Personalities

All this screaming and carrying on over the political situation gave me pause to stop and think, especially since it's become a blatantly ugly, personal, personality contest. There are those who deny patriotism, good sense, morality, and even Christianity to anyone who has a different opinion than their own.  Shakespeare said, "To thine own self be true." Fine.  But, what if your personality is sharp, or even harsh and it costs you friends?  Do you change your personality to gain friends, or remain a cranky loner? What kind of personality did Shakespeare have?  Sorry.  I'm old, but not that old. Supposedly, he was accused of stealing someone else's writing.  Sir Francis Bacon?  Shakespeare in Love was a movie that portrayed him as an adulterous goofball.  One thing I have learned is that writers seldom live up to what they write.  He was a great writer, but if history has portrayed him accurately, he didn't learn anything from what he observed and wrote about.

                                                                                                                        That wasn't the case for the Apostle Paul. He believed and lived what he wrote. In Galations 1:10, he writes, "Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ." He wasn't very popular in certain circles, and to this day, some people don't understand him and outright don't like him. He paid a very heavy price for what he said, what he believed, and what he lived.  His personality  was so strong that when he first became a believer in Jesus, the church was terrified of him because he'd persecuted the church before he came to Jesus.  Thankfully, his personality was as strong as a Jewish believer as it had been as a Jewish Pharisee. It served God's Sovereign purpose very well. He took the Gospel to the Gentiles, opening doors to everyone to become believers, instead of just the Jew. In the same way, his disagreement with Barnabus over Mark made two mission teams instead of one. God's ways are not ours, but they are perfect.

So, again, what to do? As I've pondered this situation, it's become clear to me that I must stand my ground, no matter what people think of me or call me.  By the same token, I have no right to try to force other people to think the way I do or call them names if they don't. That's denying them the right to be true to themselves.  As a believer, when I hear those sorts of things, I hear anger, anxiety, and arrogance.  What does the unbeliever hear and think? Actually, for the Christian, those words deny others the right to be true to the Lord. Name calling is judging and last I heard, God had not given His gavel to anyone.

Long before our Presidential election became a personality contest, I looked for men or women of noble character.  People with dignity and integrity. I expect my leader to be like Daniel in the Bible.  For that reason, my biggest complaint about  Donald Trump during the debates was his rudeness.  He belittled anyone who disagreed with him. That's not debating, that's bullying, but Trump has the type of personality that people follow. Do they overlook his myriad of imperfections? Yes. Am I one of them because I will vote for him? No.  I see him for what he is, but I also believe God is in control and the voting thus far has turned out the way it has because of God's Sovereign will.  Do I like it?  Can't say that I do.  I preferred Scott Walker and Carly Fiorina above all of them, but that's another story. Is this personality contest right? No.  Did God know this was going to happen before the beginning of time? Yes.  Does that make God evil because Trump defeated several Christians? Hardly.  It's been said that if God only gave good things, everyone would follow Him just for the good things.  No one would love Him for Himself. He's not the great Santa Claus of the sky.

Unfortunately, Christians of the Ted Cruz bandwagon are doing the same thing they have castigated Donald Trump for, only they're doing it to others because they don't have cameras and microphones following them around. Doesn't anyone remember the old adage that says when you point a finger at someone, you're pointing three back at yourself? Ted Cruz might have had better answers, but, this is not his time. Several talking heads have said Ted Cruz does not have a "sympathetic" personality. People just aren't listening to his message.  That's his problem, not Donald Trump's or the voters. Like Rand and Ron Paul, he has the same problem in Congress.  They can't get anything passed because their colleagues won't go along with them.  I'm not saying Ted Cruz is wrong, just that he can't get anybody to agree with him.  As President, how would he ever get anything done? Besides, how can anyone believe we love them and we love Jesus if all we can do is make nasty comments to one another?

Like all believers, I'm praying for good leadership.  However, if we don't get it, God is still in control. The possibility is we don't deserve it.  We've taken every good thing God has given us, and like spoiled children, demanded more.  We've twisted and perverted the truth in ways most people my age never dreamed possible. We're perilously close to anarchy.  Maybe God is going to use our next President as a wake up call for Christians to begin once again to obediently share the Gospel instead of democracy.

Or maybe not.  Maybe it's time for America learn what real hardship is. God brought Israel down for their disobedience.  What makes us think He has no right to do that to us? God knows what He's doing, but I don't. I have to say, I prefer it that way.  A huge load is off my shoulders now that I'm no longer tilting at windmills.