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I love politics. I remember my first encounter with politics in the third grade. It was 1996, and Bob Dole was running against Bill Clinton in the presidential election. At school, we had a voting straw poll in class, and I was enthralled by the process.
My interest in politics has only increased as I’ve gotten older. I participated in my first campaign in high school, and after I graduated from college, I worked on a presidential campaign for a few months. I believe that politicians have the potential to make a difference for everyday people, so the prospect of being a part of that change excites me. And honestly, I actually think it’s fun.
However, politics isn’t everything. Today, there is an important election in the United States, and no matter how you vote, its outcome will produce certain consequences. Although things will change with the outcome, many realities will remain the same.
People need more opportunities for employment. The education system continues to face challenges. There is persistent poverty and real people who need hope and help. There is evil in the world that threatens us, and the United States must defend ourselves and others around the world. The same things that our forefathers fought to ensure are still being fought for today.
“We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” - The Declaration of Independence
I take great comfort in that line “endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights.” That means the rights don’t come from government, but from God.
It also reminds me that today, and after today, the same God is still active in our nation and in the affairs of men. Since that is true, shouldn’t we continue to look to him for wisdom, grace, and guidance? The words delivered by Abraham Lincoln more than 150 years ago seem every bit as pertinent today.
"We have been preserved, these many years, in peace and prosperity. We have grown in numbers, wealth and power, as no other nation has ever grown. But we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace, and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us; and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own. Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us!" - Abraham Lincoln
Today is a day to vote, but today is also a day to pray.
Pray not just for the outcome of the election, but continue to pray even after all of the votes have been counted and our new president is named.
Today is important but so is tomorrow. No matter your feelings regarding the results of the election, your reaction should be prayer.
So here are my questions today:
- Have you voted?
- Have you prayed?
Take the time to vote and take the time to pray. And when you wake up tomorrow, no matter the result, commit to praying for our new president. Pray for wisdom for our leaders, discernment for their decisions, and unity for our nation.
