3 Reminders For the Christian This Election Season

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, it’s safe to say you’re aware of our current chaotic political landscape, especially as we ramp up for another election. To be honest, the older I get the less I look forward to the electoral process. Make no mistake, as a lover of history and a proud American, I deeply admire our nation’s founders for their insight and wisdom in creating how our country should operate. I am profoundly grateful for the privilege and right to vote. But, with each new election cycle, I wrestle with the angst, divisiveness, and tension that seems to be mounting the longer time goes on. It’s a personal battle for me to quiet my heart in the madness and continually realign my heart to where it needs to be. As we turn the corner into the last few months of the campaign season, I hope I can encourage you as the Lord has encouraged me with how I ought to think, speak, and act as a follower of Christ who has the privilege to vote.  ​

First, I think it’s important to mention that one of the main reasons I often find myself in a cycle of worry, dread, and anxiety during this process is that it exposes a deep fear of uncertainty. Uncertainty reveals a hard and often avoided reality — lack of control, especially the control of an outcome. Of course, I can support candidates or platforms, I can do my best to share my values within my community and influence people, I can pray that God would grant us leaders who would further His Kingdom plan, and I can vote. But when all is said and done, I cannot control the outcome of an election. 

I don’t know about you, but when faced with circumstances where uncertainty prevails and my lack of control is abundantly clear, I’m tempted to double down and try even more desperately to hold on tighter to my worries and desires, instead of running to the One who not only controls all things but can give me precious peace in the storm.  

Consider for a moment Paul’s words recorded in Acts 17 from his sermon on Mars Hill: ​

“The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of Heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything since He Himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. And He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward Him and find Him. Yet He is actually not far from each one of us.” Acts 17:24-27

There is a lot I could unpack from these verses, but the main point I hope you can take away at this moment is that God has been and always will be firmly in control. Everything else may be uncertain, but He is not! Everything else may feel beyond control, but it is not beyond His.  

Since uncertainty and control are God’s to command and not ours, what then is our role? 

The Bible is clear that the Christian’s purpose is to be a light in the darkness pointing the way to the true King.

“Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in Heaven.” Matthew 5:16

In other words, our sole focus is to demonstrate to a lost and broken world God’s grace, love, holiness, and glory. Whatever else happens around us while we follow this mission is in the hands of our all-present, all-powerful, and ever-loving God. So, how do we do this? How do we stay on mission? ​

1. Be disciplined in your thoughts

Scripture is clear, everything starts with how we think.

“For as he thinks within himself, so he is.” Proverbs 23:7

“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” Philippians 4:8

How we speak and what we do will always flow out of our thoughts. Therefore, it is so important that we first bring our thoughts into submission to God’s truth. When it comes to political affiliations, it has become so easy to villainize our opponents and their supporters. But Scripture calls us as believers to remember two very important truths: 

• People are not the enemy. Satan is.
  “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” Ephesians 6:12
  
  Whether it’s a debate with family, friends, or coworkers or a strong dislike for the opposing values of a candidate, we often direct the intensity of our ire and frustration at a person. We cast them as the villain and wage war against them, forgetting that Satan is a lover and sower of discord. Satan has no claim on our eternal souls, but he can keep us from fulfilling our mission as followers of Christ — being salt and light in a dying world. Satan seeks to distract us from our Gospel mission in any way he can. So, of course, it’s not surprising that he gets us off track by pitting us against one another or distracting us with arguments and divisiveness.
  
  An unbeliever, by his very nature, cannot help but fall prey to such schemes. But we who have the Holy Spirit living in and teaching us can and should resist this. When we look at people with whom we disagree, we must do so with a measure of grace.  If the person is a Christian, we must treat them as a brother or sister. And if the person is an unbeliever, we must view them as one whose greatest need is the Gospel, not a change in political affiliation.
  
  
• View people with eyes of compassion.
  Biblical compassion is a gentleness of spirit and desire to aid someone in their need. There are numerous examples of God showering His compassion on people, and more often than not, these people were less than deserving of it. When we come into contact with people with whom we strongly disagree, we should always reserve a measure of compassion for them.
  
  If it is a believer that we feel is supporting values counter to Scripture, both compassion and humility are needed because apart from God’s grace, we may find ourselves doing the same. In fact, there may currently be ways we are straying from God’s Word, but it simply is not as obvious to us. If we want to help our brother or sister and encourage in them in the way of Truth, we cannot rightly approach them without first having tenderhearted, humble compassion for them.
  
  Similarly, if we are dealing with an unbeliever, we must have compassion because they are slaves to their nature and to sin. Their greatest need is the Lord and not just a change to their value system.
  
  ​Compassion doesn’t mean that we gloss over or excuse sin. We can hold the line between what is right and wrong while also displaying compassion for others. The way we think about people will play a big part in how we interact with them. Whether it’s a fellow Christian who may be blind to a truth or an unbelieving person set firmly against God and the faith, both need to be approached from a place of grace and compassion if we have any hope to shine the light of Christ and fulfill our Gospel mission. 

