Election Rhetoric and the Genius of James

Election year is a season of rhetoric complete with intermittently inspiring ideas and frequently disappointing realities. Aristotle defined rhetoric as "the faculty of observing in any given case the available means of persuasion." Translated into the vernacular of today, rhetoric is telling people what they want to hear so that they in turn will do what you want them to do. Perhaps this election year is a good time to invoke the genius of James: "Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." (James 1:22, 27 NIV). In other words, powerful rhetoric is word wedded to action. It is noun and verb together creating an unforgettable and unavoidable statement of truth. In this election season pray with me for our nation and choose wisely our next leader. More than anything else, refuse empty rhetoric and insist on truth validated by action.