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Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Who to vote for in the South African municipal elections in 2011, Part 2

I wrote part 1 of this short series last night, although I only got to publish it after midnight, hence its date is 17 May 2011. As you may expect, I was quite tired by that time. Hence, I forgot to say some stuff. So, here I will continue in that vein.

The thing is, as a Christian, I would like to vote my convictions. And, based on my convictions, and policies that are available to ponder from the different political parties in South Africa, I can only side with two parties, and they are the ACDP and the CDP. But, as you can see from my previous post on these matters, it certainly isn’t easy to choose between these parties. They are almost exactly the same.

I know people from both parties, and I have to admit, they are good people. As I said in my previous post, I was part of the ACDP for several years, and have met some really good people there. Naturally, there are some kooks there too. On the side of the CDP, I have met and spent an entire weekend with the leader of the CDP, Theunis Botha and his wife Kerry, at a worldview seminar that the Biblical Christian Network hosted (where I am involved). We had good discussions, and although many in the leadership of the ACDP have a huge axe to grind with them, I found him very cordial, but also direct, which I like.

However, the problem is that policies do not rule a nation. People do! And people sometimes choose to scuttle their policies, and even their own constitutions for the sake of expediency. This is a huge problem for me! When people decide when and when not to follow their “constitutions,” will they do the same with the constitution and laws of the country, without first legally making changes to the same. Obviously, when the constitution, and/or laws of the nation contradict Scripture, as Christians we have to follow Scripture. Yet, when those parts of the constitution that have nothing to do with contradicting Scripture get scuttled for the sake of expediency, it becomes a problem.

Of course, just because a person claims to be a Christian (and perhaps even is a Christian), does not mean that he will rule according to those principles. We see this clearly with Jimmy Carter in the 70s. He was voted in as president because he was a Christian, yet he made some of the most disastrous decisions ever made by an American president. In Malawi, a Christian was elected as president, and by the time he was ousted, he was charged for corruption.

So, as I said in my previous post, this “is the first year since 1994, in which I don’t know who to vote for. All other years it was easy for me. It was a foregone conclusion even before the election date was declared, in those years, that I would vote ACDP. However, this year, I am not sure whether I want to vote for them or not!”

The choices are difficult this year. Do we as Christians maintain the high moral ground, voting for parties that cannot at this stage rule any town or city in the country, while large swaths of the country do not get service delivery due to an incompetent, nepotisting and immoral ANC? Or do we vote for a party that has the manpower right now, and the experience of running cities, that can oust the ANC, while they themselves are not up to our moral standard? Do we withhold services from so many people that are suffering due to poor service delivery, just because the one that could possibly change all that for the better is not up to our moral standards? Of course, not voting against abortion that has killed around 1,000,000 babies since 1997, not voting against pornography or the moral, evil perversion of homosexual “marriage” is a big deal! I have been involved in the anti-abortion movement for 6 years now, and to me that is probably the greatest evil in our country.

Do I give a political party the satisfaction of my vote while they have helped to advance evil in this country, even if they can solve service delivery problems in the country?

Of course, these are all questions that you need to answer for yourself. I am sure that just as much as it is difficult for me to decide who to vote for, I haven’t cleared up the issue for you either. That is why this year, the first since 1994, I cannot and will not tell you who to vote for.

All I know is that even when we do not know who to vote for (and we should), God remains sovereignly in control!

From one man He has made every nation of men to live all over the earth
and has determined their appointed times and the boundaries of where they live

Ac 17:26
The Lord frustrates the counsel of the nations;
He thwarts the plans of the peoples.

Ps 33:10

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