Former California Governor Arnold Swartzenegger...
Former NC Senator Edwards...
Former Nevada Senator John Ensign...
Former NY Governor Elliot Spitzer...
Former SC Governor Mark Sanford...
Former Speaker of the House Newt Ginrich...
[Reelected] Louisiana Senator David Vitter...
Former President Bill Clinton…
All politicians, all men in power, involved in the Executive Branch, the Senate, the House of Representatives; two Governors…all men, all (except one) former of their positions…all guilty of having extramarital affairs.
Hosea 8:4 "They set up kings, but not by Me; They made princes, but I did not acknowledge [them]. From their silver and gold They made idols for themselves--That they might be cut off."
Charles Barkley famously said: “I'm not a role model... Just because I dunk a basketball doesn't mean I should raise your kids.” Unfortunately, that’s not how it works, Charles. Kids do what they see us do, not what we say. When what we say doesn’t jibe with what we do, they go for the “do” as justification for what they want to accomplish, and all famously counter: “well…YOU did it!”
We are clearly instructed from scripture to pray for our leaders (and, not just VOTE for them) that we might live “quiet and peaceable lives in all godliness and honesty” (1 Timothy 2:1-2). That also means praying for people you DIDN’T vote for either. In this era of instantaneous information via the Internet and 24/7 cable news, what and whom we build up one day may be torn to bits – reputation wise – tomorrow.
”From their silver and gold They made idols for themselves…” might as well read OF themselves in the case of the IMF president Strauss-Kahn resigned in an attempted rape scandal. My oldest son and I discussed this on my visit to Austin (from NY, where the alleged attempt occurred). He had a valid point: at $3,000 a night, he probably felt untouchable; invincible. The room is probably no bigger than say, a $90 – 110/night room, but at that level your among your “rich peers” who have also made “idols of themselves” because they do NOT have a Godly perspective on money.
Hosea 8:7 “They sow the wind, And reap the whirlwind. The stalk has no bud; it shall never produce meal. If it should produce, Aliens would swallow it up.”
Arnold, apparently said something about single mothers in an interview prior to his election as California governor (in a recall of Grey Davis), and will full knowledge he’d become a father/baby daddy with two sons soon on the way – one in wedlock and one out. There’s an old saying: “those who live in glass houses should not throw stones.” At some point in each of their careers, each of the men listed have “thrown stones.” Many political platforms are based on so-called “family values.” This is no more than a method to get a group to the polls and vote for them. I’d seen it down at my church in North Carolina as a boy: the politician would come right before November; he/she would address us in “call-and-response” preaching the gospel of themselves as the best investment of our vote; if he/she could bring the house down, they most likely received our vote; we’d never see them after the election…until the NEXT election (their reelection). “The stalk has no bud; it shall never produce meal.”
In this post, I am NOT justifying bad behavior. What I chaff at is the manipulation of our Christian values for political gain. I list both members of the two dominant parties because they are both guilty of this, and like the politicians when I was a kid, promptly forget what they promised you at your church/convention/camp meeting. They simply say what they have to say to get our votes.
I’m not saying we as Christians shouldn’t vote, either. If they want to show me some “family values,” I have a few suggestions: 1) get us off fossil fuels and out of countries that don’t want us taking theirs, 2) design the infrastructure for electric cars (i.e., charging stations), 3) bring the price of gas below $3/gallon, 4) bring the cost of food down, 5) bring the jobs back. Can I get an AMEN to that?
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