Election night and God’s will

Tomorrow night is Christmas morning for news junkies!

I’ll be channel surfing and and monitoring my favorite online news sites for the latest election results that will affect the economy, taxes, the Iraq War and gay marriage propositions. (Indiana will be one of the first states to report in at 6 pm, so if Republican John McCain wins the Hoosier state, he has a fighting chance; if Democrat Barack Obama wins this traditionally Republican state, the dominoes will begin falling his way—and I may be in bed by 10 pm.)

However, I don’t think God will be following the results quite as closely.

When Jesus was on earth, we have no record of Him addressing the economy, yet a good percentage of the Palestinian population lived in poverty. He never mentioned the corrupt tax system except to say, “Render unto Caesar that which is Caesar’s and unto God that which is God’s.” And He lived in a region occupied by the Romans, but He never mentioned it. He didn’t even comment on the blatant homosexual behavior and child sex trade that was rampant throughout the Roman empire.

Instead, Jesus chose to address individuals’ relationships to God and their neighbors. Take a look at the Sermon on the Mount and you won’t find a single political issue. But you will find strong teaching against pride, hate, hypocrisy, worry, lust and building lives on earthly foundations.

So, I will pray His “will be done on earth as it is in heaven,” but I won’t be overly concerned if my will is not validated by the election results. God’s will will be accomplished, and His will is much larger than the confines of the U.S. borders and the 2008 election. Most important, God's usual mode of operation is to accomplish His will through individuals who follow His Son’s teachings—rarely through human governments.

We can be assured that “. . . in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose . . . to be conformed to the likeness of his Son” (Romans 8:28-29). And that includes elections.

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Comments (16)

Thank you for this artricle, but as humans we still worry about what will happen on the most part. However, those of us who delight in just knowing God loves us will vote for whom we think will do what is best. In God's Grace John
Thats quite interesting post about election. I am also excited about election, but i did not think about it in that religious way.

Thanks for post
Sam
I'm not much for our electoral choices this year either, but I don't see that it serves anything to succumb to quietism in the form of "God's will WILL be done", and the like. I think it's obvious that we have social AND political obligations as Christians, and that neglecting either because we believe in Providence seems like a poor excuse. It seems to me that we Christians have to take initiative to make America habitable, holy, and content for everybody. I disagree that Jesus was just fine with Roman corruption - the very fact that he ministered to tax collectors and prostitutes seems to indicate that he had A LOT to say to them about how they should conduct themselves - against the grain of the corrupt and corrupting system that produced them. In being Christlike to one another, we have to become wise and gentle in a way that helps soften people to the needs and humanity of others. In that sense, Jesus' message is one of social AND ethical reform, and in imitation of him, we need to figure out how to do for the ethics of others around us what he did for those around Him, because Jesus doesn't walk among us in our society.
I think you skipped over this sentence in my piece:

Most important, His usual modus operandi is to accomplish His will through individuals who follow His Son’s teachings—rarely through human governments.

Yes, definitely, we should be involved in the moral and social issues of our world. But I doubt that real change will occur from the political process, but from individuals living out Christ's commands within their sphere of influence.

jnw
I agree. I missed that line. Carry on.
I never thought about what was going on in the world around Jesus and find it most interesting that He does not discuss it. I do, however, feel that God has given us a choice to make the right decision, in this case on choosing the most worthy leader of our country. Just as we suffer from other bad decisions, the wrong leader could cause suffering in our country for generations to come. Just as Rome fell, America as we now know it could fall. God is in control and still works miracles through prayer and I trust He is in control of this election. I pray for His mercy on His children and to cause every voter to pause and make the right choice.
I was born in the United States, but I am a citizen of a different kingdom. That is why will NOT be voting.

