Election Reflection
Ponderer’s note: I am writing this on the afternoon of Election Day, so I don’t know the outcome of the election.
This past week included an important day here in the United States: Election Day. We voted for the next President, a Senator, a member of the House of Representatives, and people to fill some state and local offices. This election has been notable for what may be unprecedented levels of distortion, outright lying, and character assassination. Of course, there were the TV ads and what seemed like an exceptional flood of mailings; and both presented the same kind of negative messaging. There have even been two assassination attempts—both on the same candidate. I was amazed that one candidate even stated that after the election we could go back to just getting along. That seemed to me like an admission of the negativism we saw in this election season.
Some people will be elated by the results of the election. Some will feel more neutral. Others will be disappointed. Others will be downright angry. There have been predictions of violence after the election results are in.
How do we as followers of Christ approach this time of change of leadership? I have a few thoughts on the subject:
1. Regardless of who the new president will be, that person will be flawed. Don’t take that
statement as an expression of what I think of the results of the election. It’s simply a matter of
the truth of what politicians—and the rest of us—are. Nothing has changed. In the Old
Testament history of Israel and Judah there were rulers who were, by all standards, bad people. Ahab and Manasseh come to mind (though Manasseh repented and turned to the Lord in prison in Babylon).
2. The best kings—men like David, Josiah, and Hezekiah, for example—had their flaws. They were human. They were sinners. The sin that was at the core of their being sometimes became painfully obvious to all.
3. The Lord is not sitting on His throne wringing His hands in desperation. He does not fear the future. He is not surprised by the tone or results of the election. There have been rulers in the world who make the candidates we voted for look like absolute angels. Some of those rulers were nothing short of diabolical. Their violence caused the deaths of millions. The Lord has never been phased by such people.
4. The Lord knows exactly what the future holds. I’m going to be very bold and claim that I know too! What I know is that the Lord and His plan for history remain unchanged. God can—and has—used some of the worst leaders in history to accomplish His will. In the end, God will be glorified! You can “take that to the bank.”
5. Our country has turned its back on God. As a young boy, I heard again and again that we lived in a “Christian nation.” Back then it was easy to believe. But then the 60’s came and change was in the wind. The result is that today is different. We kicked The Lord out of our schools. We kicked Him out of our government and our society. We rejected His standards of truth and behavior. We decided that the life of an unborn child is of less value than what we want and find convenient. We have allowed our children to deny the reality of what they were born to be to let them “become” what they are not and can never be.
As a result, God most certainly would be justified in judging our nation and society. We deserve any judgment that He may dish out. He will not do it out of spite but out of justice, righteousness, and to fulfill His plan for the planet.
The end of Psalm 29 says:
"The Lord sits enthroned…
The Lord sits enthroned as king forever.
May the Lord give strength to His people!
May the Lord bless us with peace."
We may live in perilous times, but our strength and hope rest in God alone.
Jay Swisher
This past week included an important day here in the United States: Election Day. We voted for the next President, a Senator, a member of the House of Representatives, and people to fill some state and local offices. This election has been notable for what may be unprecedented levels of distortion, outright lying, and character assassination. Of course, there were the TV ads and what seemed like an exceptional flood of mailings; and both presented the same kind of negative messaging. There have even been two assassination attempts—both on the same candidate. I was amazed that one candidate even stated that after the election we could go back to just getting along. That seemed to me like an admission of the negativism we saw in this election season.
Some people will be elated by the results of the election. Some will feel more neutral. Others will be disappointed. Others will be downright angry. There have been predictions of violence after the election results are in.
How do we as followers of Christ approach this time of change of leadership? I have a few thoughts on the subject:
1. Regardless of who the new president will be, that person will be flawed. Don’t take that
statement as an expression of what I think of the results of the election. It’s simply a matter of
the truth of what politicians—and the rest of us—are. Nothing has changed. In the Old
Testament history of Israel and Judah there were rulers who were, by all standards, bad people. Ahab and Manasseh come to mind (though Manasseh repented and turned to the Lord in prison in Babylon).
2. The best kings—men like David, Josiah, and Hezekiah, for example—had their flaws. They were human. They were sinners. The sin that was at the core of their being sometimes became painfully obvious to all.
3. The Lord is not sitting on His throne wringing His hands in desperation. He does not fear the future. He is not surprised by the tone or results of the election. There have been rulers in the world who make the candidates we voted for look like absolute angels. Some of those rulers were nothing short of diabolical. Their violence caused the deaths of millions. The Lord has never been phased by such people.
4. The Lord knows exactly what the future holds. I’m going to be very bold and claim that I know too! What I know is that the Lord and His plan for history remain unchanged. God can—and has—used some of the worst leaders in history to accomplish His will. In the end, God will be glorified! You can “take that to the bank.”
5. Our country has turned its back on God. As a young boy, I heard again and again that we lived in a “Christian nation.” Back then it was easy to believe. But then the 60’s came and change was in the wind. The result is that today is different. We kicked The Lord out of our schools. We kicked Him out of our government and our society. We rejected His standards of truth and behavior. We decided that the life of an unborn child is of less value than what we want and find convenient. We have allowed our children to deny the reality of what they were born to be to let them “become” what they are not and can never be.
As a result, God most certainly would be justified in judging our nation and society. We deserve any judgment that He may dish out. He will not do it out of spite but out of justice, righteousness, and to fulfill His plan for the planet.
The end of Psalm 29 says:
"The Lord sits enthroned…
The Lord sits enthroned as king forever.
May the Lord give strength to His people!
May the Lord bless us with peace."
We may live in perilous times, but our strength and hope rest in God alone.
Jay Swisher
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