Demands of the Christian Life

...give diligence to make your calling and election sure; for if you do these things, you shall never fail. 2 Peter 1:10

Lord, is there a price I have to pay to live this way? The Christian life moving from the 20th century into the 21st century has been a challenge. Perhaps it has always been a challenge. Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote of the Christian life: "Every true Christian is a citizen of two worlds, the world of time and the world of eternity."

With a faith and hope of eternal bliss, Christians live amidst the currencies of existence. 2008 is declared an election year in the United States of America. The highest office in the country will open for a new leader. The current President is well into his last term and the country's two major parties are really in battle with an independent threat. There have been threats of independent runners, which includes the mayor of New York City. He, too, has reached the term limit in the office as mayor. Jewish by birth and faith, Christian morality may not be in the consideration of the mayor. In this time of history, however, every Christian should take a serious look at justice and fairness when casting a vote in 2008.

For the first time in history, one of the two major political parties, the Democratic Party, will run a female candidate or a man of color as the candidate for the office of President. Christians participating in elections through the centuries have in majority been conformists. Now it is time to hear a call to nonconformity. The challenge now is to live out of conviction, not conformity. The noble moral action would be to vote for the best candidate, who happens to be female or a man labelled as a Black American. It has never happened before, arguably due to racism and sexism, even classism. The Republican Party would suggest by default that we conform once again to the leadership of a White male.

The laws of the land dares a minister to cross certain lines in endorsing candidates for political office. The laws of the land, therefore, may have us support conformity by being silent. I am among those who dare respond to a higher order than the laws of the land. I dare to hear the call to social responsibility coming from the Moral Authority. I dare to encourage all people of faith and moral integrity to vote for a qualified candidate other than a White male. Is it personal? Yes, it is personal and an issue of social justice. It is personal, because I was born of woman's womb. It is personal, because I was born a Negro is the United States of America. It is personal, because I have witnessed the abuse of women and people of color in American politics from the 1950s into the 21st century. It is personal, because I want to see a just act among United States Americans in electing a person President without bases such election on his being White. I want women and men of any race or color to have more than equal of opportunity to serve. I want then to have actual occupancy of the office of President and access to the White House as home.

I am a Christian. Our faith and hope is in eternity. Our love is here and now. Thus, in kindness with selfless love, I urge citizens of the United States in these times to cast a vote for justice and support the Presidential candidate and slate of the Democratic Party in this election year.

Emmanuel!