Style over substance

Without taking sides or staking a position, I want to comment on this year's race for the Presidency. Is it just me, or is this race a matter of style over substance?

Now I realize that every race has a sense of this. Each candidate has to stake his claim on some issues and positions. Each candidate develops an identity and message. But it seems like this year boils down to two extremes.

On the one hand, you have Barack Obama, who says "change" more often than a cashier at McDonalds. He is the poster child of hope and change. The frustrating thing is that the vast majority of people can't tell you much about what he is going to change. This is even true of many of his supporters. Barack has only been a Senator for a short period of time and has not authored any significant legislation. He seems to have avoided almost anything that would provide a history of his position.

Then we come to John McCain. If there is anyone who embodies change, it is McCain. But this is a different kind of change. He seems to change his mind on issues all the time. He has so many positions, it's hard to tell which one he supports at the moment. If Barack is giving us no target to aim at, McCain is a moving target that never seems to stand still.

Now, I am going to say that I believe both men have some things they feel strongly about. McCain has been around long enough that I have been able to witness some of his interesting alliances and deals. I also read Obama's "Audacity of Hope." I am not an expert on either man, but I know that Obama does believe some things strongly and McCain is willing to take a stand.

So my issue is not with the men as much as it is the political system we have today. On some levels, things haven't changed all that much. But on the other hand, the lack of people willing to listen very long seems to have changed the way politicians communicate. I remember when I was growing up in the 1980's there seemed to be more substantive debate. It seems as though much of this has turned into sound bites.

While that is bad for politics, it is even worse for spiritual formation.

As I work with teenagers and adults, it doesn't seem like many people want to engage in the serious dialogue and study required for significant spiritual formation. Instead, people often seek out a short, quick-fix passage of Scripture or an easy answer to a challenging question.

Whether it's political dialogue or spiritual formation, we need to strive for more than a sound bite or a Bible verse taken out of context. If we want to be serious about following Jesus, we need to be serious about the way we engage in spiritual disciplines and discernment. Then we can move from religious style to spiritual substance.

shine!
Jason