...in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose . . . regardless of who the president is or even if the United States of America ceases to exist.
But do you not believe that it is God's desire that we pray to HIm for guidance when making such an important decision as who the next leader of the free world is? The wrong decision could end the freedom of that world. The United States has always stood for "a nation under God". The wrong president could take that away. There are so few places in this world today where we can worship God as we choose. We have always had that freedom in the US. If we treat the choosing of our leaders so callously, if we do not ask God who He wants to lead our great nation, we just may lose that privilege and lose our status in the world. I don't mean a status of wealth, but a status of freedom to serve Him.
i disagree look closer and you will see that the bible is an economic handbook.
You mean like the last chapter of Proverbs, where it teaches that women should have control of family finances, be knowledgeable in buying and selling real estate, while the role of husbands is to sit in the gate with the elders, accepting compliments for what a good provider each of their wives are? Look closer and you will see that the Bible is a sanitation text book: thou shalt dig, and thou shalt turn back and cover that which comes from thee." That gave the Hebrews a big advantage over neighboring empires, whose soliders were more prone to infectious diseases.
I believe Jesus spoke about the economy when He said the woman in the temple gave much when she gave little because she gave her all. -- When He overturned the money changers tables in the temple speaking about the opression of the poor by the 'religious' and the blasphemy of making a place of worship into a market place.( tele-vangelists take note)
In our elections on Saturday ( New Zealand) both of the likely candidates for Prime Minister are honest in their atheist beliefs. Both ( left wing & right) want to see N.Z. prosper & grow as a democratic country & for the poor & needy to be helped & all races live in harmony -- But, as a Christian I see whoever wins only has power because God Wills it. How my country grows morally & spiritualy depends on those that love God ( the Born Again Christians) humbling themselves before Him & praying & turning from their OWN wicked ways!
America has a new president, exciting stuff -- even for us at the 'end of the earth' ( N.Z.) I think he will have an advantage over our Prime Minister in that he knows where to go for help & strength in the hard days ahead. God Bless America!
Well. now we know that Indiana was hanging by a thread until the wee hours of the morning, long after Obama had a clear majority in the electoral college. But I was glad to see Obama get a clean sweep of the midwest. The electoral map was more shaken up than it has been in a while. The country is not polarized in the same way it was. (In 2012, could the networks please try out a few other colors, instead of red and blue? Maybe each network pick a different set of colors, just to avoid another stereotype setting in?)
Tell me if you feel the same in two to three years.
In two or three years, I will definitely still want the networks to choose a new kaleidoscope of colors for election reporting, so that we are never again artificially polarized into "red states" and "blue states." Actually, this nation did not put the words "under God" into the "Pledge of Allegiance" until the 1950s, so we got along fine without it for a good part of our formative history. However, if you read Alexis de Toqueville's account of early America, almost all clergy agreed that the profusion of religious faith in the U.S. was due to the separation of church and state. Freed from the corrupting influence of secular politics, churches were free in an unprecedented way to preach the gospel and save souls. It has been sad to see people seek that very corruption in the name of faith. It has been equally sad to see people of little faith demand that religion be banished from the public square. President Obama will strike a new balance, which will provide a "new birth of freedom" for both people and for faith.
"God’s usual mode of operation is to accomplish His will through individuals who follow His Son’s teachings—rarely through human governments."

I am honestly amazed by what you wrote or what I read. If you are familiar with The Old Testament, the leaders constantly played the role of either 'leading people to sins' or leading their people closer to God. Removing prayers and 10 commandments from public places specially schools have nothing to do with us as Americans? You got to be kidding.

Now I know why only 25% Christians bothered to come out to vote. Because they are taught it doesn't matter what government we have or what decisions they make.
Where did you get the idea that prayers have been removed from our schools? I know that lie has been passed around by self-serving would-be inquisitors for many decades, but it is nowhere in any federal court decision. All the Supreme Court ever said is that government, including public school administrations, may not write official prayers and issue them to students. Thank God for that. If a student wants to pray, all they have to do is, pray. As to the Ten Commandments, are you unaware of the Supreme Court ruling specifically allowing monuments inscribed with the Ten Commandments to remain where they are, in the public square, all over the country?

Also, where do you get the figure that only 25% of Christians come out to vote? You would have to tell about 65% of Christians "you are not a REAL Christian" to uphold that statistic. Anyone who talks about "Real Christians" is not a real Christian in my book.

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