GOD and Politics

GOD and Politics

          

“My role is not to go to Congress to fight individuals or religious beliefs or unbeliefs. Because whether one chooses to believe or serve God is an individual, sacred and personal decision. Despite individual consequences or rewards, even GOD does not force anyone to believe  - "men ought to always pray", but GOD forces no one to even do that. But my role is to go there and fight for what is right, just, fair, and beneficial for the people of the Third Congressional District, and to live a life which evidences the  positive attributes of having God in my life.”

                                               _Lady J - “Lioness, but ALWAYS a Lady”

The balance for me is staying who I am spiritually, while recognizing and respecting the rights of others to believe as they choose. This is the concept of religious freedom which our forefathers envisioned for America. But based upon the notion of a strict interpretation of the Doctrine of the Separation of Church and State that suggests that anyone who is elected to office should give up who they are spiritually in order to serve as your congresswoman, should never be an option. It certainly is not an option for me.

I am who I am spiritually, while also striking the balance of respecting other beliefs and the need for government to tread the religious waters very carefully, as not to violate individual freedom of religion. Not to do so, places the right to believe in GOD in jeopardy of also being restricted. However, I must admit that I have become very weary and skeptical about religion in politics.

It seems everyone running for office feels a need or a politically expedient urge to “profess to know the LORD”! Running to the church for a photo opt or listing it among the qualifications for elected office has become a fad.   Also, sometimes there is a contradiction of what we preach and what we live. This has cheapened the role that one’s spiritual beliefs have on society, as the reality of who we say we are, as opposed to how we truly are in our everyday life, conflicts each other and lessens that confidence. Rather than hearing about one’s faith and beliefs, I believe it is better to just live it. Our everyday life is the perfect place to do that. So when we see GOD being “used” for the sake of a vote, it not only should bother us, but for those who do count their relationship with God as being sacred, it also should deeply grieve us as well.

As your congresswoman, being one who has a rich spiritual relationship with GOD, I also have to strike a balance in my spiritual and political life. I fully understand that my role is not to evangelize or to force what I believe upon anyone, and that there is a time and a place for me to exercise my spiritual freedom. But  each day, I also have a responsibility to live in such a way that by example, I exemplify those attributes that are Godlike in nature, so that in Washington it is evidenced by me doing what is right, just, fair, and beneficial for the people of the Third Congressional District, without all of the rhetoric about what I believe. For me my faith through so many personal experiences like the ones I have shared,  have helped me to have a greater appreciation for the dilemmas people face. I am  blessed to know both the spiritual and fleshly part of who I am, and grateful for the part it plays in the compassion I have for others, the desire to do what is right, which all is all a part of my process of political socialization.