The 2016
Presidential election was amazing on many levels. First, there was the
potential of the first woman President in U.S. history. And there was also the
reality of a fully political Washington
outsider, Donald Trump, becoming the 45th President of the United
States. And as we know, that is exactly what occurred. Although the results are
final, many issues and questions yet remain. And perhaps the foremost of these
is the one everyone is still asking - and will for some time to come: What in
the world happened to the polls that all had Hillary Clinton winning the
office?
Some have
declared that many of Trump's unexpected votes came from higher numbers of the
minority vote than in the past few elections. It appears at this point that he
fared better than expected in this sphere while his opponent did not do quite
as well as did the current President did. But what many have seen as highly significant
was the support Mr. Trump received from a group that was originally thought to
be a potential problem for his candidacy. This was spelled out in the Christian
Post article as follows:
Prominent evangelical author Johnnie Moore says
conservative Christians concerned about the future of religious liberty and the
protection of the unborn were the driving force behind President-elect Donald
Trump's surprisingly successful 2016 campaign. Moore, a former senior vice
president at Liberty University and a well-respected evangelical humanitarian,
spoke with the The Christian Post on Wednesday to offer his thoughts on the
impact that the nonprofit organization My Faith Votes had on encouraging the
nearly 25 million evangelical voters who stayed home in the last two elections
to come out and cast their ballots this time around.
My Faith Votes, a nonpartisan organization whose honorary
national chairman is Dr. Ben Carson, was highly active over the last eight
months producing television and radio public service announcements that ran in
over 110 million households across the United States and urged Christians
to follow through on their civic duty to vote. As exit polling numbers show, a
greater percentage of white evangelicals voted for Trump than they did for the
two previous Republican nominees and President George W. Bush in 2004, According
to exit polls, 81 percent of self-identified white evangelical or white
born-again Christian voters said they voted for Trump and just 16 percent of
those voters said they voted for Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.
The biggest factors that led more evangelicals to vote for
Trump, Moore said, were their concern for
religious liberty and Clinton's
radical stance on partial-birth and late-term abortions. The spokesperson for
the organization told Christian Post that there is no question that My Faith Votes
played an "indispensable role" in the 2016 election.
If what Mr. Moore, and others, claim is a large reason for why Trump prevailed on November 8th, then perhaps the reality of the well-known verse in 2 Chronicles 7:14 has come into play. Maybe God’s people humbled themselves, prayed and sought His face when it came to going to the polls and then casting their vote as they felt led. Some may bristle at that notion, but that will not change what may have happened.
If what Mr. Moore, and others, claim is a large reason for why Trump prevailed on November 8th, then perhaps the reality of the well-known verse in 2 Chronicles 7:14 has come into play. Maybe God’s people humbled themselves, prayed and sought His face when it came to going to the polls and then casting their vote as they felt led. Some may bristle at that notion, but that will not change what may have happened.
But now part two of the election equation is set before
these particular voters. And it even applies to the 16% of self-proclaimed
white evangelicals who may not have voted for Donald Trump. It is found in the New Testament
book of 1Timothy chapter 2. In verses 1-4, the Apostle Paul writes, “Therefore I exhort first of all that
supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all
men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and
peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. For this is good and acceptable
in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to
the knowledge of the truth.”
This verse means more than it might seem to on the surface
especially when considering the context. When Paul instructed Christians back
then to pray fervently for kings and all in authority, his words came at a
terrible time in church history. Few today give much thought to the kind of
leaders and government that believers were living under back then. They were
firmly under the heel of the harsh Roman Empire.
This is something that those of us living in a free modern day America cannot
even conceive of. At times, it was brutal beyond description. And yet, even in
that kind of atmosphere, the command came from God to pray for all, live in
peace and even to give thanks!
And then, too, Paul added yet another command that must have
been beyond difficult for those living when the New Testament was penned. I
wonder what my response would have been to this one as well had I lived at that
time and under those conditions? Romans
chapter 13 begins, "Let every soul
be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from
God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. Therefore whoever
resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will
bring judgment on themselves.” Again, imagine reading these words when they
were first written while living in the Roman Empire?
And yet God was concerned about the attitude and conduct of His people even
when those who ruled over them were far from good and just.
When thinking of this scenario in the early church, it is
hard to grasp the attitude and actions by some in America today to the election.
As far as I know, none of them will be thrown to the lions or into a primitive dungeon
by the new administration. So perhaps there needs to be some balance and reconsideration
of the blessings of living where they do and under a governing body that was
freely elected.
A new administration will soon begin in Washington including a new cabinet and scores
of appointments. And the command for those who make up the church in America is to
support them through prayer while living God-honoring lives. And why is that so
very crucial? First, it is because God has told us to. Also, it is because of
what He stated in the above passage. It is to allow us to live a quiet and peaceable
life while maintaining an atmosphere that provides the opportunity for others "to be saved and come to the knowledge of
the truth.” This is what Paul described as
“good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior.”
As the election confirmed, America remains a deeply divided
nation on almost every imaginable front. But the best way to change and temper that
is to achieve a supernatural harmony – something that is possible only when
people are united under the banner of Christ and live by the principles clearly
outlined in the word of God.
“Behold,
how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!”
(Psalm 133:1)
Bill Breckenridge
No comments:
Post a Comment