As the residents of New South Wales approach a state election, I would like you to consider whether or not you are a ‘responsible voter.’

At every level and in every arena of life, power struggles occur – everyone wants to be in charge.  Men and women wrestle over control of relationships; parents and children struggle with who will rule the house; siblings quarrel over control and supremacy; businesses connive to control various consumer and investment markets; sports teams and athletes compete for first place; political parties strive for the domination of a state or nation; nations war over control of lands, people and wealth.  It’s very easy to get caught up in the ‘crossfire’ and just throw up our hands and cop out.

So what will you do on March 26?  Will you just vote how your parents vote or how you’ve always voted before?  Will you bury your head in the sand by submitting an invalid voting paper?  Will you get caught up in the hype of one party or another without looking at the facts – ALL the facts.  If we all bothered to take some time and research certain parties, I think we would be surprised at the secrets and hidden agendas that are never exposed to the public!

The bible says that ‘righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people’ (Prov. 14:34) and ‘when the godly are in authority, the people rejoice, but when the wicked are in power they groan.’ (Prov. 29:2)

So I guess if we want our state exalted – if we want to avoid disgrace and groaning – the answer is to find out who is godly first. If we vote for godliness, the policies should automatically exalt the state/nation, shouldn’t they?  We shouldn’t be asking ‘what’s in it for me?’ but rather ‘who is better able to govern with righteousness?’ We all have a responsibility to keep our state or nation free from decay, disgrace and deception.

So for all of us in New South Wales, be a responsible voter on March 26.  I can’t tell you who to vote for, but I can ask you to ‘do your homework’ and be prepared.  Check out some websites, find out about policies, but vote for righteousness.  A good place to start may be The Christian Democratic Party.

 

Here are a few more links to check out:  NSW Liberal Party;  ALP NSW;  Gordon Bradbery;  Paul Green;  The Greens

 

Pastor MaryAnn