The Winner That Matters

I didn’t expect to be in this same place again.  Four years ago during the last presidential campaign, I posted what I felt God had laid on my heart to say about the idea of voting for one of the two candidates.  It probably wasn’t my most popular post; but unfortunately little has changed in the last four years. 

 

You’re welcome to go back and read it if you want: https://faithmeanderings.blogspot.com/2016/08/to-vote-or-not-to-vote.html.  But here are the character issues I identified in the values, beliefs, and actions of the candidates then that we’re still facing in tomorrow’s election:

 

Pride and arrogance

Lying

Prejudice and nationalism

Anger, name-calling, and bullying

Self-protectionism

 

As a voter, I find my conscience troubled and conflicted in ways I could not have foreseen when I voted in my first presidential election just two months after turning eighteen.  Our world has changed so much that it is nearly impossible to decide how best to please God when I vote.  How can I vote for either candidate when both seem so deeply immoral in some of their policies as well as in some of their character traits?  There is no longer a clear-cut line between good and evil in America.  And it’s hard not to be concerned about what type of country my grandchildren will be living in when the time comes for them to cast their first votes. 

 

So what’s a Christian to do in a post-Christian, post-truth nation?  What does responsible citizenship look like when it’s time to vote in an election?  I don’t have a better answer than I did four years ago, but I think it’s still important to consider.  And looking to God for the answer is definitely a better plan than engaging with people about politics on social media.

 

Here’s the good news: if I am more interested in obeying God and trusting him than I am in anything else, politics and elections lose their significance.  No matter who wins or loses, God is still sovereign.  No one is in a position of power without God’s permission – even people who seem to be more evil than good (Romans 13:1).  And no matter how evil the world becomes, God is still capable of protecting his own and advancing his kingdom as he sees fit.  And guess what?  America’s future does not impact the completion of God’s purposes for this world.  Evil has already been defeated, and we know who wins in the end (Colossians 2:15; Revelation 19-22)!  I’m really thankful that my own fate and the fate of my grandchildren doesn’t rest in the hands of politicians, but is already determined by the King of the universe!  He is the true winner and the only one who really matters.