Thoughts before the debate
Someone in a podcast I listened to recently said, “Neither side is for you.” and that has stuck with me ever since. They were speaking about the current political landscape and I have to say, it’s a sobering thought. Democrats. Republicans. Conservatives. Liberals. Every side has something that may coincide with the Christian worldview, but neither side is actually for you. Each candidate runs to support their corresponding party or faction.
As a Christian, Christ alone is our king and savior. Trump or Harris will not save you because neither of them will seek to further the Kingdom of God. That’s not to say that they don’t have their place in God’s sovereign plan. Jeremiah 27:6 says, “6 Now I have given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, my servant, and I have given him also the beasts of the field to serve him.” Isaiah calls Cyrus, king of Persia, God’s instrument. In the book of Esther, God uses King Ahasuerus to aid and defend the Israelites (long story short anyway!). God uses these rulers of the world for His purposes. Whoever sits in the Oval Office will also be used by God, for His purposes.
Trump or Harris might change your lives in terms of taxes, how expensive groceries are, gas prices, or even wars. It is absolutely fair to think about and to desire better outcomes for all of the things listed above. However, they are not going to save you.
How do we apply this to the election?
If neither of the presidential candidates are our saviors, that means that we cannot fully trust them. If we cannot trust them, we need to know who they are and what they believe in. We live in a fallen world and in this day and age, it seems very unlikely that we’re going to have a president who prioritizes the Kingdom of God. We need to know where their beliefs align with God’s laws and where they don't.
The work is not finished when the candidate you want is voted into office. Daniel and his friends in the Old Testament show us that our hope is not in rulers, whether our lives get better or not. Rulers can turn on you as quickly as they bless you. King Nebuchadnezzar appointed Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego into office, just to throw them into the fiery furnace in the next chapter. These friends show us that our hope is in Christ alone and not in whomever is in office.
That means that whether your lives get better or worse in terms of taxes, housing, grocery prices, or wars, the work does not change for you. You will still need to provide for your families. You will still need to fight injustices and stand up for what is right according to God’s laws. Wherever your leader’s values conflict with God’s laws, you will have to stand against them and not be ok with their decisions. In the same way that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refused to bow to the king’s idol, we cannot bow to the values of the president that do not align with God’s Word.
Now, that doesn’t mean don’t vote. That means that it is essential that you become aware of who they are and what they believe in. We’re going to have to live under one of them, that much is guaranteed. In the book of Daniel, he and his friends had to live under the Babylonian rule. They thrived as leaders under Nebuchadnezzar. I’m sure they did very well for themselves and were very wealthy. So, live under their rule, but don’t subject yourselves to everything they believe in.
I don’t want to provide just sentiments, but I also didn’t tell you who to vote for. That’s not what I wanted to do anyway. I want you to take initiative and find out who these people are. Listen in on the debate tonight. Read about their policies. Neither one of the candidates on the stage today will save you. They may make your lives easier or harder in different ways and it’s important for us as Christians to know how, so that we can stand up for God’s truth. Don’t compromise your biblical principles when voting.
The next president could drive our nation into the ground or into more prosperity. We don’t know. Kingdoms and nations come and go. Daniel himself lived under two superpowers in a single lifetime. But remember, we were not meant for this world anyway, we were purposed for eternity. So live accordingly, whether Trump or Harris becomes the next president.
Jesus is King.