When God Speaks

Some of you may remember the iconic TV commercial from the 1970s for a well-known investment broker, in which groups of people are conversing, and the voiceover announcer whispers, “When E.F. Hutton talks…” Immediately, the people stop whatever they’re doing, and there’s dead silence. The announcer finishes with, “…people listen.”

Now we’re about to elect a President (as well as other public officials), and this question always comes up: Are we comfortable with a leader who consults God before making critical decisions?

Complicating this is the question of whether God speaks to Catholics, Mormons, Jews, Protestants, Muslims, Buddhists, etc. in the same language. Suppose someone doesn’t consult God at all, but relies on his or her own judgment, bolstered by life experience (yes, someday we may elect an avowed atheist as President).

It’s hard to come up with a correct answer to these questions, so we have to fall back on what we’re comfortable with. Personally, I don’t have a problem with a President asking God for advice. I figure that whoever holds that job needs all the help he or she can get, from any effective source. For me, the issue is not whether God speaks. I think he or she does. The issue is about whether those in positions of leadership are listening.

And that’s just the beginning, because it doesn’t work like the E.F. Hutton commercial at all. When God speaks, most people don’t stop to listen. There’s interference. As a seasoned radio operator, I can tell you that it’s often hard to pick out the signal you’re listening for out of the interference and static. But if you have experience, you know the signal when you hear it.

This is a gift not all of us have. We can ask God for advice on whom to vote for, and we may not hear the answer. What’s left is Plan B – using our best judgment to determine which candidate appears to be the best at picking out that signal through all the interference – including what’s coming from his or her own head.

And I think we know that when we hear it.