As I opened my email today, I rapidly deleted approximately twenty emails that were generated by various political parties announcing reasons that the other party is a disaster and should be avoided at all costs. They usually end their cautionary declaration with the statement something like this, “The future of our nation depends on you voting for us and not them.” I could almost imagine that if there were sound and graphics attached to the email, there would be sirens and flashing lights – anything to draw additional attention to their dire warnings.
I have not opened any social media today
because I am sure there would be a host of messages from “friends” equally concerned
about the horrible political state of the nation. They believe that I must watch an attached
video or read a quote from some reliable authority. This they claim will straighten out my
thinking and help me gain clarity—mainly the clarity they have. Or they will share some snarky witticism
about a politician. After months of this
political barrage, I have grown weary of the mean-spirited deluge flooding my
life with even more chaos. The COVID-19
mess does not need reinforcements to unsettle the sanity remaining in a
tumultuous world. Perhaps I have adopted
the Peanuts Charlie Brown philosophy, “I’ve developed a new philosophy…I only
dread one day at a time.”
Perhaps Chris Tiegreen gives an accurate
summary of politics. “Much of history is
the story of contentious politics. In
today’s age of democracies, we see cycles of debates and disputes over policies
and candidates. Similar debates filled
the age of monarchies and empires, not over who would rule, but how well they
were ruling. Some governments have been
good, others have been bad, and by no means have any been flawless.” Such a statement rankles our thinking as we
seek perfection—especially in others who impact us. We often dismiss that expectation of perfection
for ourselves. We muse, “We are only
human! What do you expect?”
An individual recently posted an article
on which he invited people to comment.
The article was written by a popular pastor whose followers hang on his
every word. After reading his
declaration on how we should correctly see political candidates, I typed,
“Daniel 2:20-21.” The decision was to
not give comments on candidates as this pastor did, but to give a perspective
on who really oversees the political world.
Incidentally, the verses say, “Praise the name of God forever and ever,
for he has all wisdom and power. He
controls the course of the world events; he removes kings and sets up other
kings. He gives wisdom to the wise and
knowledge to the scholars.” My decision for
these days is to focus upon who is in ultimate control of all things, not on
who could or should be in power. That
perspective is both reassuring and insightful.
From a human perspective, politics is messy and confusing. From a divine perspective, God reveals, “I’ve
got this.”
In the last 50 years one can observe that
former generations were saying similar things as are being said today. “This is the most important election in our
nation’s history.” “Unless so-and-so is
elected our nation cannot survive.” “If
so-and-so is elected our world is doomed.”
Such statements are used to seed fear in people’s minds as a tool to
influence their votes. Former President
Richard Nixon once said, “People react to fear, not love; they don’t teach that
in Sunday School, but it’s true.” Daniel’s
revelation from God counters such fearful prognostications. God knows the end from the beginning, and He
lovingly knows what pathway is required to get us there.
Is such an outlook fatalism or faith? This can only be answered by evaluating our
philosophical starting point. If we
believe life is guided by chance, then it is fatalism—we suppose whatever will
be will be. If one believes life is
guided by divine design, then it is faith—we believe the God who loves us knows
how to direct our world and care for us even in unsettled times and political
turmoil. Perspective is powerful in
either releasing us from despair or submersing us deeper into despondency.
Hopefully, you have voted by now. That is the privilege and right God has given
us in our nation. What now? Rest in the assurance that the chaos we see
and the emotional concerns they generate can be viewed from a perspective like
Daniel’s. God is in control regardless
of the political outcome. Pray for
whomever God will use in the coming days in our nation. This is our duty as Paul indicates in 2
Timothy 2:2 “Pray this way for kings and all who are in authority so that we
can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity.”
