Posts Tagged: putting principles before personalities

On September 25, 2020 by Dteb With 0 Comments - down to earth believer

DTEB, “Yard Sign with which I Mostly Agree: Principles Above Personalities”

I was walking back from the auto repair shop (new brakes) and was noticing a lot of political signs. I live in a very pro-Trump area, so I was not surprised to find that there were quite a few signs for the Trump-Pence ticket. I did see one yard that had two signs: “Black Lives Matter” and “Biden-Harris.”

Many yards had no signs at all. Did this mean that they simply didn’t care? Or did it mean that they didn’t want to indicate to other people for whom they are planning to vote? Or do they simply not like yard signs?

As I mulled over these matters, I saw a yard sign that looked different. At first, I thought it might be a sign for someone who had painted the house or done some other kind of work for the homeowner. But, when I stopped for a closer look, I read the following:

This was rather refreshing. That is not to say that I agree with it all. If “WOMEN’S RIGHTS” are intended to include the right to an abortion as a means of birth control, I find this very problematic. But, other than that, I agree with everything else. (And, incidentally, and with the realization that many of you will vociferously disagree, I do not think that the abortion issue is the only one for us to consider during this election cycle.)

However, what I found particularly refreshing about this sign was not simply what it said, but more so, what it implied. The implication of the sign was that principles matter more than personalities.

The last phrase of the twelfth tradition of twelve-step groups is that we “. . . place principles before personalities.” And that is something about which we should all think deeply. What are our principles? Not opinions, but our deep convictions and principles. Not our own personalities or those of others, but the deepest core of who we are as individuals and as a nation.

And this is something we need to do, not once every four years, or two years, or each year. This matter of having good, solid principles and living them out is the journey of a lifetime. In fact, such a journey may be another word for life itself.

My own belief is that principles and convictions need to be anchored in God. I believe that God’s own principles flow out of the deepest part of who God is. And at this point, at least, God wants us to be like God.

If we want to have really good, solid principles, perhaps we should think more about God, and less about Trump-Pence and Biden-Harris.

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