Posted November 5, 2004
The 2004 U. S. election is over. But in the days leading up to it a small but significant number of voters were still undecided about their preference for their national leader. These "undecided" voters grabbed the nation's political spotlight.
They also received a disproportionate amount of attention from the candidates and the media—both recognizing that these swing voters could easily decide the outcome of the election. So both candidates pandered to them, attempting to push their emotional buttons.
Many news commentators noted, due to each candidate's intense focus on so few voters, that the majority of citizens were deprived of an in-depth discussion of many of the critical issues facing our civilization.
It is simply a fact of life, however, that many people are ambivalent about many things. The advertising industry is keenly aware that people who are undecided about what products and services they really need can be easily manipulated into purchasing what appeals to their senses in place of what meets their genuine needs. Politicians are equally aware that undecided voters are just as susceptible to "hot button" personal issues that often have little bearing on a society's greater national well-being.
A strong and stable society needs strong core values—held with conviction by its citizens—as its foundation. When national debates are diverted from those core issues by the highly personalized feelings of an ambivalent but possibly decisive political minority, the nation's focus can become clouded.
This brings us to a fundamental question: from what source should we obtain our core convictions? Isn't it logical that they should be derived from the teachings of our Creator?
Speaking about those teachings, King David, one of mankind's most exemplarily political leaders, once said, "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path" (Psalm 119:105). And Jesus Christ exclaimed, "Your word is truth" (John 17:17).
Many biblical scriptures echo this principle—that the Word of God is the foundation and starting point for right knowledge and right values. A person without deeply rooted convictions, tends to be unstable and readily changes his mind. Jesus Christ compared such a person to "... one who hears the word [biblical instruction] and immediately receives it with joy; yet such a person has no root, but endures only for a while..." (Matthew 13:20-21, New Revised Standard Version). And James tells us that "a double-minded man" is "unstable in all his ways" (James 1:8).
Inconsistency is not limited to the realms of advertising and politics. It also has invaded the world of religion. Today there are millions of "undecided" Christians. They are unsure of what to believe, unsure of what to do. They have adopted the gray thinking of relativism, afraid or ashamed to take a stand on right versus wrong. They are the "swing" Christians, the "seesaw" Christians. They act like Christians one moment but cave in to peer-pressure and other temptations the next moment.
God wants us to have rock-solid convictions, courage, and commitment based on the principles found in His Word. When the prophet Elijah had to confront 850 prophets of a pagan religion, he courageously exclaimed, "How long will you waver between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him." (1 Kings 18:21, New International Version). God wants us to get off the fence and commit ourselves to believing His values and following His way of life.
As an example, notice what God told Joshua, the successor to Moses: "Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go" (Joshua 1:7, emphasis added). Joshua set a sterling example of being zealous, obedient, and consistent.
Later in life, Joshua was able to say with all sincerity, "Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve…but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD" (Joshua 24:15).
Do you have the courage to make that same commitment? If you do, examine your own values to see how they match up with God's word.
