Electing Leaders: Conservatism and Compromise

Many political leaders and their supporters, which do not have a Biblical world view, have adopted the position that Americans are best served when ideologies are laid aside and all parties compromise for the “greater good” of the people. While this sounds good in principle, it is this very practice that has led to the problems we have in this nation. This is because the unBiblical “greater good” ideology no longer produces ideas based on Biblically sound conservative immutable standards of right or wrong, which have benefited untold numbers of people throughout history. Instead, the unBiblical “greater good” ideology produces ideas that personally benefit the largest segment of the population at the detriment and wasteful expense of another segment of the population.

There are several points that need to be made concerning this type of thinking. First, in a representative republic, the leaders we elect are supposed to represent our values, our convictions, and our desire to do things the way we believe is best as a people. That being said, if our values, convictions, and desires are based on solid Biblical foundations of right and wrong, then any “compromise” for the “greater good” of the people is really nothing more than compromising on what is right and wrong according to God’s Word.

For example, if we believe in the Biblical teaching that it is wrong to take an innocent life, then any voluntary compromise based on a “situation” is wrong. Unfortunately, most people will go out of their way to rationalize a situation, which makes it okay to compromise because of this “greater good” fallacy. This being said, the edict by the U.S. Supreme Court to legalize abortion was based on a fallacy that the privacy rights of a mother trumped the human rights of the baby. Likewise, it was argued that if abortion was readily available, then babies who were born to mothers who could not take care of them or were abusive would not have to suffer.

Unfortunately, there are two problems with both of these arguments. First, trying to justify a decision to abort a baby based on privacy rights, saying it is their body to do with what they want, ignores the fact that a baby has its own separate DNA profile from its parents, because it is a separate human being. Second, although over 50 million babies have been voluntarily slaughtered through abortion, the rates of child abuse have skyrocketed; not decreased. Nevertheless, the same tired arguments keep being made despite the overwhelming amount of evidence that shows that these arguments are nothing more than lies to convince people that what they are doing to unborn children is moral. Nothing could be farther from the truth.

When people fail to stand on Biblical principles as the standard of right and wrong and do what they think is right in their own eyes, the result is the destruction of their culture. Likewise, nations that also compromise on Biblical principles of right and wrong suffer the same destruction as well. This can be seen in the numerous collectivist countries, which existed 100 years ago, that no longer exist today. Every one of them openly rejected God’s teaching and sought to implement some man-made thinking as a better way.

Unfortunately, millions of people have supported the leadership of these “enlightened thinkers,” but soon found out that this way of thinking always led to suffering and death of millions before these reigns came to an end. Despite the amount of clear historical evidence and testimony of people who lived under these tyrannical systems, it has not stopped many nations today, including the United States, from seeking to implement the same in the name of “social justice.”

The Bible mentions this experience as something that the nation of Israel went through in Judges 21:25 (KJV) “In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes.” If you read this section of Scripture in context, you find that God had told the Israelites what they should and should not do as they entered the Promised Land, however, they decided they did not want to follow His laws and counsel. This resulted in literal anarchy and bloodshed, so God raised up judges to lead them.

Like Israel, the United States has abandoned creation and enforcement of laws based on Biblical right or wrong and it has led to anarchy with ever increasing bloodshed. So, like Israel, the people do not want to be held accountable to the law, so they seek judges to decide cases in their favor with ever increasing frequency. Unfortunately, unlike Israel, more and more judges “legislate from the bench” because they too do not like the law and want to do what they think is right in their own eyes, ignoring the intent of the lawmakers. Like ancient Israel, this will lead to America’s demise.

The Bible admonishes us about this in Proverbs 12:15 (KJV) “The way of a fool is right in his own eyes: but he that hearkeneth unto counsel is wise.” When the people do what is right in their own eyes and elect leaders that hold their same values, the result is representation that is foolish and devoid of wisdom. Additionally, representatives who also do what is right in their own eyes, only represent their constituents if it is beneficial to their own self. This then results in misrepresentation, which then requires elected leaders to try to please just enough people to stay in office. Too often, they do this through corruption and cronyism.

In time, the people without a Biblical worldview become disgusted with the whole process and begin to care more about what they can get out of their elected representatives than doing what is right and honorable. Likewise, their elected representatives care only about how they can stay in office. Additionally, both then start demonizing conservatives who will not compromise their Biblically based positions as being bigoted, selfish, and hateful. Simply stated, they do this because they do not care about what is right, they only care about fulfilling their own selfish desires.

Unfortunately, instead of communicating the reason why Biblically conservative values are superior, conservatives have begun to abandon the very ideologies that have made this nation great. They have begun to compromise with those who demonize them so that they can gain more votes, money, and power. This then leads to a slippery slope where getting elected becomes a game of who can bribe the public with their own money from the treasury, because at the end of the day, the love of money is the root of all evil (1 Timothy 6:10).

The Biblically conservative ideology of right and wrong should never be compromised for popularity to win elections or for personal gain. When it is, conservatism will cease to be conservative and right and wrong will cease to underpin the ideas that have resulted and will result in God’s blessings upon this nation. When we remove God from His rightful place in the election of leaders who hold conservative principles in keeping with a Biblical worldview, we do so at our own demise.

Instead, we should seek leaders that best represent the leadership, love, and righteousness of Jesus Christ. This is because He was the perfect representative for all of humanity as seen in 1 John 2:1-5 (KJV)

“My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: (2) And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. (3) And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. (4) He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. (5) But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him.”

When we seek Godly righteousness and goodness in our representation, we testify of the truth that lives within us, which glorifies God and enables us to prefect our love toward one another. A perfected love then can reconcile differences in ways that man cannot even imagine.