“If you vote for ______, you are committing violent acts against _________.”

I’ve seen that a lot for the 2020 election. It’s all over social media. Sure it may be worded slightly differently, and the blanks are filled in to fit whatever point your party is trying to make (though admittedly more of it comes from one party than the other). But these extreme statements are everywhere.

How did we get here?

How did we get to the point where only one side is the right side? Where only one side represents Christ correctly? Where only one side is for humanity and the good of the human race?

I’m going to let you in on a little secret.

Come in.

Scooch closer.

Open up your listening ears.

Ready?

Are you sure?

*ahem*

Both sides are wrong.

WHAT?!

“WHAT?!” say you.

Let’s go back ALLLLL the way to when Israel wanted a king. This can be found in 1 Samuel 8. Israel demanded a king. Before kings, the Lord appointed judges to rule over Israel. And they didn’t so much rule over Israel, as they listened to what the Lord told them to do and led Israel in the way they should go.

Now, Samuel and his sons were the last judges. However, Samuel’s sons were considered worthless. 1 Samuel 8:3 says, “Yet his sons did not walk in his ways but turned aside after gain. They took bribes and perverted justice.” Israel wasn’t too keen on that.  So they told Samuel, “Behold, you are old and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint for us a king to judge us like all the nations.”

This thing displeased Samuel and he prayed to the Lord about it. And the Lord said, “Obey the voice of the people in all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them… Now then, obey their voice; only you shall solemnly warn them and show them the ways of the king who shall reign over them.”

In choosing a human leader, in looking to the other nations and comparing themselves, they rejected the Lord’s plan for them. Sound familiar?

So Samuel agrees and warns the people. He tells them a king will take their sons and daughters for his service, he will take take their land, he will take their property and possessions. And he warns them saying, “And in that day you will cry out because of your king, whom you have chosen for yourselves, but the Lord will not answer you in that day.”

A king would not be fair, kind, and just like the Lord. He would be human. He would be faulty. He would seek for his own gain. He would even lead the people far from the Lord. Yet the people cried out, “No! But there shall be a king over us, that we also may be like all the nations, and that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles.”

In the course of human history, we’ve had some great, God-fearing leaders, and we’ve had some pretty worthless ones. But even our best leaders were short of what God’s ultimate plan for us was. I encourage you, believer, to read through the stories of the old kings of Israel and Judah. Even David, a man after God’s own heart, royally messed up and made some pretty big mistakes. 

In putting your trust wholly on a human leader, in attacking those who don’t line up as you do, you are rejecting the Lord from being king over your life.

Does this mean we should forsake our civic duty and not vote because it’s all worthless? No. Here’s what this means:

Pray.

Pray that the Lord will guide you to make the godly decision for our country. If you already know who you want to vote for, ask the Lord on the daily if he is worthy of your vote. Ask the Lord about the other candidate. Ask the Lord to reveal truth to you about each person.

Look up what each candidate supports. There are websites that tell you what each person has passed and supported while in office or in various positions. Votesmart.org is a great option for this. The media, news, even the candidates themselves can say what they want to get your vote, but what they do, what they pass, what they support speaks volumes over what is actually said.

Pray for the new President when he is elected. We may have another four years of President Trump, we may start a new 4 years with Biden. Only God knows. But whoever wins will be the president for the next 4 years and needs to be surrounded in prayer. Whoever wins needs to be surrounded by godly counsel. And we, as believers, should not ever disrespect those in authority over us. Read Acts 23 for more information.

And just stop with the divisiveness. Neither candidate is worth your testimony. I don’t care if David, Moses, Abraham, Elijah, any of the Biblical heroes were running for president. They are still human and would not ever be worth shaming the name of Jesus Christ that you carry as a believer.

You, believer, represent Jesus in all you say and do. You may think to post a funny side comment, or man that meme gets you fired up and should be shared, NO! Your testimony to the Gospel supersedes everything. Your feelings don’t matter compared to the Gospel.

Stop this idle prater and use this energy to share the Gospel with others. Social justice is important and should be pursued. But if you are putting more effort into the laws of the land than the Gospel of Jesus Christ then you are wrong.