I Wish American Christians Made A Bigger Deal Out of This Election

 

With all the chaos breaking loose over this election, I wish we were making a bigger deal of it as Christians.

So many of us believers are only making a big fuss about the candidates. This isn’t just about candidates.

Some of us are proclaiming that this is all just about party lines. This isn’t just about political affiliation.

There are some bold people extending their case to encompass the courts and court justices. This isn’t just about the justice system.

I’ve heard an increasing number of Christians crying out for the sake of the future of America. That is valid. But this is bigger than America.

This is about you, me, and our testimony before unbelievers, fellow believers, and God Himself.

The Common Enemy We’re Missing

When we make so little of something so important, we are not armed nor prepared for the battle at hand, even as we rush into it. We aren’t paying attention to what war this battle is part of. It seems we are clueless as to what cause we’re even fighting for.

We’re not even recognizing who the enemy is.

The enemy causing such perversion of sexuality, freedom, identity, morality, and goodness in a nation founded on “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” wasn’t born in the 1940s.

This enemy inciting Christians to turn on and attack the very core of one another’s beliefs and character wasn’t founded as a political party in the 1800s.

An enemy threatening the future of world peace and life as we know it is not waiting for an opening in the Supreme Court to obtain power.

The enemy responsible for the outcome of the election and your great-great-grandchildren’s fate is not replying to your comment on Facebook.

Rather, the enemy we fight has been in action since before he first slithered up to the original couple and offered distraction from God. Our enemy is Satan. His deceit is sin- when we choose to dishonor God.

The Big Deal We’re Not Making

If only we were making a big deal about the very thing election hype is distracting us from: we know the God who remains good when so much around us seems terrible.

We know who wins the war when the enemy’s battle strategy is fierce and tempting.

That same God affords us an opportunity to obey and glorify Him, living lives worthy of Him, in the face of tribulation. He invites us to stand on the winning side of the ultimate war- the war against God’s way.

We have the joy of freely consulting with God Himself about the task of voting for His glory. We have the joy of freely trusting that as we participate, God is all the more involved. We have the joy of remaining calm and steady knowing that elections, though important, aren’t everything.

We know our freedom is guaranteed by God, not the United States. And through integrity we have the privilege of honoring God with the freedom He gives, using our vote.

Best of all, we have the peace of knowing that it is God alone who we are accountable to- for how we vote, how we speak, how we campaign, and how we represent Christ.

That’s a big deal. It’s also how we defeat the enemy.

Defeat or Victory: A Choice We Still Get to Make

It isn’t just a moral decline in America we’re witnessing. Rather, we’re watching the enemy persuade millions of souls that honoring our agendas is more important than honoring God.

When we live as if strategizing according to the law of “the ends justify the means” is representative of the Gospel, we are defeated before the battle begins. When we argue on the basis of choosing whichever we believe is “the lesser of two evils,” we walk defeated believing there is no good, only evil as an option, which means no victory.

In Beth Moore’s words: “Poor, poor God. He’s down to His last two options. And poor, poor us for having such a poor, poor God.”

Appealing to God’s historical use of godless rulers who were already appointed to leadership undermines the integrity of those who did and do suffer as respectful, godly citizens under such rulers. They didn’t have poor, poor options.

But in the United States, we have a choice. We are not yet defeated.

This bigger battle against the common enemy can be won- indeed it has been.

These lesser battles are also won through the big deal we’re not talking about right now: honoring Christ.

When it comes to honoring Christ, we always have a choice- and a good choice.

Our choice for victory this election season, this lifetime, this century, is to “present (ourselves) to God as (those) approved, worker(s) who have no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth?” –2 Timothy 2:15

Decide to proclaim this testimony before unbelievers. Select this testimony to speak before brothers and sisters in Christ.

Choose this testimony before God:

Finding our hope in You and our freedom in You and our faith in You, we unashamedly, confidently participate in this election process with integrity.

This is how you and I defeat the greater enemy.

Act with integrity and confidence that God’s way is the only good option. By maintaining our faithfulness and obedience to our God, we, as individual people, can win in the election and in so much more.

This post may also be shared on: #TestimonyTuesday, #RaRaLinkup, #Intentionally Pursuing, #WomenWithIntention, #TellHiStory, #Thought-Provoking Thursday, #DanceWithJesus, #LLMLinkup, Faith-Filled Friday, Sitting Among Friends, and #SoulSurvivalLinkup.