Election Day always brings feelings of happiness to some and disappointment to others. It’s the nature of politics. I’m grateful we still live in a land that has free elections. There may be issues with the process, but we care about the right to vote. I’m thankful for that right, no matter the outcome.
Don’t get me wrong. I care about the issues we are facing–many of them trouble me. Scripture has a lot to say about how a civilization should operate. God’s people, the Israelites, were given laws telling them to care for the widow, the orphan, the foreigner, the weak, the needy, and how to go about doing that.
In the Ten Commandments, God tells us how to treat Him and how to treat one another.
Then God gave the people all these instructions:
“I am the Lord your God, who rescued you from the land of Egypt, the place of your slavery.
“You must not have any other god but me.
“You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea. You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children; the entire family is affected—even children in the third and fourth generations of those who reject me. But I lavish unfailing love for a thousand generations on those who love me and obey my commands.
“You must not misuse the name of the Lord your God. The Lord will not let you go unpunished if you misuse his name.
“Remember to observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. You have six days each week for your ordinary work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath day of rest dedicated to the Lord your God. On that day no one in your household may do any work. This includes you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, your livestock, and any foreigners living among you. For in six days the Lord made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and everything in them; but on the seventh day he rested. That is why the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart as holy.
“Honor your father and mother. Then you will live a long, full life in the land the Lord your God is giving you.
“You must not murder.
“You must not commit adultery.
“You must not steal.
“You must not testify falsely against your neighbor.
“You must not covet your neighbor’s house. You must not covet your neighbor’s wife, male or female servant, ox or donkey, or anything else that belongs to your neighbor.”
Exodus 20:1-17
I wonder what our country would look like if we even attempted to practice these things as the nation used to do?
Or perhaps we would prefer Jesus’ words when He said:
“Do to others whatever you would like them to do to you. This is the essence of all that is taught in the law and the prophets.”
Matthew 7:12
I don’t always agree with or like what I see going on in the world around me. We have become a culture that is self-serving rather than others-serving. We’ve forgotten what the Golden Rule looks like, and that saddens me. Whatever happened to kindness?
But how we act or see others act is only a symptom of the real problem. The real issues that cut to the core of every human heart are not just physical. They won’t be fixed by policy changes. Policies change and change back. I’ve lived long enough to see it happen. Christians have tried to change the culture using political means. Non-Christians have done the same. And neither of those changes lasted.
Because the real changes that we all need are not physical. They are spiritual. Whether we want to accept the Bible as God’s Word to us or not…whether we want to believe God even exists or not…we can’t escape the fact that human beings are broken and we need fixing. Scripture would call it sin and tell us we need a Savior. And I would agree because I am a sinner and was once broken too, but Jesus changed all of that. He is why I care about Him most of all and sharing His love with the world.
I know we live in a culture that does not see through a biblical worldview. If we did, the cultural issues we are facing would not be what they are today. If we realized our greatest need was to be loved and that our Creator loves us best and wants to make us whole, so much would change.
So while I look at elections as important, and I try to vote my conscience, I also know that I’m not the one in control. There is a God in heaven who is, and He sets up kings and takes them down. He is Sovereign, whether we believe that or not.
Does that mean we are not responsible for our choices and our actions? Not at all. The Scriptures also teach that while God is loving, He is also just, and one day He will judge the world. He doesn’t approve of everything we do. All we have to do is look at history to see that.
I spend a lot of time researching ancient eras. That research takes me inside and outside of the Bible. I’m currently writing the story of Noah’s wife and the biblical flood. There are a lot of fascinating stories of the flood told from many different cultures. But the one thing that stands out to me in my reading is that God’s heart was broken by the evil of humanity to the point that He had to judge them. He sent Noah to preach to them to repent. And several people before Noah did the same. But as the years went by, people just wanted to do what was right in their own eyes. They didn’t want to acknowledge or obey a Creator. And the human race was on the verge of destroying itself. So God stopped it and began again with Noah and his family.
You may think that story is a myth, but there is enough evidence to show that it wasn’t. And Jesus told us that as it was in the days of Noah, that’s what it’s going to be like when He returns to judge the world a second and final time.
He came the first time to save the world. That day is still today–the day of salvation–the offer of His love and grace still stands. But when that time runs out, as it did in Noah’s day, He will come again and we will all appear before God’s judgment seat and give an account of our lives to Him. That thought can scare us, but if we are His children and love Him, we need not fear His wrath. He has already forgiven those who believe.
We live in a broken world, which Jesus came to save. We are broken people. The only difference between a believer in Christ and one who doesn’t yet believe is that a believer is a beggar who has found bread and he wants to tell everyone else where to find it. A believer has found healing from brokenness and wants to share that healing.
This is what I care about most. Politicians and policies will come and go. Nations will rise and fall. People matter more. God loves people. All people. He came to rescue us from ourselves. To redeem. To heal. To restore. And once we are His? We will want to live in such a way that will make the world a better place. Because healed people want to see people healed. Forgiven people forgive those who hurt them. Loved people want to love like they’ve been loved because God is love.
And God so loved the world that He gave us His one and only Son so that whoever believes in Him will not perish (will not remain broken and hurting and spend eternity separated from the God who loves them) but will have eternal life with Him and enjoy Him forever. (Jill’s paraphrase.)
There is no greater truth than that.
~Selah
