On Tuesday morning as I was leaving the house the Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage called after me, “Don’t forget to vote, today.”

As if anybody in America could ever forget to vote on Election Day. For the last two weeks, the airwaves, have been jammed with political advertisement telling us to get out and vote. Not only the airwaves but also the phone has been extra busy in our house, lately.

Last Friday, for example, I came home and noticed there were 27 messages on my answering machine. At first, I thought there was an emergency and panic began to build in the back of my mind. Fortunately, there’s a lot of space in the back of my mind for . . .

On Tuesday morning as I was leaving the house the Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage called after me, “Don’t forget to vote, today.”

As if anybody in America could ever forget to vote on Election Day. For the last two weeks, the airwaves, have been jammed with political advertisement telling us to get out and vote. Not only the airwaves but also the phone has been extra busy in our house, lately.

Last Friday, for example, I came home and noticed there were 27 messages on my answering machine. At first, I thought there was an emergency and panic began to build in the back of my mind. Fortunately, there’s a lot of space in the back of my mind for panic to build up. I just know there was some emergency clamoring for my attention.

Nervously I pushed the button retrieving all my messages. To my surprise, not to mention disgust, all 27 were messages left by politicians who think by leaving a message on my phone they have gained points with me.

The problem is not remembering to vote. The problem is trying to figure out whom to vote for in this election.

We have Republicans acting like Democrats and Democrats acting like Republicans, whatever in the world that means. Whatever it means, both political parties are simply “acting.”

The prerequisite to a political career used to be a law degree. Now anyone interested in politics must take extensive acting classes. However, you don’t have to graduate at the top of your class. If you’re a nice thin slice of ham, it’ll work. The thinner the better.

Sometimes I get a little irritated and think some politician is acting like a fool, but then my good wife points out that they’re not acting at all. It’s like the old adage, “You can fool the parson but you can never fool the parson’s wife. The parson may fleece the sheep but nobody can pull the wool over the parson’s wife’s eyes.”

One of the curiosities of this latest round of election rhetoric is the insertion of religion at appropriate points n even some rather inappropriate points. Some politicians believe they can sway a vote by feigning a religious affinity.

For the most part the only religious act the majority of these politicians do is to pray they get elected. Whom they are praying to is any man’s guess. Most of them would get super nervous if they thought for one moment God took them seriously and went to the voting booth.

I like to play this little fantasy game in my head. Everybody has voted and it’s a tie all the way around. Nobody has won and nobody has lost. One vote has yet to be cast breaking the tie in each and every political race across the country. This one vote will determine who will be elected.

As I continue this fantasy in my head, the one person to cast the deciding vote is none other than Jesus Christ. The question I think about is simply this. Would anybody be elected?

Every political strategy is based upon mangling the truth so nobody can tell if it’s true or false. If the average politician were hit between the eyes with the truth, he or she would not know what has hit them. The negative campaigning is the major thrust for every candidate.

As I was thinking about this, one thought really struck me. The freedom to vote is due to the courtesy of American veterans. These brave men and women, down through the years, have sacrificed tremendously even to the ultimate sacrifice to preserve the freedom to vote in this country. Our military personnel have a long and proud heritage second to none in the world.

The freedoms we enjoy in this country are because of the diligence of our military. Personally, I wish we did not need a military. For that matter, I wish we did not need a police force.

But reality tells us there are people in this world with evil hearts fully intent on destroying that which is good. If not for the diligence of our military (and you can include the police force in this) we would have no freedom whatsoever in this country.

The American Constitution and Bill of Rights would mean absolutely nothing if there was not the force behind it to protect and preserve.

Going to the voting booth is not a privilege but a responsibility all Americans need to shoulder.

However, it’s not quite that simple anymore. The malaise surrounding whom to vote for is the courtesy of the American politicians. The dense fog of special interest and self-promotion obscures the important issues of our country concerning every American.

As a Christian, I take my voting rather seriously and look to God for direction in the process. A passage in the book of Psalms gives me the direction I need. “He delighteth not in the strength of the horse: he taketh not pleasure in the legs of a man. The Lord taketh pleasure in them that fear him, in those that hope in his mercy.” (Psalms 147:10-11 KJV.)

Although I voted the best I knew how for the people I thought would do the best job, my confidence does not rest in Washington, D.C. My confidence rests in the Lord. After all, he will have the final say.

The Rev. James L. Snyder is pastor of the Family of God Fellowship, 1471 Pine Road in Silver Springs Shores. He and his wife, Martha, live in the Shores. Call him at 687-4240, or e-mail [email protected] This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it . The church Web site is www.whatafellowship.com.

Dr. James L. Snyder, is pastor of the Family of God Fellowship, 1471 Pine Road, Ocala, FL 34472. He lives with his wife in Silver Springs Shores. James is an award winning author whose books are available at https://amzn.to/2SMOjwO.

Call him at 352-687-4240 or e-mail [email protected]. The church web site is www.whatafellowship.com.

Dr. James L. Snyder, is pastor of the Family of God Fellowship, 1471 Pine Road, Ocala, FL 34472. He lives with his wife in Silver Springs Shores. James is an award winning author whose books are available at https://amzn.to/2SMOjwO.

Call him at 352-687-4240 or e-mail [email protected]. The church web site is www.whatafellowship.com.