Word Weld

This will be my final blog post about the election, and likely about Donald Trump at all, for some time. Really, this isn’t one of my articles, but rather a collection of thoughts about the election. But really it isn’t about the election directly, I just want to draw some parallels, because the election–all of it, from the very beginning until now–is directly a result of our lack of understanding and appreciation of one word. Facebook has been extremely discouraging over the past few months, and the most discouraging thing about it–about our culture, really–has been the devaluing of Principle. What exactly is Principle? I ask because in light of the election season, people do not really seem to understand what it means. Webster is always great for that kind of thing, so here is his understanding of it.

“A moral rule or belief that helps you know what is right and wrong and that influences your actions.” 

So here are a few thoughts about Principle that I take away from this definition:

1. It is founded upon Belief

Belief is one of those things we seriously take for granted in our world. We say, “I believe in God,” or “I believe what you’re saying,” or “Do you believe climate change is real?” and we seriously undervalue the word that we’re using. What we believe is critically important, but let us also point out that because we believe a thing, that doesn’t make it true. For instance, I can believe that Donald Trump is a conservative, but the evidence clearly does not support that belief. I can still choose to believe it, but it is not reality. Does that mean that our beliefs are unimportant? No. Simply because our beliefs can be wrong does not mean they have no value. On the contrary, they have supreme importance. God has placed great importance on belief numerous times.

“And he believed in the Lord; and he counted it to him for righteousness.” – Genesis 15:6

“And the Lord spake unto Moses and Aaron, Because ye believed me not, to sanctify me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore ye shall not bring this congregation into the land which I have given them.” – Numbers 20:12

“And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.” – Mark 1:15

“Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.” – Mark 9:23.

“He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”
– John 3:18

“Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.” – John 20:29

And that is a very small sampling of passages. Clearly, belief is important, but it is clearly important to believe only the right things. All the passages say the same thing: we need to believe God.

2. It’s a Rule

Rules aren’t our favorite thing, but we know we need them. We tend to go wild if we don’t have structure and discipline in our lives. But the important thing to note is that rules are meant to be obeyed for our good. Of course there are bad rules, but the whole idea of rules is for the good of those who live under them. Rules guide us and help us to not to deviate from we believe to be true. If we don’t follow a rule, then we clearly don’t believe in it. Principle is like that. If we don’t treat a Principle like a rule, then it doesn’t really make much difference in our lives, does it?

3. It’s about more than opinion, it’s about Right and Wrong

The whole point of our principles is direction. We need direction, because life is complicated and there is much deception both inside our own minds and outside in the world abroad. Things are not always the way they seem. Truth is not always obvious. Even sight and our other senses cannot always be trusted. Principle helps with that. It guides us even with the Devil and evil men seek to muddy the waters so it becomes difficult to see what truth is. Because just like right and wrong, our principle is unchanging. But that also tells us a bit about good and bad Principles. Principles are inherently good. If we say that as a Principle we never are kind to our spouse, or that we always lie, then we are stating a contradiction in terms. We don’t typically say that someone has “bad principles.” Instead we say that they have “no principles.” Principle tells us that people shouldn’t be killing babies in side the womb, because no matter what legal language or reasoning or arguing can be brought against that Principle, it is always true nonetheless. It is a Principle: It is never right to kill an innocent person. The world tries to tell us that we can get around it, that unborn babies aren’t people yet, or that they’re just matter, or that the mother’s life matters more, but none of those arguments hold up, no matter how cleverly they are worded. Why? Because Principle tells us it is wrong. Always.

4. It influences our Decisions

I’ve been dancing around it to make my other observations, but the most important thing about Principle is that it drives how we act. Rooted in belief in order to direct us into doing what is right, Principle is a thing that must be acted upon. Whatever our Principles are, we must act upon them. They must control us. If they do not, then let me be blunt: They aren’t our Principles. That was why I couldn’t vote for Trump, no matter how scary Hillary Clinton was. Because my Principle would not permit me to do so. It was really outside of my power to change, because I had already used what I believe to form rules about right and wrong (i.e. I had formulated my Principles, and I had to adhere to them because that is what they are). Our belief in God, our defense of the unborn, our stand against tyranny, our fight against liberal dogma, our support for conservative values rooted in Christian doctrine–all of these are Principles that we put to the test in this election. And a lot of people, even a lot of Christians, fell short. They voted for Trump out of fear of Hillary, because their Principles did not control them. Who knows if Cruz or Evan McMullin could have actually become president? The more important question is, who cares? Do these men represent our Principles? Do they share our convictions? If the person who was asking those questions was a Christian who believes God’s word and claims to uphold what it says, then that person had a moral obligation to vote for those people. When the time came, though, many people let the world muddy their thinking, with cleverly worded arguments and reasoning.

The people of this country elected Donald Trump over Hillary Clinton, and the fact is, they very well could have elected Ted Cruz over her also, or Evan McMullin, or anyone else who truly fought for Christian Principles. I know that God controls all, and so I’m not scared. But I don’t think for a moment that Trump will be a good president. He has shown himself incapable of even being a decent man. Could God change him? Certainly. Will He? Doubtful in my opinion. More likely Trump is here to judge this nation for doing things like electing men like him president, or slaughtering unborn children by the millions, or allowing and even advocating the sin of homosexuality. But I’m not concerned about that. I can’t control any of that. I can only follow my conscience, and continue to hold onto my Principles, because those Principles are founded upon a belief in God, and trust in him. My only regret is that more people (more Christians, specifically) could not act upon the Principles they claim to hold. Men stood up and cried out to us to support them, men who had proved themselves not just to say they had our Principles, but who had repeatedly fought for those same Principles. But instead those Christians cast their votes for a man who flagrantly laughed in the face of our Principles. This is a great grief and a shame to our cause.

But I take heart, because all is now done. God will have His way, and many of us still have our Principles intact. They are unsullied by this election, though for a time I even considered voting for Trump out of fear. But in the end I knew that I had to stand by the men who shared the Christian Principles that guide me in this life. I hope that in the days to come, dark as they may be, that your faith in God will increase, even as your faith in Donald Trump inevitably decreases, and that as a result, in the future you will be guided by those Principles that God has given us. Let us be discerning in the times ahead, and not be controlled by our fear and thereby weaken those Principles that guide us even when all seems hopeless.

“For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat. For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.” – Hebrews 5:12-14 (emphasis mine)