“But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” – Matthew 6:33-34
This may be the most important election of our lifetime.
This coming November we will have the opportunity to vote for who we believe best represents our country. I will be in prayer over this and I hope you will, too. Our elected leaders should represent the values and ideals we hold as a country. They should reflect what we hope to achieve. And hopefully, that person will understand that the United States is one among many nations and we are dependent on one another to make the world a better place. Issues like global warming, food insecurity, and the pandemic are not ones we can tackle alone and we need a president who is less concerned with finger pointing and more concerned with people’s lives. Whoever you truly believe that to be is the person I hope you will choose.
In these times of partisan politics, it is important to remember that we are the children of God. We need to be keenly aware of how there are people who will use our religion as a tool and try to manipulate us with fancy words and false promises. They play on our fears and try to divide us with a false dichotomy – progressive vs. conservative; pro-choice vs. pro-life; climate change vs. climate deniers. They try to force us to pick sides by making it seem black and white but rarely is that the case. Life is full of nuance and conflicting ideas. As responsible citizens of the world, we have to do our best to navigate those differences. More importantly, we have to remember to keep God first. Our decisions should be filtered not by our political alignment, but by our faith.
Ask yourselves these questions: Would God want us to isolate ourselves from the world or should we reach out in love to those who need us? Would Christ advocate for closing our borders or would he seek to open them up to refugees and immigrants fleeing from poverty, abuse, and violence? Would God want us to provide healthcare for our children and grandchildren or would God want us to only give it to those who can afford it? Wrestle with those questions and then cmake your choice come election time.
This month, we will be exploring some of these topics. Not from a partisan perspective but from a God perspective. We will be looking at what Jesus has to say about these issues that haunt us and help us to be guided by God’s Word instead of the words of politicians (from either side of the aisle) that are seeking to win your vote. I hope you’ll join us this month and then join us for a special healing service on November 1st, right before the election, as we remember we are all God’s children and no matter how you vote or who wins, we need to come together as his people and love one another.
Peace in Christ,
Rev. Craig