2. Be wise with your words

• On Social Media
  ​It is so easy to get caught up in the political back-and-forth bickering that often takes place on social media. With a few taps on our phone or keyboard, we can quickly make our minds known and put people in their place, or at least that’s what we are tempted to think. But once we hit “post” those words are forever etched in cyberspace, even if we later regret them and press “delete.” Furthermore, trying to communicate through written text in this way is tricky because our words lack tone and other important non-verbal cues. Unfortunately, this means our words can be easily misunderstood or misconstrued. 
  
  Several years ago, I was convicted of this and challenged myself to never again engage in any kind of disagreement, argument, or debate over social media. Additionally, I stopped posting or sharing things that I knew were incredibly divisive, especially when it comes to politics.  
  
  The main reason I decided to make this change was because I had a series of encounters with different people that revealed to me that engaging in debates or sharing divisive posts didn’t actually accomplish anything productive. I wasn’t changing anyone’s mind or helping anyone see things differently. In fact, it was having the opposite affect. My behavior online not only alienated me from people but also completely eroded any trust they might have had to talk with me one-on-one about an issue.  
  
  Romans 12:18 tells us “If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.” When I considered that my conduct on social media not only wasn’t sowing peace but was also damaging my testimony while creating discord, I realized I needed to make a change. If we want to be a beacon of light in a dark world, then we need to take a hard look at what we post and hold ourselves to account. As Proverbs 10:19 says, “When words are many, transgression is not lacking, but whoever restrains his lips is prudent.”
  
  
• In Face-to-Face Conversations 
  My husband and I don’t have a lot of politically charged conversations with family, friends, or other people in our lives. The primary reason for this is that we have been very intentional in all of our relationships to be clear from the outset of where we stand. This isn’t so much about where we stand politically but rather where we stand Biblically. People know our values and they know why we hold to them. When we have conversations with people, especially with those we know who disagree with us, our goal is to be firm but gracious. We listen and we try to show kindness and respect. And, in the event that the respect is not reciprocated (which is rare), we suggest that furthering the conversation likely isn’t profitable.  
  
  To be clear, we don’t tiptoe around or water down the truth. As I said, our friends and family know where we stand. But they also know that if they ever had a question, a problem, or needed a listening ear they could find a safe place in us to do just that. For example, we have unsaved family members on the opposite political aisle from us. We’ve shared the Gospel with them and they know why and how our faith has impacted how we vote. But we don’t beat them over the head with our stance or the Bible. We don’t endeavor at every get-together to change their minds. We don’t lure them into conversations in order to debate. We don’t need to, because we’ve set a flag where we stand and it’s clear we aren’t moving. However, we’ve also made it clear that we genuinely love them, their relationship is important to us, and we are here for them if they ever want to talk. While we are still praying for their salvation, we have seen progress in our relationship with them and the scope of our influence over them. We are tilling the soil and planting seeds, which we know takes time to see come to fruition.  
  
  ​This is how we need to approach our conversations with people this election cycle. Ranting, arguing, or demeaning people is not Christ-like. We can be firm in where we stand and also gentle and humble in our delivery. Let’s not burn bridges or ruin relationships over a candidate or a platform. If our goal is to spread the Gospel and give glory to Christ, then let’s endeavor to make our conversations “be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.” Colossians 4:6

3. ​Be purposeful in prayer

I mentioned earlier about my struggle with worry and the uncertainty that comes with an election year. I love my country and I want to see it flourish. It breaks my heart to see the current divisiveness in America. While I know I cannot control the outcome of any election, I do know the One who “changes times and seasons; [who] removes kings and sets up kings; [who] gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding.” Daniel 2:21

Ultimately, I must rest in the direction God has for our country. But there are also things that I can do and God has graciously allowed me to live in a place where I have a part I can play. Of course, firstly I can vote. I have a voice even if it is small. But I think the most powerful thing any of us can do is to regularly and fervently pray. 

I think that one of the reasons we make prayer a last resort rather than our first act is that it feels so passive. We want something to do, something that we can see immediate results. But prayer is not passive. Prayer is casting our dependence on the Lord. It is entreating Him to be gracious to us, even though we do not deserve it.  

Prayer is so paramount for us always, but especially in an election cycle because we need to be reminded that our candidate is not our Savior. Our political party is not the church. We are citizens of another kingdom and we serve the King of Kings. So, pray for our country, its leaders, and its people. Pray for unity and for its leaders to seek after righteousness rather than folly. But let’s make sure that our prayers lead us to a place of dependence on God and trust that regardless of the outcome, His kingdom will come!

What will happen this November is uncertain to us. But I’m not placing my hope in that. God calls me to look farther into the future for my hope and my joy. Author and speaker Kayla Ferris wrote, 

“Even if the worst does happen, our future remains secure. Sometimes we have to look that spiraling thought in the eyes and say to it, Jesus is my portion. He was, is, and always will be enough for me. And you, worry, have no place here. We can fight fear confidently because in Jesus, heaven is already ours.” 

So let’s stay on a mission — to show a dying world the grace, goodness, and glory of Christ until He comes.

​In a politically charged season, how do you feel we can best balance the call to be "salt and light" with the necessity to remain compassionate and avoid divisiveness in our interactions?