How to Spar (reprint)

There are three things that a sane person should not touch in polite conversation - Sports, Politics and Religion (SPAR for short). Lucky for me I’ve never been accused of being sane. Sport– well the grand final is being played about now and since the Dockers didn’t make it, who cares? Religion– well you are reading a newsletter put out by a Christian Bookshop owner. If my side in the argument surprises you then… that leaves politics. Now there are two reactions you would be having about now. Either, “Whoo-hoo! Let’s watch him give (insert political party here) a beating.” Or, “Oh no, I don’t want to hear about politics.” Stick with me because this is much bigger than who will win the election. I’m going to let you in on something both sides of politics don’t want you to know. I’m going to give you a three word biblical principle that I think will have far-reaching consequences in your life. Are you ready for it? “SWAY OR STAY”.

Let me explain. When you first gave your heart to the Lord (if you haven’t yet, test your belief with what I am about to say and see if it stacks up), He gave you the freedom to walk the narrow path that is the best path in the world for you to walk on. Your path may have a different scenic view from mine but all of our paths have one destination and only one way to walk on them - we are to walk to and in the light of God’s grace and mercy shown by the cross. Here is the basis for my (upcoming) argument (and if what I am saying is true it should pass Simon’s truth test. That is, it must work for all people throughout all time). Truth: I have a narrow road to walk. Truth: It must be walked in the spirit. Truth: My flesh and a very real external enemy do not want me walking it. Truth: They will do what they can to sway me from it. How do I know this as truth? God in His mercy gave me a guide to truth called the Bible. It is the measure and plumb line of all that is true. To the atheist or skeptic who may be reading this I ask the same question Jesus did of the Pharisees. “If my words are not true show me where I fail and if you can’t then why do you not believe me” (my paraphrase). So I now have two major things in my life to work with. Through Christ, I have the freedom to choose to STAY on the path and I have a barometer in the Bible to allow me to see when I am being SWAYed from it.

So what does “sway or stay” have to do with the election? The first sway is that your vote does not matter. Yes, it does. How do we salt society if we don’t vote? The radical green vote is 3- 5 % yet both major parties pander to them. Imagine if we, as a 10% voting group, stood up and asked to have reflective representation? The second sway is not to pray. God tells us to pray for those in authority. I don’t know about you but I want God involved in the election. The final sway is the one that gets most of us - failure to vote on the real issues. The enemy will try and sway you through the hip pocket, making the budget the important thing. Use the plumb line to see if what you are being told matches what God says is best. Proverbs says: there is a way in man’s eye that looks right but leads to death. Don’t vote for what buys you a new 4WD (or even a better toaster). Vote for what gives your children the best chance of growing up in a country that will encourage and protect their freedom to stand in God. Our future generations need godly wisdom from their parent’s voting, not a handout from the government when man’s way fails.

Now you have a two-part equation. Know the truth AND the truth will set you free (information AND application). So get equipped. This is our 5th Birthday, and from day one our job has been to equip you to not be swayed. If you have a question, there is an answer out there for you. You have an enemy that will either rob you through apathy or feed you untruth in order to sway you. You need the right information to start with. Also, you have a path to walk. If you call Jesus Lord, you cannot be knocked off it - salvation is sure. Don’t be swayed from it. And it is easy to be swayed into thinking that you deserve a rest. Walk the path that God has laid before you and don’t let yourself be conned into doing nothing.