The Parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins (1822) by William Blake, Tate Gallery. (from here)

The outcomes of the 2019 elections just concluded in Virginia were not what conservatives hoped and worked for. The State House turned liberal with the assurance that the 2018-19 agenda posed by progressives in Richmond will now be enacted in 2020 to the detriment of the populous. Some of these issues include gun control, abortion to term and beyond equal to infanticide, transgenderism and sex education in the schools under the guise of non-discrimination, and decreased parental rights. Additional legislation will involve increased taxes and road tolls, passage of ERA, immigration expansion and more.

What happened that turned this election on its head? Candidates campaigned feverishly and got out their word about the issues. Or did they? ‘Bland’ topics like traffic and school trailers were issues both sides pretty well agreed on. But what about the legislation waiting in the wings for progressives to enact if they won the majority? Why weren’t they mentioned by conservatives who could and would have exposed their opponents’ hands?

When money from outside Virginia poured into the coffers of their opposition, conservative candidates failed to address the issues mentioned above because they feared what the opposition would do or say against them if they did. Yet, mention of those core issues would have alerted voters to the ‘hidden’ agenda of their liberal opponents and would have forced their hand about what they were really after. Conservative candidates could well have won office because voters would have rallied behind them. Glen Hill, incumbent sheriff, won reelection and strongly supported cooperation with ICE, which his opponent was against.

That being one aspect, more than that happened to forfeit this election: Conservatives failed to vote. In at least one district of Prince William County, 50% of the voting population came to the polls. That was an amazing turnout for an off-year election. But, where were the other 50%? It’s a researched fact that conservatives, most of whom consider themselves Christians, do not vote in off-season elections. Shame on them!

Jesus spoke a parable about ten virgins, young women waiting for a wedding to take place. It grew late into the night and all ten girls fell asleep; they were tired from waiting. When the bridegroom finally came to claim his bride and carry her to his father’s house, as was the Jewish custom of the day, the ladies-in-waiting rose to follow. In those days they didn’t have street lights; you had to carry your own light, so each of the girls had an oil lamp. When the bridegroom arrived, all ten girls lighted their lamps, but five quickly lost their flame, because they had forgotten to bring along more oil and could not find their way in the darkness. The other five girls carried a cruse of oil to refill their lamps and could follow the bride and groom to the bridal banquet.

The parable’s purpose was to highlight the lethargy of the Church in the present day. She is uninformed and unperturbed about what is happening in our nation. It is time the Church awakens and equips herself with God’s oil of the Spirit before it’s too late.

In August 2018, in a closed door session that excluded the media, President Trump warned evangelical leaders that they needed to alert their constituency to vote for conservatives in November (https://www.charismanews.com/politics/72915-lance-wallnau-trump-delivered-a-powerful-prophetic-warning-to-christian-leaders). Unfortunately, those who attended the meeting either were not loyal to Mr. Trump or wanted to protect their own turf, but for whatever reason, they remained silent. We are now living with the results of that election in our national politics, because church leaders did not heed Mr. Trump’s warning.

We dare not let the same thing happen in 2020! The Church, conservatives, need to wake up and mobilize to campaign for conservative House and Senate candidates. She needs to give financially to support appropriate candidates, stir up friends and relatives to the seriousness of the day, and then in November 2020, VOTE!! No longer can we be satisfied with the status quo or expect Johnny to do it! Each of us needs to shoulder full responsibility for what we can do to elect conservative candidates in order to keep our nation intact. This well may be our last opportunity to exercise our privilege as citizens, conservatives, Christians! Do not be like the five foolish virgins. Wake up before it’s too late! Oil up and VOTE!

— Posted by Tom Salmon for Doris, a fellow member of the Prince William and Manassas Family Alliance