The USA just went through a horrible election; the saddest thing I’ve experienced in almost forty-seven years. I have been sad, and I’m still sad. You might be wondering why the sadness. I see the Church divided into two factions: one for each political party! How sad! Both factions cannot be right in their views at the same time, but both could be wrong. Jesus’ call to us says nothing about which candidate or political party to follow; we need to stand for what is right and true, and that is Jesus. Men ultimately fail; only God doesn’t fail! Solomon, with all his wisdom, failed. I wonder how his followers reacted.
Neither
candidate running for office is perfect, and let’s remember that God puts up
kings, and also puts them down (see Daniel 2:21). God is not asleep; He knows
exactly what’s going on. No nation or individual can act outside God’s control.
He can allow it or prevent it; His will always prevails. We need to line up
behind our leader, Jesus! The world can have fights and disagreements over
issues but the Church shouldn’t. If both factions are listening to the voice of
God, we should all be hearing the same thing. And if not, we need to sit
together, pray, and discuss issues objectively and biblically. God knows the
kind of person He needs at any given time to do His bidding. Let’s stop taking
sides and resenting those who think differently from us! It is sad to hear one
faction demonize the other; God’s heart must hurt over such behavior.
If the
apostle Paul were here in 2021, I’m sure he’d give this advice: “I appeal to
you, dear brothers and sisters, by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, to
live in harmony with each other. Let there be no divisions in the church.
Rather, be of one mind, in thought and purpose” (1 Corinthians 1:10). I’ll say
we haven’t been of one mind in thought or purpose. If we had, our attitudes would
be a lot different. The devil wants it like that, so he’ll do whatever he can
to keep it that way. Let’s not allow the Church to be used to accomplish his
evil purposes; let’s pray for grace to dialogue with each other in love, and
God’s will and purpose to be accomplished for His glory.
If we put
more time and effort into living right and sharing the gospel, we might not
even have this issue to deal with. “If my people who are called by my name will
humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I
will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land” (1
Chronicles 7:14). Our first and foremost charges as the Church are to live
godly lives and go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them and
teaching them to obey the Lord’s commands (see Matthew 28:19-20). This should
be a done deal because we are going in the power of the One who has all power
and authority in heaven and on earth, and He promises to be with us.
I see our
civil role in society as praying that the Lord will guide us to vote for the candidates
He’d have us vote for, and then to accept the outcome as His will. We should
then continue to pray that He will direct and use appointed leaders in ways
that help us lead quiet and peaceful lives marked by godliness and dignity (see
1 Timothy 2:2). Let’s be vigilant, and educate ourselves with what’s going on
in society and government, so we can intercede as needed. There are many areas
of life we need to pray about, like making godly policies, demanding justice
for all, and the like. May God help us to faithfully accomplish our role to bring
about peace.
Oh, Lord,
help; Your church is divided over issues that You have under control. Please
help us forgive each other; please help us heal and continue to seek Your peace
on earth. Thank You!
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