are one race and that we should not allow outward characteristics to divide us.
Winsome Sears, unfortunately, has accomplished much in life, yet she is an afterthought for some in the media because of her belief system. But, she's not trying to win the approval of the "right" people, although she won the approval of voters, and that's what counts. She, not to mention her running mate, have learned to stand on Christian values and to communicate truth in a non-reactionary way that is appealing to voters. It seems to be a winning combination, at least in a state that has been characterized as purple over the past few election cycles.
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