I am still scratching my head on this one. I'm still trying to process the implications of Mrs. Palin as the Vice President, and one heartbeat away from being the President, of these United States of America. Not that my opinion matters except in November but it matters to God & that is where my struggle lies. I preach against 'Clintonizing' morality. Compartmentalizing life into sectors where in-congruent values are justified by fuzzy logic. IE - I can abuse my power as President & have an 'inappropriate' relationship with an intern yet that has no bearing whatsoever on my ability to be the President..."Clintonizing".That offends me at my core and yet...I find that is exactly what I'm doing when it comes to the good Governor of Alaska. Setting aside core values of complimentarianism, God given distinct roles for men & women, for pragmatic political gain and the ultimate moral mortar to shore up the disintegrating moral foundation of this once great nation.
Is this a classic case of "The end justifying the means" or "The lesser of two evils"? Or is there more to it? Is there a biblical case, albeit not the norm, for a woman rising to civil power to lead a nation? Is my Theology forming my Worldview or is my Worldview forming my Theology?
If only the answers were that clear. Let me break it down and then see if I can wed my politics & principles without a shotgun.
Politics: The choice of Palin was initially a brilliant move by McCain. A woman & a conservative who is pro-life & pro limited government! What a balance to the liberal leaning McCain. He threw a bone to his conservative base & they are loving it...for now. Does the Palin choice have enough gas to take him to November and ultimately to the White House? I doubt it. Conservative America will tire of its new pet Palin & any boost McCain gets now will probably have long leveled out by November. But for now, She's been a boon for McCain & a bit of a slap in the face to the libs.
Principle: Can I pull the lever and give my tacit approval for a Mom putting government & career before her primary calling as a keeper of her home? I don't know. I look to scripture & see the norms and I preach & teach them regularly to our congregation. Motherhood is a sacred calling. Keepers of their homes are honored and blessed. Embrace your calling and don't chase after the carrot of culture. Is there anything I haven't considered scripturally? I discussed it with my family & they actually had some interesting light to shed on Mrs. Palin.
When I asked my older sons their thoughts, they had much the same struggles as I. I guess the apple really doesn't fall far from the tree. Paul Jr. brought up the Judge Deborah in Judges 4. Zack immediately saw the tension between my politics & my preaching.
Anna surprised me. She is 12 & is sometimes wise beyond her years. When asked about her thoughts on the good governess Anna said, "I don't know...but Dad, God has set her in this place for a reason" Anna reminded me of all of my lessons to her on the complete sovereignty of God over EVERYTHING. It also reminded me of another strong woman who dangerously left her 'place' to save her 'people'...Esther. As her aged Uncle reminded her, "And who knows whether you have not attained royalty for such a time as this?" Is there any room in my narrow mind for this to be true? Would God EVER work out side the norm to attain his purposes?
My dear wife Elizabeth gave me one of the best answers when she said, "It wouldn't be the first time God used a woman to upstage a guy named Barak" Hmmmmmm. She also reminded me that the decision for her career was biblically between her & her husband. Sometimes we tend to trample one principle in order to exalt another.
Well Dzed (my pet name for me) what will it be? Which one will dominate - your Politics or your Principles? Or is there room in the plan of God to teach the Men of this nation a lesson through the leadership of a self proclaimed daughter of His? Can there be a wedding here of Politics & Principles? Stay tuned...we'll have to see how the pre marriage counselling goes.
8 comments:
We are totally confused also! Praying for wisdom for all of us. God knows my heart and wanting to honor Him in all things. We appreciate any words of wisdom.
Thanks,
Dar
Here's my struggle. I am noticing a consensus building in both my church and blogdom (within the blogs I read), that we cannot vote for her simply due to the fact that she's a woman.
As the premise goes, she is a woman, she should be at home, therefore we should not support feminism in this way.
Two things:
1) Are we missing the forest for the trees? (If we believe Abortion is the #1 issue)
2) (Here's the biggie) Give me the scripture that forbids a woman leader?
I honestly want a scriptural proof. I've looked and am not convinced. I am truly open to being wrong on this...
I'm with Anna and Elizabeth (surprise, surprise). I will not stand by in November and not pull the lever for a pro-life candidate vs. a man who gets an A+ from the pro-choice liberals. The Bible leaves no doubt where God stands on life and murder of innocents. The Supreme Court and Roe v. Wade hangs in the balance. Is it ideal that Gov. Palin still has children at home-no. I did hear one person say he visited her in her office in Alaska and there were kids running all over the place and she only sleeps 3 or 4 hours a night.
Sherry
I think I'm using my write in option this year:
Ted Nugent!
I’m joking of course but I find myself looking at the life of a man who makes no claim to be a Christian but yet holds all of God's creation in the highest regard. It seems that the evangelical movement over looks the big picture many times and aligns themselves to a candidate over one topic - Pro-life or not. I feel that in good conscious I cannot vote for McCain as he is in no way shape or form a Christian - he is actually a very sick and twisted individual - I have seen how he acted as an Arizona Representative behind closed doors – but do we just give in and vote for the lesser of the two evils. I have found myself in prayer for many hours. I am really struggling with the amount of time/effort I am putting into politics which is not always spent focusing on God. I am praying that the Lord will put me at ease and guide me in my decision.
To be fair, he does name the name of Christ. Since we cannot tell his heart, I'd say we cannot determine his status before God.
What we can say is that he doesn't typically vote in a manner consistent with Christian values...and perhaps that makes him a bad Christian? :)
He attends a Southern Baptist church. Not to open a can of worms, but the baptists are what brought us the concept of separation of church and state.
Perhaps he's merely voting according to his theology? That religion should not inform politics?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baptists_in_the_history_of_separation_of_church_and_state
"Sometimes God raises up a woman to fill in a gap where men weren't standing to fulfill His good purpose". TRF
Two of McCain's top picks for VP were Leiberman and Ridge-both pro-choice. Sounds to me like a gap that needed filling.
Sherry
(I came across your blog via Joshua's which I like to read because it often has some good food for thought.)
I wrote about this yesterday on my own blog and as a full time wife and mom, my first response was the same as yours. But I had to step back and ask myself if I was trying to impose my own personal convictions and standards onto Sarah Palin and, more importantly, was I ignoring the fact that perhaps Sarah is the answer to the many prayers that McCain would choose a pro-life running mate.
I just wanted to thank you for your reasoned words and for honestly sharing your own struggles in knowing the right thing to do.
ok Paul, here goes. You know I always have a lot to say. The Proverbs 31 lady, who we use a lot to define God's ideal woman (who can find her) lol...she does it all in good taste and as a woman. Having been tagged as a "strong woman" by others, not always a compliment...how can we judge the heart...Bob & I just watched the life of John Adams...talk about our messed up world...we are in no way what we started out to be as a nation, but neither are our churches, our homes, II Chronicles 7:14, gives us the answer...If my people which are called by name shall humble themselves and PRAY,& seek my face....read on. Anyway just a few words. LOL
Love ya, Diane (Mother-in-law) :)
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