The call to panic
It is tempting to get caught up in the rhetoric because it is presented to us that the outcome of this election is the most important of our lifetime. Talk show hosts, advertisements, commentators, musicians and actors all speak with breathless emotion about what is at stake and how a wrong choice will cause the demise of America.
Call me a cynic, but it seems that every election is presented that same way. Yes, there are important issues, and I have decided for whom I will vote. I do think that it is important to exercise the freedom we have been given to participate in the selection of those who govern us. In America we get the government we deserve because we put them in office.
It is right to be concerned about how our nation is governed and to speak up when things are not as they should be. But as a Christian I know that I must maintain a larger perspective.
The call to perspective
I recently read through the book of Daniel. In Daniel we see a man who was taken by force from his own country and transplanted in an alien land. He survived and thrived under three different regimes: Israel, Babylon and Persia.
I am encouraged by the fact that Daniel did not see any of the these Earthly kingdoms as his ultimate authority. It did not matter which person or country had the upper hand. God still remained in control.
The text does not say, but it is implied that when Daniel was in Judah, he worshipped God. When Daniel was under the King of Babylon, Daniel worshipped God. When the Persians took over, Daniel still worshipped God as the ultimate authority.
God had a plan for Daniel, he had a plan for the nation of Israel and he had a plan for the rest of humanity. Nebuchadnezzar could not derail that plan, and neither could Belshazzar, Darius or Cyrus. Daniel’s God stayed the same throughout Daniel’s lifetime therefore Daniel’s worship of God stayed the same.
No matter how the election turns out, God remains in control and no-one can thwart his plan. God will not change, and our worship of him should not change.
We can learn from Daniel and find comfort in his example of one who was steadfast in his worship, even in the midst of social and political chaos.
“We can learn from Daniel and find comfort in his example of one who was steadfast in his worship, even in the midst of social and political chaos.” That is an excellent way to summarize your message and the message of Daniel. During heated political campaigns such as this, it is easy to start believing the shouts of “God wants you to vote for this” or “Jesus would never stand for that,” without stepping back and actually analyzing what Jesus would or would not stand for.
God calls us to follow Him and to trust his Word and ways. As you said, it is important to participate in the political process, as it has been granted to us by God, but it’s more important (in my view) to realize that at the end of the day, the ultimate authority is God, not whom He allows to run a country/city/state/government/society.
Gerard, thanks for the comments. You sum it nicely by saying that the ultimate authority is God. He remains in control.