Politics: A Sobering Thought

I was lying in bed, reading in 2 Kings for my devotions when I had a sobering thought. What if all my short comings and my most horrible decisions were written for the entire world to see? What if all I was remembered by were my mistakes and my hard-headed moments? That is how many of the kings of Israel are remembered. Now, sure the biggest mistakes of many of these kings was turning their backs on God, which dictated the rest of their lives and decisions, but what if they were good husbands and fathers? What if they were loyal friends and cared for the poor? Not that those traits would excuse the evils that they did, but all we know of someone of them is a few sentences. Roughly: how old they were when they became king, how long they reigned, and if they did evil in the eyes of The Lord. Again, that is all we need to know, but it made me think of my own short comings.

For instance, today I was disrespectful to my mother. For no reason at all. I didn't even apologize. I was too proud. My mother and I have a stressed relationship at times, much of which is unnecessary and my fault. What if all you knew about me was that I was disrespectful to my mother? That says a lot about me, but I would want you to know about my relationships with my father, husband, and son also. I would be hoping to redeem myself. What if every disrespectful instance in my life were catalogued for you to see and was constantly used against me, even in instances of totally different matters.

Wrapping it all together: as I was brushing my teeth, I compared my thoughts to the current political race. For all candidates, people act so ugly towards them. Downright hateful. Yes, I understand you may disagree with their policies or personal life. Yes, I understand that in [insert year] [insert politician] said/ voted for/ looked at something that was disagreeable to you so that means everything about that individual is a mark of the antichrist. Oh wait...

Specifically speaking of President Obama and Governor Romney as examples: every little thing in their entire lives is brought up as ammunition against them in the race. One man fumbles over a word in a debate and that suddenly makes him incompetent. One time so-and-so got a D on a paper in college, didn't we all? The wives and their accomplishments or non-ishments get brought into their worth as potential presidents. And many many more examples. In the end, the point is that every detail of these mens' lives is out for public display. Yes, some of these things are critical to the election. Honestly though, most of the important short comings of each candidate don't make it into the Facebook statuses I see. Reading through social media about politics is a much better poll when desiring to see what is important to voters. Appearances seem to be too high on the priority list for most voters. Policies are more of an afterthought.

Back to topic: Obama and Romney are men. Why do they deserve an attack any more than I? If I had the power they had would I make all the right choices? I don't have anywhere near that kind of power and I still don't make the right choices sometimes. I could give more explanations but I think you get the jist.

I have voted already. I am pleased with my vote and I hope my man wins. Do I think he will be a perfect president? No. Do I think I will agree with everything he does in office? No. But I most closely align with his values and policies. But either way, I will not attack either candidate. They have both made mistakes in their life. Unfortunately for them the while world can see or read about their mistakes. How very unfortunate indeed. I don't know how they handle it.

So give a little grace for these leaders. Give them the respect they deserve not because of the offices they hold, but because they are human beings. God made them and all their imperfections. God made me and all my imperfections. And I thank God you can't read about those imperfections.