Lesser Evil

Last week Pope Francis shared some thoughts on the upcoming election here in America.  He criticized both candidates and encouraged American Catholics to vote for the “lesser evil.”  As a Protestant, I’ve been an admirer of Pope Francis.  I think he’s been a pope for the people and a breath of fresh air for the Roman Catholic Church.  As I consider his encouragement to vote for the lesser evil, it occurs to me that we are almost always trying to make this decision.  Whether it’s politics or policy or simple decisions in our own lives, we don’t get the benefit of choosing something purely good.  Pure goodness exists in preciously scarce amounts in this world, if it exists at all.

Our World Belongs to God, one of the witnesses of our tradition, has this to say: “All spheres of life - family and friendship, work and worship, school and state, play and art - bear the wounds of our rebellion. Sin is present everywhere…”  There are no saviors in politics, sports, or entertainment.  There are only broken people.  There are no perfect choices in our lives.  Sin has tainted every circumstance so that we are always dealing with trade offs.  It’s a depressing reality, especially when we are making decisions about who will lead our country.  But it is also a reminder to set our hope on the true Savior and the complete and perfect new creation he is promising to bring.