God, Us, & Voting For A President

Tis the Season to receive all kinds of unsolicited mailings and even emails that have to do with the presidential election next Tuesday, November 4. They come in all shapes, sizes, and colors but basically are saying the same thing--"If you vote for the other guy, our country is going up in smoke." Or, "If you don't vote for our guy, and the other guy wins--who will protect us from our enemies."

Now, I don't know about you but these mailings and the emails I get from panicky people who just know if the other guy wins, America will no longer exist as a God-fearing, righteous, haven for the unborn--really don't make me think twice. I simply throw them away the first chance I get or in the case of the emails warning of the all kinds of bad things happening to us on November 5, if the other guy wins--I just hit the delete button and send them into cyber-space. You see, the reason these communications don't send me into depression or cause me to have an anxiety attack or even rush out and buy a year's worth of oil is because whereas there are a great many voices out there including yours and my own--there is really only One Voter Whose vote counts and that is the Sovereign God of the Universe and in case you've forgotten that sovereignty encompasses American politics as well.

Please don't misunderstand me. I'm not saying that we shouldn't be involved in the political process. I'm simply saying that we do not have the final voice in that process--God does. And whereas, we should vote intelligently and from a biblical world view perspective, it is also important to realize that the next president of the United States was already chosen a long time ago in a "Divine-conspiracy" if you will. I can't help but think that many Christians really are under the impression that God is wringing His anthropomorphic hands as He waits to see who we are going to vote into the most powerful office in the world so that He can figure out what he needs to do to keep up with us and our politics. (Does anyone really doubt that the effects of "Open Theism" have not had a negative impact upon the church and even politics?)

Am I concerned for the direction our country will take if the other guy wins--sure, but the fact is I've been concerned for the direction our country has taken for the last century and a half. You don't have to be old to know anything that far back--you just need to know how to read and then do so. Do I think this election will have an impact upon our country for generations to come? Sure do, but it won't be because of who is elected president as much as it will be because of who voted and why they voted the way they did. You see, this election is much more of a commentary on the voters than the candidates. I think there is more reason to be fearful of the millions of Americans who do nothing to strengthen our nation and live self-indulgent existences who are unwilling to suffer hardship for any cause bigger than themselves than I am of one man who, elected president, does something that may ruin it.

When voters vote for a man because he promises to make life easier for them--that tells me more about them than him. When voters cast their ballot for the guy who promises to take care of them from the cradle to the grave that tells me a whole lot more about their theology than what their candidate believes. When voters vote for a man who they think will keep them safe and secure from our enemies, I get a pretty good idea of what they think of Divine Sovereignty. When voters would rather fight abortion by simply going to a relatively safe voting booth once every four years rather than to the abortion clinic to protest even once a year or calling their elected representatives even once every couple of years, I'm not sure what I am seeing.

When all is said and done and the election is over and some people are having a party and others are bemoaning the future of our country regardless of who wins the White House, I hope that there is another group who while having voted their convictions, realize that the man in office, whether Republican or Democrat, is the man God voted into it for reasons that are His own. We may not like it and we may not like the man but just as we fulfilled our responsibility to vote, we must also fulfill our responsibility to submit to the authority of those God has placed over us. When that authority runs directly in the face of God's then we'll have another decision to make........but that is for another post.

But for now--by all means go out and vote and vote for the candidate of your choice and then go home thankful you live in a country where you can vote. Then later in the evening when you hear who has become the next President of the United States do something that will have an even greater and much more profound impact upon our nation than voting--pray. Pray for our new President, whomever he is, regardless of whether you voted for him or not.