Dr. Tseibu Rutsa
Kohima; Nagaland
"When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; but when the wicked rule, the people mourn...The king by judgment establishes the land but he that receives gifts overthrows it...If a ruler listens to lies, all his servants are wicked" (Proverbs 29:2, 4, 12).
We are once again facing a monumental event as Christians. It is an important event for us to establish the testimony of Christ as we will see in years. What is that event? It is the upcoming GENERAL ELECTION IN NAGALAND.
2013 election is knocking on our doors to elect the leaders who we believe should represent the needs of the Naga people in the state assembly. At this time, we will make a spiritual choice of good or evil: we will step up to the booth and vote as salt and light in our society, we will vote for sin, or we will sin by not voting correctly. "We have the opportunity to determine the course of our State and the future of our children. When we don't exercise the right and the privilege and the opportunity that we have to walk into a voting booth, to do what give us the right to do, I believe that's a sin. I believe it's wrong."
"Does God expect Christians to vote?"
Answer: It is our contention that it is the duty and responsibility of every Christian to vote and to vote for leaders who promote Christian principles. God is most certainly in control, but that does not mean we should do nothing to further His will. We are commanded to pray for our leaders (1 Timothy 2:1-4). In terms of politics and leadership, there is evidence in Scripture that God has been displeased with our choices of leadership at times (Hosea 8:4). The evidence of sin’s grip on this world is everywhere. Much of the suffering on earth is because of godless leadership (Proverbs 28:12). Scripture gives Christians instructions to obey legitimate authority unless it contradicts the Lord’s commands (Acts 5:27-29; Romans 13:1-7). As born-again believers, we ought to strive to choose leaders who will most favored.”
We must pray not only that our candidates believe in God, but that their belief means something to them and their policies. At a minimum, they ought to be convinced that our laws are to be derived from God, through both the writings of Scripture and natural law.
How will I vote? Below I listed few biblical issues. , hence, let us vote for the candidate who best represents these issues.
Wisdom from God. And I hope you will vote with the same values in mind. Run your candidate through this grid, and you will be given guidance as you cast your ballot.
HOW SHOULD A CHRISTIAN VOTE?
Whether we are enthusiastic about our political candidates or disappointed with our choices, we should not shirk our duty as good citizens.All Christians have a duty to do everything in our power to elect leaders who uphold biblical values.
In my opinion, we should vote for the person who best represents our convictions on the following issues, which I list without further comment and in no particular order.
1. Who are his friends?
My parents always told me, “You will know a man by the company he keeps.” If he chooses friends who are upright and righteous people, he will generally be upright and good. If he is not a good man, he will feel very uncomfortable with people who desire righteousness and eventually will seek his own kind. People don’t generally stay where they are uncomfortable. We all seek someone who understands and respects our philosophies. The present scenario in our state is not a very pleasant one, with huge unemployment due to non promotion of industries, no scientific advancement in the agriculture sector, the main bread and butter for majority of the Naga population, which could promote export and import to generate huge employment opportunities, no quality education which would enable our children to compete with other parts of the world, what kind of philosophies do you think our leaders are promoting for the upliftment of the Naga society? One thing is certain when there is no equal distribution of wealth for the development of a society to ease the hunger of the masses, anti social activity is bound to become rampant. We need to chose leaders who are ready to take positive responsibility and not blame others or the situation.
2. What are the fruits of his labor?
Christ said, “By their fruits ye shall know them.” When choosing a candidate, it is vital to know what he has accomplished in his life. What kind of family life does he have? Where has he spent time and energy?
Does he have a good work ethic, or is he a easy money seeker? Has he had a chance to stand up on issues that the Nagas value to take the younger generation forward or is the future of our children at stake with no hope? Does the candidate exhibit fidelity to his wife and family? Does he honor his commitment to God? Does he honor the Sabbath Day? Does he give a tithe of all possessions? Does he contribute to help the poor out of his income without expecting to change the government to solve the problem of the poor?
3. Does he value his fellow men?
What value does he place on human life? Does an equal right mean ‘equal opportunity’ or ‘spread the wealth around’? Does he focus on someone else’s mistakes or on the issues that will solve Nagaland economic problems? Does he focus only on a certain group of people and neglect the rest? We should not allow our leaders to divide and rule over us.
4. Does he respect the law of the land?
Is he willing to subject himself to the will of the people no matter how it conflicts with his agenda? Does he respect and honor each branch of government equally and reverence the power of checks and balances?
