WORTH SOME SECOND THOUGHTS
“I believe that the Lord doesn't necessarily call only those who are qualified, but he qualifies those who are called.”
That a quote from Jim Bishop's column “Bishop's Mantle” Daily News-Record , Harrisonburg, Va.. May 17, 2003 sharing the emotional impact on him when his Uncle Phillip Dayton because an ordained minister of the Mennonite Church at the small Pinto congregation church located on the the shores of the Potomac River just off of Route 220.
Bishop's grandfather had served as pastor of that church from the year of his ordination in 1830 until his death in 1953, so the naming of his Uncle Phillip to take over the post was a special moment for the newspaper columnist and radio personality in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia area had special meaning and importance. He wrote about that feeling in his weekly column and I clipped it at the time. I see it as recommended reading.
The premise that the column sets forth was applied directly to a religious placement of people, but I keep seeing it as also being true concerning the choices we make in our elections which place specific men and women in particular jobs. We choose a candidate to fill an established place. We expect great things of them most of the time, and yet one man is hardly ever so expertly qualified to be the miracle worker to bring about such a varied host of dreams and plans. We are, at times, too demanding , I am sure. Yet, amazingly that person often “blooms” under stress, as it seems, and accomplishes commendable work. Thinking about it make me realize that it often just as Jim Bishop says. They are “empowered” after they have been chosen as leaders rather than before.
When we go to the narrow confines of the voting booth and are there alone with the forms or the machines needed, we need to realize the fact exists that we re there seeking some one capable of becoming a leader for us and our locality, state or nation. We are looking for individuals who have the basic comprehension of the need of mankind at heart; someone who understands the underlying principles upon which our government is founded and someone who can be appreciate the importance of working with others even contending with those who have divergent views when necessary.
We might find it wise to think about such a thing when we go to the polls to favor a man or a woman. It is most important that we consider how vital qualities which suggest the nature of a truly good person - someone who can lead and learn. A political candidate who is presented as the perfected product may well prove to be a veneered creation with all sorts of cognitive enhancements being used to make him or her seem to be genuine. That can be risky, at best.
Chose the person or person whom you feel might become what you hope they will be,rather than one who claims to be at that pinnacle of attainment.
Very often it is just as Jim Bishop says: the Lord “qualifies those whom he calls.”
A L.M. August 1, 2003 [c549wds]
