“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead, they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” – Matthew 5:14-16
Today I am sad.
My sadness does not stem from the election results. My sadness also does not stem from how deeply divided this nation is, although that is deeply discouraging. I know if the election had come out differently, that fact wouldn’t have changed. It hurts my heart to see so much venom and hatred today on social media.
My spirit is crushed today by something altogether different. I am in despair knowing how many people will make up their mind today to never turn their lives over to Christ because of how Christ’s “representatives” are framing this day.
Today was not a victory for the church. Make no mistake, had the results been flipped, it also wouldn’t have been a victory for the church. Am I saying Christians shouldn’t vote? No, not at all! It’s our civic duty and responsibility to vote. We are to vote our conscience and with whoever lines up most closely with our ideals. The point I’m making is that this election was not “team Godly” vs “team heathen”.
This stance is not going to win me any popularity contest, but my conviction is not soothed by whether you or anyone else agrees with me. I honestly don’t care which candidate you voted for or how strongly you backed them. We are all to vote whichever way we are led, but please believe me that there was no “righteous” vote. While we know that no politician is perfect, I am truly unsettled at the number of people claiming that the winner was “God’s pick”. As far as I know, Jesus Christ was not on the ballot yesterday. If I am to believe what I’m seeing on the socials today though, you would have thought He was.
The church didn’t win last night. The church didn’t lose last night. The church doesn’t just stand outside of politics, we need to be standing above politics. Yes, vote. Listen to your spirit. Seek God’s will. But making the newest resident at 1600 Pennsylvania Street a pillar of virtue and integrity is not just a stretch; it is nearly blasphemous. Would the opposite results have been any different? In my opinion, no. Which is why I’m not writing this to say you voted wrong. I think the American people were going to lose either way. The nastiness and name-calling wouldn’t have been any different had the other candidate won.
However, it has been crushing my soul to see so many well-meaning people destroying their opportunities to share the gospel by touting a candidate (any candidate!) as the church’s pick. The church should be rallying around Christ and Him crucified, not a politician. Donald Trump is not a prophet. He isn’t a role model. Is he the lesser of two evils? That is completely up to the voter. We all have our non-negotiables. That’s between you and God. Just know that a large percentage of people see him as straight-up sinister. Their complaints against him aren’t all unjustified.
There are millions who are on social media this morning seeing posts proclaiming that the church won and are now determining in their hearts to never darken the door of a church because of it. In their minds, if this man is God’s idea of character and integrity, they want nothing to do with God. And it drove me to tears on my way to work today. Again, vote your conscience. I’m not saying you voted wrong but stop trying to champion him as the church’s vote. He is not our savior, and by making him out that way, you are effectively slashing your ability to reach a huge percentage of the population with the “actual” gospel.
If Trump is your guy and his policies line up with your ideals, great! I applaud you for taking part in the democratic process and voting. There is also nothing wrong with celebrating that your guy won. We have freedom of speech and if you want to extoll his virtues on Facebook, knock yourself out. But you and your personal convictions don’t speak for the church. Just know that if you are claiming that this is a victory for the church, we apparently don’t belong to the same one.
My heart is heavy to see so much hatred, so much poison, and so much disunity. I will pray for Donald Trump, that God is able to use him. If Kamala Harris had won, I would be praying for her, that God would be able to use her. THAT is our responsibility as the church. To pray for our leaders. However, this nation will never be unified, healed, or prosperous because of who is President. II Chronicles 7:14 reads, “If my people who are called by my name humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” We need the church to be the church and stand as a beacon for God. Our job on Earth is to take as many people with us to heaven as possible. We are undermining that today and it leaves my spirit in anguish.
“By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” – John 13:35