On Elections and Politics

The 2024 election is over, and now we can move on. We have been hearing that this was the most consequential election of our lifetime--just like we heard last time--but in some ways I believe that it may have been true this time around. Our nation has been in a downward moral spiral for a while, clearly heading in the wrong direction. Polls show across the board that the American people have recognized that things aren't right, no matter what the media has been telling us. But I'm not so sure if the answer lies in politics. In fact, I'm pretty sure it doesn't.

Four years ago, at this point in the week, the results of the presidential election had not yet been finalized. Fortunately, we don't have to go through a long, divisive drawn-out process this year to determine who our next president is going to be. And maybe, with the election behind us, we can turn our focus back to more important things and come together in unity again as a nation.

I looked back at what I wrote in this space the week of the election in 2020, while things still hung in the balance, and most of those thoughts still apply today. So let me share a few of those observations again, some of which I have edited for context:

First, I believe politics have simply become too important in our country. They were never intended to drive all that we do, especially for those of us who follow Christ. We have allowed politics to consume us, and divide us, and we have put too much stock--and hope--into what we think politicians can do for us. Which in the end is really not much.

Secondly, whether your candidate won or lost...this too shall pass. That's one of the lessons learned from growing old, I guess, which I am. This was my twelfth presidential election to vote in, and I have voted for a few winners, and a few losers, along the way. The lesson you learn when you've been through this a few times is that it's really not nearly as big of a deal as you thought it was. I remember some past elections from decades ago when I was so distraught when my candidate didn't win, and I bought the idea that the whole world was going to change. It didn't, for the most part. And it won't this time around, as much as we have been told otherwise. Our fate does not rest so much in politicians or governments as in a Sovereign God who at last check has not yet descended His throne. As John Piper has said, "One day America and all of its presidents will be a footnote in history, but the kingdom of Jesus will never end."

And finally, I guess we should be grateful that we have the privilege of living in a country that allows us as citizens to participate in the political process. That's one of the things that Veteran's Day--which is next Monday--reminds us. We are grateful for all those who have served our country and put their lives on the line in the defense of freedom, and allowed us to continue to have the privilege of voting.

Throughout human history, and even around the world right now, that is more than the exception than the rule. You sure can't find any precedent for it in Scripture. The closest parallel to a vote in the Old Testament was when Israel demanded a king, and God finally relented and gave them what they wanted, and they got Saul. And that didn't work out so well. In the New Testament, there never was even a consideration that anyone would have a voice or a vote in a democratic political process. I can only imagine Jesus campaigning for His followers to vote out Herod; or Peter or Paul, facing Roman persecution under Nero, suggesting that Christians should vote for the outsider candidate for emperor. 

Instead, Jesus taught that we should render to Caesar what is Caesar's. Peter and Paul both wrote of the Christian's responsibility to submit to governing authorities, because God in His sovereignty uses human governments to maintain order. And neither of those apostles added asterisks when they wrote, just in case you don't agree with the politics of those in charge. 

Ultimately, I think the last few elections in particular have revealed the bigger issues in our nation, and for that I am grateful. The problems are not political, as big of a mess our politics may be. They are clearly spiritual. And the candidates aren't the problem, nor the solution, they're just a mirror that reflects the state and soul of our nation. Sometimes I think that, in the same way that God used the Assyrians and the Babylonians as instruments of judgment on His people, so too our politicians are His means of discipline on us as a nation. And perhaps, this may be a good thing, if it brings us to our knees and we turn and seek Him again.

I continue to pray for my nation, as I hope you will also. I also hope that when the dust clears from the chaos of this election we as God's people will get back to our Father's business of living out the gospel to our community and our world, with Christ-like compassion, and for His glory. For no matter who our president is, Jesus will still be our King.

May He reign over your life, in 2024, and in the years ahead, or until He returns. I am praying for you, and I look forward to seeing you on Sunday.

--Pastor Ken