Spiritual Stakes

We are the people of God, redeemed by Jesus Christ, and He calls us to adopt a spiritual mindset, so that we can release the power of God and represent His Kingdom on earth. We find these words of Jesus in Matthew 18:
18 Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.
19 Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven.
20 For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them."

On this day before Election Day, I want to share a four-word phrase that was issued by former Arkansas governor, now television host and commentator Mike Huckabee:

“The battle is spiritual.”

Earlier this month, the governor spoke at Family Research Council's Pray Vote Stand Summit.  According to The Washington Stand, he uttered that phrase, as well as this:

“Our issues today are vertical: Heaven and Hell, righteous and unrighteous, good and evil. And we have to understand that the battle is spiritual. The consequences will be political, but the underpinning is spiritual.”

The article notes:

The spiritual groundwork underlying America’s present-day political strife explains the “irrational” level of hatred pervading society, he said.

Huckabee cast an eye to the future and expressed concern for the type of nation that his grandchildren will inherit.  The article goes on to say:

Huckabee said he felt a deep “burden” for his seven grandchildren, who now live in a post-Christian society. “I don’t want them to grow up in a culture where a 12-year-old can’t get a tattoo, buy liquor, buy tobacco, can’t enter into a contract, get married, can’t drive a car, but can make the decision to have his or her body chemically castrated or surgically mutilated,” he said. “I do not want her to be in the girl’s locker room and have a biological boy undressing in front of her, and her being expected to undress in front of a biological boy — and if she says anything about it, that it makes her uncomfortable, she’s the one who gets into trouble.”

And, he, like so many other Christian leaders, emphasized the Christian's duty to vote, stating: “God is calling every one of us to engage in the civic responsibility. It’s not just our right. It is our responsibility to be engaged in the process,” adding, “If we don’t like the government we have and don’t vote, we end up getting the government we deserve and not the one we wanted.” Incorporating the name of the event, he said, “Pray, vote, stand: I pray that you will embrace this as more than a slogan, that you will see it as a command..."

In our vote, there is hope.  Some people can become jaded and cynical about political involvement, but for the believer in Christ, we can become excited not only by our obedience to the Lord, but by the opportunity to put people in office who will affirm our Christian values.  The reality is that not all will do so, but by making it our aim to select the person in every race who best represents our deeply-held Biblical beliefs, we can certainly change the calculus. 

And, I think Mike Huckabee is right when he talks about the kind of nation we are leaving for our children and grandchildren.  Are we furthering this mistaken and evil notion that a baby in the womb is just some sort of "reproductive choice" that can be terminated at will?   Have we devalued life to the point where crime is rampant and people are much more prone to take the life of another?   Are we concerned about a government that is addicted to overwhelming spending that threatens to unleash more economic harm on families who are living paycheck to paycheck?  

And, the sexual issues - the redefining of gender roles and the embracing of concepts such as gender identity and gender fluidity - how concerning is that; left unchecked, these corrupt marriage and the family, which are vital in a functioning society.  The Church has a huge part to play, and one step we can take is to vote for the right people - people who will affirm and seek godly wisdom.  We don't have enough of them, granted, but we can make a start here and now.