5. Does he make and keep promises?
On the campaign trail, candidates make promises that they expect to fulfill. They speak in flowery terms of what they will do in office. If he has held an office, did he keep his promise? Did he do what he said he would do? If not he is not for you nor for public interest.. this kind of leaders will offer you anything including money for your vote. That means he is not going to do what he says during the campaign. The moment you take anything from him you are selling out your right and your children’s rights and privileges. So both vote sellers and buyers are accursed before God.
6. Can he work with other people?
What has the candidate done in the past to show that he can work with other people? Has he served in capacities that deal with people? What were the results of the service? Does he ever serve people and have good reputation and that public can vote for his candidacy. There will be some candidates who had served in the Governmental departments and was highly corrupted and did not extend proper help to those who rightfully deserve, these mindset of candidates should not be vote to hold the public office again in any manner. which means vote him out
7. Does he demand respect or command respect?
A great leader expects to accomplish something before he is honored. In fact, a great leader doesn’t think of being honored; he simply expects to successfully complete the task. He lives by the principle, “It is amazing how successful leaders can be, if they don’t care who gets the credit.” Undeserved honors are distasteful to a true leader. Great leaders nearly always shift the praise from themselves to those who helped the project be successful.
8. Does he respect and honor the traditions of the Nagas and the Christian heritage? Many of the Naga traditional values of honesty respect and hard work goes hand in hand with the Biblical values.
9. Will he further the agenda through the biblical principles or destroy it?
Does the candidate running for office believe in a hand up or a hand out? Does he want to make Nagaland independent of government intervention where everyone prospers because of hard work and self-management?
10. Is the candidate a man of God?
The other nine principles of voting could be cast aside if you are sure that the candidate is a man of God. Does he have a habit of prayer? Does he keep the commandments? Does he counsel with God about the affairs of the state? Does he consult good spiritual leaders for Biblical instructions?
Will he, in a moment of crisis, turn to God before he turns to his advisers? Does he exhibit signs of being a true Christian, or does he quote the Bible with the intent to further his own interest?
It is difficult, in these days of differing opinions about honesty and integrity, to come to a conclusion about who the best candidate would be, but we don’t need to depend solely on the media and emotion. Because Prayer is still available.
God has never left His people to wander without guidance unless they do not ask. . God will direct us, if we are willing to follow Him. He has promised, “Ask and ye shall receive and knock and it shall be opened.” And seek ye shall find. We need His direction more than ever before in the history of NAGALAND.
In Genesis 25:29-34, we read about two brothers Esau and Jacob. The Bible says that Esau the elder of the two was a hunter. One day he came home hungry from days of hunting for his father Isaac. On entering the house he saw his younger brother Jacob making stew. Being famished he requested his brother for some stew, which Jacob refused, until Esau agree to sell his birthright for a bowl of stew. Eventually Esau sold his birthright for a bowl of stew and lost entire of his blessings. And yet his brother Jacob continuously been cheated and fooled by people around him because he bought his brother’s birthright unlawfully.
The birthright has the following privileges:-
1. The head of the family heritage.
2. He will inherit his father’s property and
3. He will be blessed through the covenant made between Abraham and God to posses the land of Canaan with spiritual blessings.
The result of buying and selling the birthright was cursed by God. Our vote is our individual birthright; this is neither to be sold nor to be bought. Therefore, let me remind the Naga Christians it is absolutely wrong to sell your vote, or to buy someone’s vote for personal gain. Like Esau let us not sell our birth right and refuse the many blessings God has for us and our generation for a few amount of money. Your vote is your birth right, use it prayerfully and honestly, so that your generation will be blessed to possess the land of Canaan God has for you.
There are huge moral responsibilities to leads the Naga society in term of politics.
1. You will be bless by serving the Nagas as the Lord leads or
2. You will not be blessed, with severe consequences in the future, which will fulfill the Bible passage in Galatians 6:7-8. We shall reap what we sow during our lives whether good or bad.
3. 40 years of statehood affairs, there is much to learn from the past from the lives of those who lead the Nagas. Let us move forward if good has happen from it, but warn ourselves if there are consequences reaping in the families and generations of our past leaders because of wickedness.
Let Biblical values and priorities instead of political ones be our guide when voting and running for public office. Moral character and personal integrity are much more important than any set of proclaimed policies and promises. You will never find a candidate that agrees with you 100% on every issue, but we are to evaluate carefully and make the best vote we can
As Christians, our first priority is always to please our Lord and trust Him to bring good out of any situation even when they are not to our liking and are antagonistic to His stated moral will (Romans 8:28; James 1:2-4). While we want our candidate to win and may work hard to achieve that, our primary goal is to please the Lord, not be on the winning side. If running for office, your primary goal is to please the Lord, not win the election. . Our goal is to one day stand before our Lord and hear Him say to us, "Well done thou good and faithful servant___________
GOD BLESS NAGALAND.
