The Mother of All Elections ~ blog

Today is a very important day in the lives of people who live in the United States of America or are citizens of the USA living abroad.  Who knows what is going to happen and who will be elected in races all across our nation?  So, I thought I would try to help us all put it into perspective by encouraging taking a biblical position and remember God is in control.

Paul writes these words to the Christians living in Rome;

“Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore, whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. 

For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer.

Therefore, one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also for the sake of conscience. For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.”

Americans are as divided now more so than any time in my lifetime.  The norms of what is acceptable and unacceptable seem to be being stretched so far apart that there now exists real hatred between those on the far right and far left and I have been praying for whatever happens in the election there will not be any violence.

As those who identify themselves as Christians or followers of Christ, we are told to be subject to whoever is in positions of authority because they are in those positions as part of God’s will. No matter how much we might dislike those who are in positions of authority over us we are told to accept their authority and follow their directions.

I will remind you that when Paul wrote those words the Emperor was Nero. Nero ruled for 14 years from 54 to 68 AD. Three words describe his reign…tyranny, extravagance, and debauchery. Emperor Claudius, who was his great-uncle married Nero’s mother, some incest happening there…and Nero became Emperor when he was 16. He got his license to drive chariots earlier that year and then got the throne to go along with it.

His mother, Julia Agrippina, was a powerful and dominating mother who tried a little bit too much to control the new pimped Emperor…so Nero had her put to death in the 5th year of his reign. He was also known for setting fire to much of Rome and the crucifixion of Christians.

So, this is the setting into which Paul is writing his words in Romans 13, and regardless of who is elected to the office of President, Vice President, members of the Senate, and the House of Representatives they achieve their success or failure under the Sovereign Hand of God’s Will.

In addition to submitting ourselves to the governing authorities believing their appointment has been allowed by God our Father, we are urged to maintain peace as members of society. Are there times when civil disobedience is called for and acceptable? I believe if what we are being commanded to do causes us to disobey the commands of our God.

We live in this great nation which was founded by a people seeking freedom from the tyranny of kings. They wanted to be able to live the way they wanted to live and follow the directions of their faith. Many were Christian men and women…but not all of them. There was certainly a Judeo-Christian ethic that formed the thinking and actions of our founders or our nation and therefore we find a strong Christian foundation in our Constitution and other founding documents.

However, as over 200 years have passed, we are still a place where anyone has the freedom to practice their own religious beliefs. We have freedom of expression and freedom of the press. And we are ruled by a democracy that has been guiding us since the declaration of our independence.

So as far as I am concerned express your support for whomever you believe will give the best leadership affirming the values that you hold dear and whom you believe will guide us into the future with all of its challenges and concerns.

No matter who is elected I will honor the office of the President, respect their position to govern within the balance of power between the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial Branches of our government. I will pray for all our leaders to have the wisdom to make the right decisions that will help all people to be able to live a life of freedom and the respect of the governing authorities God allows to rule.

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *