Confessions of a midnight blogger Part II... aka politics?

On the other hand, being awake this early/ late/ which-ever-way-you-want-to-see-it means that now all of a sudden, I have time to blog, which I evidently haven't done in a while.

'What amazing thoughts has Grace had recently', might be the thought going through the eager reader's mind... Hmmm.. now I'm going to have to think up something profound.

Okay, here goes:

It was Voting Day yesterday in South Africa (YAYAYAYAYAY). Very exciting, especially 'cause this is the first elections in yeeeeeaaaaaaarrrrrrssssss where there's been some interesting opposition parties. I would've loved to vote, but I don't have voting rights, so I did the next best thing: stayed at home and slept. And after a nice long nap, I went for a drive and checked out all the action at the local polling stations - just to see South Africans line up to use their democratic right to make a difference :) Terribly geeky, but it made my heart happy :)

But then it got me thinking about Christians and politics, and whether I would vote for a Christian party to be in charge of a state. And I came to the conclusion, that I might NOT, actually.
 
This is not to say that Christianity and politics shouldn't mix. I very much think that as Christians it is our duty to act responsibly, be concerned about and actively involved in the society we have been placed in. However, I'm not quite sure if I would want a Christian party to be numero uno, top dog, big cheese, honcho poncho (I have no idea where that last phrase came from). This is my train of thought:

1) As a Christian ruling party, they would have to place legislation that would meet up with God's Word, which would be awesome in a perfect world, but in a fallen world, I'm not quite sure if it is fair to call non-Christians to a standard they do not uphold to - even if we know that God's Word isn't about petty rules, but ways of living that are actually best for us. I came to this conclusion, as I was again thinking through the fact that God doesn't give us random rules just to be a killjoy - He acts in a way that befits His character, and thus we are given guidelines on how to act in a manner that is reflective of that character. Therefore, if God has given us the freedom to make a choice in the way we live, are we not to give others the option to be free to choose their own lifestyle?

2) As a Christian ruling party, it wouldn't be possible to make sure that everyone is a genuine Christian (as opposed to a nominal one), and because we leave in a fallen world, we'd probably mess up time and time again.................. But wait a second, Grace's other voice pipes up, this is pretty much true for any Christian organization, and discounts for God's power and grace in our lives. Good point. So it appears I actually only have that first point.

So who would've I voted for? Probably one of the three major opposition parties. The Christian parties here are too small to make a difference, I reckon, even if I do vote for them, so I'd rather use my vote to sway one of the big guns. But, on the other hand, my other voice says that if that were the way all Christians thought, no wonder the Christian parties are too small to make a difference!

Aaah. The voices in my head are enough to drive me mad. So let me know what your thoughts are: it's 4 in the morning now, I've got hormonal issues, and my foot is sore, so it's quite possible my thinking capabilities might be severely impaired...

Hmm.. I think I might blog a bit more about point 2... See next post.