Godliness

Last night, I heard a woman who is running for local office give her pitch.  I had been looking forward to hearing her; from her emails and Facebook comments she sounded like an excellent candidate.

Then she began her pitch by praising God.

When I was once a religious person, which I am no longer, praising God was something we were taught to do privately, on our knees in our kitchen each morning, or in church with others of our faith.  While I try very hard to be a moral person, I no longer believe there is a God who condemns or applauds my behavior.

So when someone publicly is so presumptuous as to brag on their commitment to God, I turn away.  I find it insulting, and in a time when praising God is as easily done as voting against food stamps for the poor, meaningless.

There are politicians who wear their flag on their sleeve while voting against the citizens of our country, and there are politicians, often the same ones, who fail to apply the principles of Christianity while condemning those who do not have membership in that faith.

So prove your belief in Christian principles by your actions, not by your public pronouncements.  Because I believe that the moral principles by which I have attempted to live my life may just happen to be the same principles that you, as a follower of the Christian faith, adhere to.