Deception

So this blog is supposed to be about my journey to who I am. I've been thinking today about a lot of things, primarily the election and all of the issues and lives at stake. As a follower of Jesus, a disciple, my vote has to account for more than my checking account and my health insurance. I have to realize that God has promised to meet all of my needs according to his wealth, so no matter what the economy looks like, I'm not supposed to worry about those things. Now, that's not to say that I shouldn't be informed and vote for a candidate who will attempt to be a wise steward of our nation's resources. However, it does suggest that maybe the economy shouldn't be my primary concern when larger issues are at stake - like abortion.
I'm concerned that many who claim to be followers of Jesus aren't really in touch with his heart on this issue. Jesus said that love is the bottom line in this life. Abortion is the polar opposite of loving your neighbor as yourself. It is a lie - all about convenience. I happen to believe that abortion is the great human/civil rights issue of our time - perhaps of all history. Yes, I dare to compare it with the Holocaust, slavery, the Crusades, genocide in Africa and every other such event. All of those events happened because someone had the power to take the life of others whose lives, whose value as human beings, they disregarded. Even those who claimed to be Christians were in support of these great tragic human events - events we look back on with great clarity as being supremely evil. To pretend that abortion is not a voting issue is the same as turning a blind eye to those previous historic issues - and many did, to their great dishonor.
Having said all that, I don't believe that the Christians who don't vote pro-life are evil, I believe that they have been deceived. The Bible is clear that our enemy - Satan, the devil, whichever name you prefer - is a deceiver by nature. He and his minions deceive us all on a more regular basis than we would like to admit. We all sin and then wonder what came over us. Why did I tell that lie? Why did I omit that truth? Why did I say that hurtful thing? The truth is, because we are selfishly deceived into doing what's easiest and most convenient in the moment - but it's only in the moment. My mom used to tell us kids all the time that sin would take us farther than we wanted to go, cost us more than we wanted to pay and keep us longer than we wanted to stay and I have always found that to be true in my own life.
I fear that our country will have to find out the same thing. We fall for charming speakers and feel-good rhetoric and ignore the things that God looks at - integrity and uprightness, concern for life.
My own deception has been long-lived - I have long believed the lie that who God made me to be is not who he wants me to be. I tend to see that world through different eyes than the people around me, and I also tend to be a bit blunt in my delivery of the picture. I have tried in vain to change my perspective and to be more eloquent - but it's never the truth. I'm not making excuses for ungodly meanness or harshness, which I do have to guard against when I'm acting out of selfishishness instead of love and truth. However, at the encouragement of my wonderful husband, Bobby, and a few good friends who see me perhaps more clearly than I see myself - I am determined to be myself. I will speak the truth that I see, and if you disagree, I enjoy a good debate. Please come armed with facts and Biblical perspective and we'll duke it out and leave friends!