Religion, Politics, and Things I Generally Avoid.

Confession time. I am not very involved in politics. I understand that as an adult and a parent I should be. I find politics very boring and very divisive. I prefer to keep my mind busy with things that are positive and uplifting that make life more pleasant for others. You may judge me how you like but at least I am open about my stance. Since you have chosen to visit my blog, I expect you to respect my decision not to be involved if I so choose whether you agree with me or not. And now that that ugliness is out of the way let me get to my point.

I looked around the sanctuary this morning during church and I noticed that there were quite a few more filled seats than I have seen in recent weeks. As we were leaving I noticed that the line of cars headed into the parking lot was a bit longer than I've seen in the past few weeks too. So what does this have to do with politics?

I have heard the phrase "We need to pray for our country is this time of trouble" more these past few weeks than I did in the past two years. As a matter of fact the last time this country seemed so united and religiously focused was right after 9/11. People filled churches then too. When we went to war initially, pews were packed. A few weeks ago when the bailout package was showing its face at every water cooler on the planet, there was a small spike. And now the Sunday before the election, look at the parking lots of your local churches.

I know why but I'm going to ask anyway. Why? Why is it ok for people to turn now and not every other week of the year? Why is He ok to talk about now? Why is it so important today when it wasn't that big of a deal this time last year? Does our country need MORE prayer now? Why? Because all of a sudden we find our McDonald's budget reduced?

Before I get skewered again, I have no problem with people turning to God. I would love to see more and more people turning. I would rather not have a whole empty pew beside me on Sunday morning. I don't mind waiting in line to pick my children up from nursery. I just hope they are sincere.

It is the people who aren't sincere who are giving the church the black eye. When people refer to hypocrites they are talking about people who act one way on Sunday AND IN A TIME OF CRISIS and a completely different way the rest of the week.

So my prayer is that on Wednesday when the election hype is over and the votes are tallied. In seven years when the economy has stabilized and we have forgotten all about this recession. When our property values are restored and we are telling our children about "when you were young." My prayer is that the church will be even more important than it is today. May the pews always be this full.