Posted by
VeeJay on Monday, November 06, 2006 6:40:35 AM
HAGGARD ABOUT HAGGARD
By Father O’ Bother
I am struck with a need for perspective this morning. Allegations of gross immorality and drug abuse against well known Colorado preacher Ted Haggard, and his subsequent removal from the pulpit, have left many conservative Evangelicals stunned and just as many media drones positively giddy. With the elections tomorrow and the media’s obvious desire to produce a low Evangelical turn out at the polls, this could not have come at a worse time. And yet, the very fact that this was my first groan upon hearing the news is causing me to reflect on my priorities. After all, is this scandal’s effect on tomorrow’s election really the most tragic part of this issue? Was Haggard ordained to be a political activist or first and foremost a purveyor of the good news of Jesus Christ (Matt 28:16-20 & Acts 1:8)? My own reaction was immediately political and for this I am presently convicted. The allegations against Haggard, even if just a fraction prove to be true, will likely have a far greater negative effect on the already sagging credibility of evangelists in America than it will on the election on Tuesday. And even if the Democrats gained full control of the house, and hamstrung the remainder of President Bush’s final term, topping it all off with an RSVP to Osama Bin Ladin come to Washington and explain the feasibility of Shariah Law, it would not be near the spiritual calamity as that of a gospel message dragged once again through the dirt before a multitude existing in a darkness so deep they don’t even know they’re in it.
We are to be salt in a rotting world (Matt 5:13) and so I will definitely vote tomorrow. What’s more I hope that all other eligible Evangelicals will do so also (even if their only reason is to annoy an arrogant and obviously partisan media). Nonetheless, I am reminded once again how shaky the ground under my feet when I place my hope in American politics rather than the solid ground of the gospel of Jesus Christ.