Living in the Spirit
June 12, 2018
Scripture Reading: 1 Samuel 15:34-16:13
When they came, he looked on Eliab and thought, ‘Surely the Lord’s anointed is now before the Lord.’ But the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for the Lord does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.’ Then Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. He said, ‘Neither has the Lord chosen this one.’ Then Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said, ‘Neither has the Lord chosen this one.’ Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel, and Samuel said to Jesse, ‘The Lord has not chosen any of these.’ Samuel said to Jesse, ‘Are all your sons here?’ And he said, ‘There remains yet the youngest, but he is keeping the sheep.’ And Samuel said to Jesse, ‘Send and bring him; for we will not sit down until he comes here.’ He sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and had beautiful eyes, and was handsome. The Lord said, ‘Rise and anoint him; for this is the one.’ Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the presence of his brothers; and the spirit of the Lord came mightily upon David from that day forward. Samuel then set out and went to Ramah. –1 Samuel 16:6-13
How we judge the qualification of others for public office matters. We are in the midst of the 2018 campaign season. In Oklahoma, our primary election is scheduled for June 26. As citizens, we have a moral responsibility to study carefully and prayfully the candidates running for office and to vote. The airwaves are filled with advertisements attempting to place candidates’ most advantageous posters forward while other adds challenge the credibility of opponents. Highly emotional issues are used to ignite participation even when the office the person is seeking has no influence over those issues.
I accept the concept that the purpose of government is to provide for the Common Good with the definition of Common Good being the benefit or interests of all. In many cases, the Common Good provided by governments is the counterbalance that allows free enterprise to function. For example, companies with many stores routinely evaluate the profit value of each and may give no consideration to the harm to a community if they decided to close a store because it does not meet their profit requirement. The government at all levels is left to pick up the fallout from such a decision: Unemployment, attracting new jobs and meeting immediate needs for food, clothing, and shelter. The government also provides the supportive services that all business must have to function by educating future workers, keeping them healthy, providing roads and airports for transporting goods, providing police and disaster protection, national defense and so forth. The government is also responsible for safeguarding the public from unscrupulous business practices that do them harm. We want health inspectors making sure Ebola is not on our grocery store’s shelves waiting to infect us or that the car we drive does not have a history of brake failures.
We must dig deeper than emotionally loaded 30 second sound bites to discover where candidates stand on issues that affect the Common Good. If a candidate has previously served in any office, try to access his or her voting record. Attend public meeting and asks questions about areas of concern. Many advocacy groups post voting records or other pertinent information about candidates. Some sponsor forums where candidates share their stances. We must do our voting homework.
Prayer: Lord, guide me in my search for the Common Good as I prepare to vote. Amen.