For the past few weeks the State of Arizona has been conducting an election audit stemming from last November’s 2020 Presidential Election debacle that unseated Donald Trump as President and handed the office to Joe Biden.
When I posed the question to an online newsy board of what the audit was supposed to accomplish, very few responded.
One that did respond, however, seemed convinced that once all was said and done, the local legislatures would then feverishly start churning out bills leading to laws to prevent another similar debacle from taking place in the future.
It is fanciful thinking, at best, because the real problem Americans have today is not that there is a paucity of laws already on the books dealing with not only fraud, but just about every other sin that they regularly commit on a daily basis, many of which have become acceptable, if not legal, while others go unpunished altogether.
No, the real problem Americans have is a total lack of integrity to do what is right, and then the courage to enforce the laws already passed.
Lack of integrity, however, has a direct link to a waning relationship with God; a relationship that many of those same Americans seem to think is strong, if not vibrant.
Integrity entails completeness, perfection, and most importantly, holiness, with the latter including an aversion or hatred toward sin and wrongdoing.
Americans, though, are too much like the Jews in Old Testament times, when it comes to sin, injustice, and perversion, just prior to their capture and imprisonment; they were unable to blush over the sins they were involved in and approved (Jer 6:15; 8:12)!
Oh, that is not to say that some Americans talk a big game when it comes to social justice, black lives mattering, and even election improprieties.
But, the reality is, those same Americans are so wrapped up in their narcissistic approach to life that their individual hypocrisies and inconsistencies nullify whatever righteous deeds they believe they are accomplishing, as they strut about in the streets, protesting, or they squawk before a lectern trying to convince other hypocrites about laws that need to be passed to correct some kind of misbehavior that they are complicit in committing themselves, although of a slightly different kind or degree (cf. Rom 1:32-2:5).
In short, they lack integrity.
The Bible makes it clear, though, that, “He who walks in integrity walks securely, but he who perverts his ways will be found out” (Prov 10:9).
Integrity, in other words is a lifestyle decision, not a legislative decision; it is a “walk.”
Those who choose to walk honestly, purely, and holy walk securely or something that is also in short supply, as the country continues to spiral out of control into moral decay.
There is a peace of mind that goes right along with walking rightly.
It does not take another piece of man-made legislation to walk in integrity.
It merely takes a conscience that sees that everything humanity has to offer by way of morals, ethics, and law, which is devoid of God’s input, is as crooked and insincere as the perverted heart that manufactured the alternative sources of authority for all three.
But, then again, what too many people also lack these days is a conscience.
No conscience plus no integrity equates to no hope for a society that wishes to be or remain civil; and incivility is exactly what we have on so many levels of society today.
Therefore, creating more laws to make sure everyone is voting correctly in the future—like that which is being predicted will happen in Arizona, after it is done with its election audit—is foolhardy.
It is a total waste of time, money, and effort.
What those in Arizona need to be doing is an integrity check and whether it aligns with God’s ideal of just what it means to be honest, pure, and overall, holy.
Anything short of that is destined for disaster or the very thing the ungodly, ironically, are trying to stave off.
