Election Day 2010: Get Off the Sidelines!

By Chuck Colson Texas Insider Report: WASHINTON D.C So have you voted yet? If so well done. If not as soon as youre off work go and fulfill your duty to be a good citizen & vote. While youre at it call a few of your traditional American friends. Find out if they have voted yet.  If not tell them youre going and youll be glad to stop by to pick them up.   Now is not the time to buy into the lie that your vote doesnt really matter. As a result of my Watergate felony conviction I lost the right to vote for 28 years. When my right was restored I was able to vote in the 2000 presidential election. That year the national election-the presidency-was determined by just 500 votes in Florida. Mine was one of those votes. Your vote does matter. And let me say this. The next time you hear someone tell you that Christians ought to take a vacation from politics tell them to go fly a kite! Listen its our duty as citizens to be the best citizens in the society we live in. If your pastor no longer has the energy or courage to motivate his flock to speak out on public issues maybe you can lovingly buck him up. Remind him or her that Gods people are to love their neighbors to desire the best for them to pursue the common good. And we cant do that on the political sidelines. And when a rabid secularist tells you to stop forcing your religion down his throat-simply correct him. You might say

Excuse me but who is suing the government to remove crosses from cemeteries? Who has filed lawsuits to remove under God from the Pledge of Allegience? Whos trying to tell doctors and nurses and pharmacists that they have to participate in medical procedures that violate their religious conscience? Whos banning Bibles from schools?

In other words who is forcing their point of view on whom? We Christians are simply trying to PRESERVE and PROTECT the rights and liberties that we as Americans have enjoyed from the founding of our Republic. We are the ones who take seriously our nations founding creed: that all men are created equal and endowed by their CREATOR with certain inalienable rights and that among these are life liberty and the pursuit of happiness meaning virtue. Our Founders recognized that true rights come not from government but from God Himself. Government must not take those rights away. And to protect those rights we must vote. Yes the elections are upon us. Do not be intimidated. Do not retreat to the sidelines. Go out and vote for the candidate of your choice. Vote as your conscience informs you. And yes allow your faith to inform your conscience. As for me Ive already voted. Ill be spending this evening on Christian radio programs talking about what this election is about what trends we are seeing. And tonight Ill be blogging live about the election. You can join me for my thoughts and you can share some of yours -- at Colson Center.org. And please go to Colson Center.org tomorrow as well to watch my Two Minute Warning on the election and what we now must be doing. But today of all days thank God we still live in a free nation. So speak out. Exercise your right. Fulfill your duty. Go and vote. Visit BreakPoint.org to read more from Chuck Colson and other BreakPoint authors.