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Recently, I attended one of our Rediscovering God in America Pastors’ Issue Briefings in Denver, CO. One of our regularly-featured speakers is former Ohio Congressman Bob McEwen (www.bobmcewen.com). He was speaking to help pastors understand politics. He calls his talk “Politics Easy as P.I.E.” That is, politics equals integrity plus economics. He was giving the pastors an easy way to predict how candidates for public office would actually vote if they did not already have a record, versus what they actually say on the campaign trail.

 

The “I” in PIE is integrity, which is morality and character taken together. Morality is not doing what is wrong, whereas character is doing what is right. That is to say, not doing what is wrong is not enough to have integrity. You must also do what is right.

 

So to have integrity you must be both moral and have good character. It is one thing for a member of Congress to state his commitment to pro-life issues during the campaign and not vote for pro-abortion legislation, but does he have the character to sponsor pro-life legislation? This would speak to his integrity. Is he going to just put up a rhetorical shield or will he actively seek to promote a culture of life?

 

The secular left will argue that we should not examine whether a potential candidate has integrity.  The line of reasoning for them is that neither of these traits, morality or character, are needed to be a good politician. Many who hold a secular world view will go so far as to state that morality is irrelative. But for them that creates a dilemma. Laws clearly must be based upon some ethical standard. All that remains, then, is the central question of whose standards?

 

Any disagreement about what is the correct and moral thing to do can be reduced to a simple, two-word question. Who says?

 

There are only two answers to that question: either man says or God says. The former belief has manifested itself numerous times throughout history with disastrous results. The names are familiar: Nazism, Communism, Fascism, despotism and tyranny. These failed philosophies all rely upon man to set the standards of moral behavior. The consequence of disagreeing with their stated standards is punishment, imprisonment or death. So much for relying upon man. The second answer looks to the Creator’s established set of moral standards. Therefore, the “who says” is God. God says. It’s all in the Bible. One need look no further than the scriptures for answers to questions of morality.

 

So do our elected leaders need integrity to be good lawmakers, governors, and judges? You better believe it. But the secular left then quickly begins the refrain, “You can’t legislate morality.” That would be correct in the sense that passing laws will not make a person moral and develop his character. But the laws that regulate behavior must meet an ethical standard that is consistent with biblical principal, or else this standard will be subject to change.

 

It is really that simple. Bob McEwen is right. Politics is as easy as P.I.E. Rejecting God forces us to rely upon unreliable man for an ever-changing and compromising set of moral standards. Relying upon God puts Him in charge with a never-changing moral code that is just, fair, and predictable.

 

So for the pastors in attendance, Bob provided an elegant way to judge a candidate without a voting record.  Just determine who the politician looks to for moral authority. That will tell you all you need to know about what kind of elected officials he would make. Do they look to themselves or others with a secular world view to guide them, or do they look to God? I think this is one of the best measures to determine who will not only avoid doing the wrong thing but who will also do what is right.

 

Rick Tyler is President and Founder of Renewing American Leadership and serves as Spokesperson for former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich. He is a co-author with the Speaker of the New York Times Bestseller Real Change: Moving from the World that Fails to the World that Works.