Do Your Homework! We hear that phrase on a daily basis. Joseph is well into third grade year and seems to be well versed in carrying his backpack full of work that needs to be completed home each afternoon. And when he gets home, there are always distractions. Andrew wants to play with his brother. The piano beckons him to play. And then there is always the television with cartoons and such that seeks to eat up hours that should be spent studying. As a result, there are times when Jill and I have had to utter the parental refrain, "do your homework!"

There isn't anyone of us that like to do homework. It is tedious. It takes up our valuable time. Homework doesn't allow us to do what we want to do. It is something that requires effort that we would rather invest in fun and frivolity.

But as I look at the calendar today, it is time for me to gently and yet firmly tell you that it is time to do your homework. Everyone who reads this over the age of 18 has homework to do. For as you read this we are just about a month shy of yet another national election. If you are like the majority of people, you may well be getting tired of all of the charges and counter-charges of the dueling campaigns. The fatigue may be understandable. In fact, the temptation may well exist to think that we should just not waste our time participating in this endeavor.

But to you I say DO YOUR HOMEWORK!! Now is the time that EVERY Christian needs to do their homework. We need to be informed as we prepare to enter the voting booth. What we do when we enter the polling place is nothing other than the will of God. God has seen fit to place us in this land of freedom. Those freedoms allow us to freely gather and worship the one who has called us out of darkness into His marvelous light. One of the ways that we maintain that freedom is participating in it.

Arch-Bishop Raymond Burke of St. Louis caused a great bit of stir on the national political landscaped when he announced that Catholic politicians who voted pro-abortion and those voters who supported those candidates needed to repent before they could be welcomed at the rail for the Lord's Supper. This statement goes farther than I ever would.

I will however say this: If you DO NOT do your homework, if you do not participated in the governing process you are sinning. I have my mind made up as to who I think would be best for the next four years of our country. If you ask for my personal opinion, I will gladly share it with you. However, as pastor, I will never tell you WHO to vote for. However, I will always say that it is a sin NOT to vote at all. It is a part of Romans 13, God has called us to be subject to the governing authorities. In our nation, we are part of that governance. I will also tell you that without a doubt that the myth of the seperation of church and state does not exist when you cast your vote. If you are a Christian outside the voting booth, you should be one inside as well. To this end, we are called to be INFORMED voters. Even if you feel strongly that neither candidate is worthy of the office they seek, you are called to vote. That may mean entering a blank ballot. But you do not have the option to not participate.

Now is the time to do your HOMEWORK. Find out what the candidates believe. Make a decision as to whom you will cast your vote based on your conscience. Then do your part. That is what you and I are called to do.

May the Lord grant our entire nation discenment as we don our homework in this election year!