The last thing anyone wants is a political post right now. This is not that, though it may get at some of that. But I do think we sometimes forget that we are Christ's ambassadors. Not just some of the time, but all of the time. We have much that has been entrusted to us by God's sovereign hand, and we are to be stewards (managers, cultivators, wardens...) of it all. We know the usual stewardship categories – time, talents, treasure. But there are many more: hospitality, friendship and relationships, suffering and persecution, truth, the Gospel, and health to name a few. I'm sure you can think of more. And then there's this one – citizenship.
All Christians have dual citizenship. We are citizens of the country into which we are born. And we are citizens of the heavenly Kingdom of God. God's Kingdom obviously has the greater claim on us, and our ultimate allegiance is to Jesus, the King of all kings. But in that duality is where we must acknowledge some of God's providence in our lives, for He has placed His people in all manner of cultures, nations, tribes, languages, work settings, socio-economic strata, neighborhoods, family units, etc.
Think about it. None of us gets to choose our genetic composition, our skin color, our gender (despite what the culture says), our parents and family unit, the economic conditions of our upbringing, or the time and place of our birth And for most of us reading this, we were born in the 20th or 21st century in the United States of America. In God's providence, we are here in this country now. We are to bear witness to our Lord and seek to advance His interests in this time and in this country and in our local communities (and in our families and our workplaces and our schools, etc, etc, etc ad infinitum ad nauseam). We don't get to flake come election time and drop out of representing Christ's interests in the matter of voting.
Now, I would never tell you who to vote for. I know that there are problems with any man-made system of government. There is much corruption among both the Republican and Democratic parties. Both candidates seem to be a riddle of pride, dishonesty, greed and bias. I know many people would prefer to have another option – anyone but Trump or Kamala. The temptation is to wait for another election when a better choice might appear. But a better choice might never appear.
But we have a stewardship. We have a higher King to represent in our voting choices. God has made each of us unique, with different gifts and with different sensitivities to the injustices and brokenness in the world. We are to labor for God's shalom – His peace, the universal flourishing of all people and all communities – to work its way more deeply into the fabric of our national life. God has placed different burdens on our hearts and given us a voice to speak truth in love into all spheres of human life. Some of you are burdened for the persecuted church around the world, others for the poor, some for the unborn, still others for ending racial injustice and prejudice and hatred between people groups, others for providing care for the sick, elderly, handicapped. There are concerns about education, the military, gun control, a free press, the economy, the corruptions of capitalism or socialism or other “isms,” reasonable healthcare, reform of the justice system or Agra-business or the insurance industry, or what have you. You get the idea.
So this week, don't vote the party, don't vote the personality of the candidate. Vote your conscience based on the burdens (the issues) God has placed on your heart and called you to represent. And yes, sometimes (if not most of the time these days) that will entail choosing the lesser of two apparent evils. But why should the Church leave the choosing to those who don't know Christ? What in the world do we think will happen if we vacate the public square altogether? Distasteful though it may be, please....
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