Election Time Has Come and Gone: Now What?

​By the time you read this article, voting in this all-important election will be over. In just a few days, once all ballots are counted and election results are tabulated, we should know which party has the majority of seats in the House and in the Senate, who sits in the White House, and who fills the offices in our local, state, and federal government. The TV ads will be silenced; the news outlets will seek other news from which to fill the headlines; and the flurry of politicians’ promises will be dimming in our memories. Will new immigration laws be enacted; will Medicare and Social Security retain the necessary integrity; will special interest groups continue to get their subsidies; will taxes be raised or lowered? These and many other questions will remain questions that only time and the wisdom of those governing can determine. 
 
What then are those of us who are the governed to do now that election time has come and gone?  Do we stand quietly by the wayside until the next election year rolls around? Is our future ordered only by the lawmakers of our land? Does all power to order the course of the nation reside within the federal or state jurisdiction?
 
The Bible tells us that God rules over the nations. This principle is somewhat offensive to humanity because men would often prefer to believe in their sovereignty rather than God’s. But, it is God, not men, who sets up one ruler and dethrones another by His sovereign plan for history. The Bible also tells us that those who rule in the earth should serve as His ministers to carry out His edicts upon the earth. At times, the elected do not faithfully serve God’s eternal purposes nor do they walk in righteousness towards the citizenry. Believers are then challenged to remain in faith that His kingdom is advancing and to engage in culture for the His kingdom’s sake.
 
God will bless and prosper a nation that has honored His precepts and kept His commandments by giving them good and honest leadership. Conversely, if God chastens a nation for their stubbornness and non-conformity to His ways, some of the leaders that He allows to be appointed will guide the people further from truth so that the error of their deeds can become apparent to them. God moves throughout nations and history to turn the hearts of mankind to Himself and to the wisdom of His Word. His blessings and His judgments serve to encourage and discourage, respectively, men to obey and to worship God.
 
If we think upon this principle and embrace it as truth, then an obligation rests upon the citizens of our nation between now and the next election. That obligation is to draw more closely into obedience to God’s plan for humanity. We must govern ourselves with the scriptures: loving our neighbors, not defrauding or stealing from one another, protecting rather than taking the life of another, offering voluntary charity to those in need, and respecting the property and worth of others. If we will be a nation ruled by God and His Word, God will give us leaders who reflect our values. 
 
Our leaders can only guide us where we are willing to go. They can only sell us what we are willing to buy. A heart filled with charity will not embrace graft. A mind filled with honesty will filter out the lie. A life lived in integrity will not compromise for convenience. Citizens who love God and love their fellowman, citizens who pray for the peace and blessing of their country, and citizens who govern their own lives righteously will draw down from heaven God’s favor that will be reflected at the polls when election time rolls around again.
 
God Bless America!