{"id":2485,"date":"2022-11-08T05:07:33","date_gmt":"2022-11-08T11:07:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/denisonforum\/2022\/11\/my-prediction-for-the-midterms\/"},"modified":"2022-11-08T05:07:33","modified_gmt":"2022-11-08T11:07:33","slug":"my-prediction-for-the-midterms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/denisonforum\/2022\/11\/my-prediction-for-the-midterms\/","title":{"rendered":"My prediction for the midterms"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\u201cBe wise in the way you act with people who are not believers.\u201d \u2014Colossians 4:5 NCV<\/p>\n

If I could predict the future, I might have joined Jim McIngvale\u2014better known as \u201cMattress Mack\u201d\u2014in his $10 million bet<\/a> last May that his Houston Astros would win the World Series. His bet won him $75 million, which is believed to be the largest payout in legal sports betting history. When asked what he planned to do after winning, the seventy-one-year-old said he\u2019d be back to work the next morning at 9 a.m.<\/p>\n

Or I might have purchased the winning Powerball lottery ticket and won a record $1.9 billion<\/a>. The drawing was delayed<\/a>, so it\u2019s likely the official results won\u2019t be known until later today. I\u2019d be happy to wait that long.<\/p>\n

Of course, I cannot predict the future. But I am nonetheless willing to make a clear prediction regarding today\u2019s midterm elections and their consequences for our country and our culture.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe deepest habit of mind in the contemporary world\u201d<\/h2>\n

In his debate with Jimmy Carter a week before the 1980 presidential election, Ronald Reagan asked<\/a> the nation, \u201cAre you better off than you were four years ago?\u201d It\u2019s the kind of question politicians typically ask before elections. And it reveals far more than the answers voters give.<\/p>\n

In his paper, \u201cIs Theology Poetry?\u201d Oxford scholar C. S. Lewis identified \u201cuniversal evolutionism\u201d as \u201cperhaps the deepest habit of mind in the contemporary world.\u201d He defined the term: \u201cthe belief that the very formula of universal progress is from imperfect to perfect, from small beginnings to great endings, from the rudimentary to the elaborate.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added that this belief \u201cmakes people find it natural to think that morality springs from savage taboos, adult sentiment from infantile sexual maladjustments, thought from instinct, mind from matter, organic from inorganic, cosmos from chaos.\u201d However, he observed, \u201cIt seems to me immensely unplausible, because it makes the general course of nature so very unlike those parts of nature we can observe.\u201d<\/p>\n

This \u201chabit of mind\u201d nonetheless assumes that the world must evolve to get better and better. If it does not, voters in a democracy hold our leaders accountable.<\/p>\n

Democrats are claiming<\/a> that women\u2019s rights are under attack by Republicans and hope<\/a> this issue galvanizes their base. Republicans hope their focus on crime<\/a> and the economy<\/a> will help them win the midterms.<\/p>\n

But this belief that political leaders can effect systemic change overlooks a basic fact about human nature.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe will give you pardon and imparted holiness\u201d<\/h2>\n

Scripture is clear: \u201cWhoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin\u201d (James 4:17). This applies to us all: \u201cAll have sinned and fall short of the glory of God\u201d (Romans 3:23). John added: \u201cIf we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us\u201d (1 John 1:8).<\/p>\n

A. W. Tozer was right: \u201cSin is a terrible thing, and either we deal with our sin or our sin will deal with us.\u201d By contrast, when a person comes to Christ, \u201cthat second the supernatural life of God invades him instantly. The dominating power of the world, the flesh, and the devil is paralyzed, not by your act, but because your act has linked you on to God and his redemptive power\u201d (Oswald Chambers).<\/p>\n

I do not mean to suggest that politics are not important. To the contrary, there are absolutely positive consequences to biblical political leadership. For example, in the first two months after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade<\/em>, the number of abortions fell<\/a> by more than ten thousand. That\u2019s ten thousand precious lives that have been spared as a consequence of decades of hard work and political engagement by pro-life advocates.<\/p>\n

There are absolutely negative consequences to political leadership as well, as the legalization of same-sex marriage in 2015 demonstrates. The proposed so-called Equality Act similarly constitutes<\/a> the greatest threat to religious liberty in American history.<\/p>\n

For these reasons, I am convinced that God is calling more Christians into public service than are answering his call. But here\u2019s my prediction: no matter the results of today\u2019s midterms, the gospel will still be the only answer to the greatest problems we face.<\/p>\n

Billy Graham noted<\/a>: \u201cIn exchange for perplexity, [Christ] gives the blessed assurance of his grace and adequacy. In exchange for your anxiety, he gives you a confidence and trust that knows no bounds. In exchange for boredom, he will give you a bold, courageous, purposeful faith. In exchange for your sin, he will give you pardon and imparted holiness.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCourteous conduct honors Christ\u201d<\/h2>\n

Consequently, the way Christians engage in politics is crucial to our witness<\/a> and the eternal destinies of those we influence. Max Lucado was right: \u201cThose who don\u2019t believe in Jesus note what we who believe in Jesus do. They make decisions about Christ by watching us. When we\u2019re kind, they assume Christ is kind. When we\u2019re gracious, they assume Christ is gracious. But when we\u2019re dishonest, what assumption will an observer make about our Master?<\/p>\n

\u201cNo wonder the Apostle Paul says, \u2018Be wise in the way you act with people who are not believers, making the most of every opportunity. When you talk, you should always be kind and pleasant so you will be able to answer everyone in the way you should\u2019 (Colossians 4:5\u20136 NCV).\u201d<\/p>\n

Lucado therefore noted: \u201cCourteous conduct honors Christ. It also honors his children.\u201d<\/p>\n

Will your political engagement today honor both?<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cBe wise in the way you act with people who are not believers.\u201d \u2014Colossians 4:5 NCV If I could predict the future, I might have joined Jim McIngvale\u2014better known as \u201cMattress Mack\u201d\u2014in his $10 million bet last May that his…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4396,"featured_media":2494,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2485","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nMy prediction for the midterms<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"\u201cBe wise in the way you act with people who are not believers.\u201d \u2014Colossians 4:5 NCV If I could predict the future, I might have joined Jim McIngvale\u2014better known as \u201cMattress Mack\u201d\u2014in his $10 million bet last May that his…\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" 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