Have you ever noticed how every election somehow ends up being “the most important election of our lifetime?” Our election next week is yet another installment of our American political system that has been billed as life and death, a battle for the soul of our country. Just like every other election.
I’m not saying elections aren’t important, but when you take a step back from the situation and view it as a whole, it’s easy to see that many of us Americans (me included) have put an inordinate emphasis on the political process. Three things happen when we do that.
Fear
Elections can easily make us fearful. Just look at how the losing side typically reacts with the panic and hysteria of Chicken Little, declaring, “The sky is falling!” But fear isn’t only confined to the losing side. Notice how the winning side breathes a heavy sigh of relief and laments how the bullet was so narrowly dodged. As Christians, this fear tells the world that either we don’t believe in God’s control or we don’t trust His decision making. Read through the Old Testament and look at some of the leaders God brought to power. Even in the times of the worst kings, God was still in control. Even when Judah was taken off to exile under Nebuchadnezzar, God went with His people, worked through His faithful servants like Daniel, and brought the nation back when the time was right. Times might get very dark in America. But why should we fear? Our God will walk with us through any trial, just as He has walked with persecuted Jews throughout the Old Testament and persecuted Christians from the very beginning of the church.
Anger
There are no two ways around it – partisanship often makes us downright ugly toward our opponents. Partisanship makes us see people by their party or their favorite candidate rather than as our fellow citizens and (more importantly) people created and loved by God. Even if we want to view “the other side” as our mortal enemies, Jesus told us to love our enemies (Matthew 5:44). If God loves the Democrat, the Republican, the Hillary supporter, the Trump supporter, and everyone else, so should we. It’s simply childish to believe that we are exempt from loving people because we disagree with them and don’t support their policies, and it’s just as childish to believe that loving someone means agreeing with them. Whether you agree with them or not, love your neighbor.
Compromise
Partisan politics must never make us compromise. I’m not a “lesser of two evils” guy myself, though I understand the arguments. However, if you are someone who votes for a candidate under the premise that they are the lesser of two evils, then be willing to call them out when they are evil! Our hesitancy to give opponents an upper hand keeps us from admitting when our side does wrong, often leading us to say “Well the other side is worse.” That does great damage to our claim to be advocates of an objective moral standard when we let our scale of morality slide for the sake of political power. As Bible-believing Christians, we must be consistent in saying that wrong is wrong, regardless of which political party or candidate is responsible.
As I write this article, I don’t know what the outcome of this year’s elections will look like. Maybe the long-predicted “Blue wave” backlash to President Trump’s election will come to fruition. Maybe America will give the Republicans further backing by voting red. But, regardless of what happens, our duty does not change. Please don’t react in fear or anger, and please be prepared to stand for the values you know to be true – even when that means standing against your own side. Submit to the governing authorities unless they ask us to disobey God (Romans 13:1). Pray for them (1 Timothy 2:1-2). Above all, let’s continue to pursue our goal of acting like Jesus.
