I live in Texas and I voted Beto O'Rourke. You may be wondering how a Christian can vote for him.
First, let me tell you that I prayed for God's guidance, and the answer I received is that we as Christians should pray for, teach, mentor, and comfort those who are hurting and facing difficult choices, not try to wrest control from them. I'm not voting for abortion, I'm voting for women to be able to exercise the free will that God gave us all. I'm voting, knowing that we have a two party system and there will be limits set on that freedom. Just as Abbot has been limited by the democrats in congress, so will Beto be limited by the Republicans.
I also voted for Beto because, although I do believe he and the Democratic Party are too extreme, I also believe Abbot and the Republicans are also too extreme and it's time we leaned more towards giving those who were not born into middle and upper class families a better chance to work, to learn, and to succeed. I also know there will be caring Christians and people of other faiths who will work to help women and families find their way, as well as Doctors and other medical staff that will advise them as well, so they can make informed decisions.
Will the right choices always be made? No, but has that ever been the case? We were given free will and taking away someone's right to choose teaches them nothing. Learning from mistakes, and sharing what you’ve learned from those mistakes, does.
If you're truly faith-driven, rather than responding to the panic inciting rhetoric of politicians and the media, let us pray for those who are faced with such choices! Let us pray for politicians, and doctors! Let us pray for young men and women who are irresponsibly using sex as a cheap substitute for love and marriage. Let us pray for those who are victims of rape and incest, and also pray for those who are evil, disturbed, and closed off from God that would want to or have committed rape or other such evil acts.
Rather than fighting so hard to prevent abortion, which is just a symptom of our societal ills, let us rather focus on the true illness: a world where we have raised our children to be undisciplined, selfish, and overly emotional tyrants who are addicted to cheap thrills and instant gratification.
Have you listened to popular music? Have you heard how vulgar, how lewd it is? Have you done a simple search, mentioning just one key word like sex or a body part, and seen how many porn videos come up? It's shocking easily, too easy, and the only thing stopping young, impressionable children from seeing what they shouldn't is a simple check box that you click on to assert that you are "at least 18 years of age."
Let us fight to ban the easy access to porn, and to set standards for music and video. Let us volunteer and mentor young people who don't have strong father or mother figures in their lives. Let us teach our children respect and obedience, and not fall prey to the mindsets and beliefs that are displayed in popular culture, reality television, and the media. Instead let us teach them that happiness does not come from getting your way all the time, but rather from self-discipline, good work, mutual respect, and service to God and others.
So my fellow Christians, let us humbly pray for guidance, and pray for discernment. Pray for God to guide you and then give you the strength and faith to believe, to listen, and do God's will in this world and in your life. Vote and live as God calls you to live. Vote for your children and for our world and let no one dissuade you. Not even me!