The Problem...is me

In my attempt to be up to date with all this GOP and election what not, today I decided to dedicate some time to listening to debates on my headphones at work and what I heard was anything but reassuring not to mention the countless number of blogs and articles and everything in between out there today make it oh so difficult to figure this all out.

I have to stop here for a second and say this much. Years ago, I had a blog and on it was every kind of thing I had an issue with, from democrats to religions, to schools, you name it, it was there. My problem then was that my expression of these differences was one of superiority, shortly put, I was a pharisee...sadly, to this day I still suffer from Pharisaical behavior.

Back to the first paragraph, the beauty of it all is that we aren't called to figure it all out. We are simply called to have faith. This is something Martin Luther has driven home to me time and again and the more I read Galatians, the more I read of how important it is for us to drop the law and put on grace or put on Christ (Gal 3:27).

So much of us today has this deep rooted desire to want to be someone. I got a text from an old friend today that said plainly, "Chris my problem, our problem, is that we resist sin in the wrong frame of mind. We resist because we want to be good Christians, not because we love Jesus." Brutal statement in my mind and heart. It tore me down to my very core and showed me something about myself I wish I hadn't seen, I am the same way.

I am the same way because I too often fight for the right thing or right path more so because of my love for being right and my love for being good than I do for my love for Jesus. It is with this heart that I ought to approach things. Because coming to this conclusion, and it is a mean one, brings to a place of a new understanding of our problem.

Our problem is not the man in charge of our country, our problem is not some group who remains quiet, our problem is not some group who has distorted facts, our problem is not the lack of truth these days. If we are ever going to make progress, if we are ever going to get going in the direction we need to head in, we must identify our problem and call it what it really is. Again this goes back to what I said yesterday, we have a problem with definitions. What I call anxiety, cultural upbringing, what makes me feel good, what I say is "just how I am", what I call frustration, what I call intelligence, God calls sin.

Our problem is sin. We keep looking to these men on TV expecting picture perfect answers to flow from their mouths. The truth is, they, like me and you, are sinners. Our problem is sin, it has always been our problem and will always be a problem, but it doesn't have to control you. This is the beauty of the gospel and it is this that we need to drive home to ourselves. We need to begin identifying our issues for what they are, our issue is sin, our solution is Christ and we have been called to daily, DAILY, put on Christ (Gal 3:27). We have been called to daily deny ourselves.

So while the elections are going on, and people continue becoming more and more confused by the day on who is right and who is wrong, you, me, us, we need to put on Christ. We need to deal with our problem. And the best way to deal with it is to let it go and leave it at the foot of the only place where all of us can stand...the cross...

I'm not saying forget the elections, no. They are important and if you can vote, you should exercise the God-given freedom you possess. However, once you vote, the rest is up to God, it isn't my story, it is His, and however He see's fit to let it continue, end, or start again so be it. I am just thankful He has let me catch glimpses of it and only begin to understand it, let alone be a part of it.

So yes, research, read up and pray, then vote. Don't ever forget the problem, the problem is you, it is me, it is sin, and what we need is a Savior.