Dear Family, Friends, and Acquaintances
If you have received this e-mail, your e-mail address has somehow worked its
way into my list of e-mail contacts. Admittedly, some of you have received
this e-mail because the server I use for e-mailing has decided that you are
important enough that you should be included on that list. Whatever the case,
I hope you will give me the honor of taking a few moments to read what I have
to say. If when you have read it, you find you don't agree, I will respect
that decision. Follow that by simply pushing the ?delete? key.
I recently received a letter from my older son that was sent to several on his
e-mail list making the case for our judgement of the candidates in this
up-coming Presidential election to be based on not just what we perceive to be
their position on various issues, but instead that our judgement should be
based on their ?character.? He even got into specifics as it related to
Senator McCain based on a previous relationship. His letter has prompted me to
follow through with what I have thought about for some time, and I am proud of
him for taking a stand on the issue.
As indicated, I have thought about ?character? for some time, and there is no
doubt in my mind that the only way we can successfully pick a leader is by
coming to firm conclusions about their ?character.? On January 20, 2009, a
new President and Vice President will undertake the oath of office. Whoever we
the people have elected will begin that afternoon to try to carry out the
promises they made to us. And no one denies the fact that tasks ahead for them
are enormous. If we the people have chosen correctly, four years down the road
we will be very pleased with the results and will be eager to sign them up for
another four years. But what if we make a mistake? What if we have made the
wrong choice? Each of them have positions on and ways they believe they can
bring solutions to the problems. And, no doubt, each of them will be quick to
tell you what they do not like about the opposition. So how should we decide?
Four years is a long
time if we did it wrong. Well maybe, just maybe, we should consider
?character.?
A dictionary I referred to has defined ?character? as ?the mental and moral
qualities distinctive to an individual.? In a favorite motion picture of mine,
?An American President,? the lead character in a speech to a gathered group of
journalists at a White House press conference declares ?being President of this
Country is entirely about character.? So what are we to do? How do we
identify each candidate's ?character??
Well, I think we have one possible avenue to ?character? available. We have
all heard and read how our Nation's forefathers leaned on their faith as they
formulated the documents that formed our Nation. And I thought, maybe that's
the answer. After all, my wife and I are persons of faith. For us, being two
who have accepted God's gift of salvation, our relationship with the Lord gives
us some guidelines to find individuals whose ?character? aligns with God. So
using God's Word I asked, ?What can I find about the candidates that would
align them with the Lord?? For us, that certainly would say a lot about their
?character.? And then it hit me. I distinctly remember all four of the
President/Vice President candidates being asked the same very direct question.
When does life begin? For God's answer I looked in the Word (Psalm 139: 13-15
and Psalm 51: 5) and found that life begins at conception. The two
presidential candidates were
asked directly by Pastor Rick Warren during his recent forums, ?When does life
begin?? Without hesitation, and using great conviction, Senator John McCain
answered, ?At conception.? Senator Barack Obama wasn't sure and seemed to
indicate that he was not sure what that means. The two vice presidential
candidates were asked at different times by different members of the media,
?When does life began?? Governor Sarah Palin was not only very prompt with her
answer, ?At conception,? she eagerly indicated that she will do everything she
can to protect human life. Senator Joe Biden when asked said, ?I am prepared
to accept my church's view. I think it's a tough one.? I don't think he
sounds very sure.
What a simple solution. If a brief study of the position of Senator John
McCain and Governor Sarah Palin on the issue of ?When does life begin? aligns
with God's position, for me and my house that fact alone tells me a great deal
about their ?character.? For the past several years there has been a movement
in this Country that highlighted four letters ? WWJD - What would Jesus do?
People, particularly young people, began wearing bracelets with the letters
embossed on them ? WWJD. It was more than just a state of mind ? it suggested
and instilled action. It seems to me that one way to align a person by their
?character? would be to follow His lead. What would Jesus do?
As people of faith we have watched, and sometimes just stood by and have
witnessed change for the worse in our Nation. And it has always been what we
do ? we give the downside the benefit of the doubt and say to ourselves, well
maybe next time. I find myself wondering if we really are a Nation of people
of faith, or not. I would ask you to do me a favor. If any of this makes any
sense to you at all or if the suggestion of considering a person's ?character?
has played a string in your heart, click ?forward? on your e-mail server, add
your list of contacts by clicking them onto the ?To? line (even if it takes a
few moments), and click send.
Again, I thank my son for inspiring me to do this, and my sincere appreciation
to each of you for honoring me by reading what I had to say. I hope you will
forward it on. And I hope you will go to the polling places on November 4th,
remembering to ask yourself, ?What would Jesus do?? And again remember that
input by that lead character in one of my favorite movies, ?Being President of
this Country is entirely about character.?
Bob Grenier
Branson, Missouri
417-230-0246
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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