Looks Like It’s Hillary vs. Donald, What Should We Do?

Of David. Do not fret because of those who are evil or be envious of those who do wrong;

for like the grass they will soon wither, like green plants they will soon die away.

(Psa 37:1-2 NIV)

Several years ago our daughter, Joy, realized that she would be old enough to vote in the general election in 2016.  I clearly remember her saying, “You all better get a good choice for me!” I feel like we have let Joy, her generation, and our entire nation, down.

Before I share some encouraging thoughts, I want to let you know that if you feel a bit dazed and discouraged by this election, I share your pain.  Thinking about choosing between Hillary and Trump, I imagine how it would feel if someone pointed a big Clint Eastwood-sized pistol at me and asked, “Do you want to be shot in the chest or shot in the head?”

In general, I have felt like many Republicans have really been trying to lead our nation in the right direction.  But with regard to this Presidential election, I can relate to this cartoon:

This cartoon is all over FB, but I can't find the original source.

As far as the choice of voting goes, I know I won’t vote for Hillary.  Whether I will vote for Trump, no one, or some yet unknown 3^rd party candidate, I don’t yet know.  If I feel like the Lord gives me wisdom, I’ll probably share it in a future blog post.  But for now, here are some more important truths.

Some Things Not to Do

*Don’t stop praying for this election and for our government (1 Timothy 2:1-2). God can still bring good out of this mess.

*Don’t blame committed, mature Christians.  Yes, many self-identifying evangelicals voted for Trump.  However, I do not personally know a single person who is in any type of leadership (pastor, Sunday School teacher, elder, etc.) who supported Trump.  I’ve read about some in the news, but I don’t know them personally.  Surveys indicate that those who attend church regularly were far less likely to support Trump (see examples here and here).  So, I think that most (but not all) of the “evangelicals” who supported Trump are really on the fringes of church life.

*Don’t be influenced by Trump’s bad example.  Keep loving immigrants and foreigners (Leviticus 19:33-34).  Don’t imitate Trumps inflammatory style just because it helped him win. We should speak clearly and boldly, but not rudely.  We should correct others with gentleness (2 Timothy 2:25).

*Don’t give up and hide away with your TV, computer, or whatever your favorite way of self-medicating is when you feel discouraged.  If you feel down, at least be “down with the Lord”.  Read the Psalms. Do something healthy like take a walk and listen to the birds singing.

Some Things to Do

*Do keep expecting God to do good things, even if we have a terrible government.  God sent down fire when Elijah prayed during the reign of evil King Ahab (1 Kings 18:38).  Ahab and the kings before him were even worse than Obama and either Hillary or Trump.

*Do keep a long term perspective.  God often works over a period of time much longer than we can foresee.  If we have 12 or more years in a row of terrible presidents that doesn’t mean God has abandoned us. There were 57 years of “bad kings” in Judah before God blessed the nation with King Josiah, who was one of the greatest and most godly leaders in history (2 Kings 23:25).

*Do focus on these three things which the New Testament treats as more important than government:  your personal relationship with God, God’s work in and through your family, and God’s work in and through your church.

*Do remember that the gospel has often spread under governments far worse than anything we are likely to see in the US in the next four years.

*Above all, do keep focused on Who’s most important.  Remember my previous blog post:

 Who Your King Is is More Important than Who Your President Is

Hebrews 13:16 And do not forget to do good and to share with others . . .