There are so many questions still related to what is ultimately going to happen in this election. Who knows what will happen today? I hear many on both sides of the isle say what they “think” – which in most cases is no more than what they wish. I know that I have my desires as well.
I will make one promise though – 100% guaranteed.
No matter who wins today, they will not fix everything nor will they make everyone happy.
The Role of Government
So many of us have come to think that the government is responsible for everything we want, desire, or even need for daily living. However, that’s not the responsibility for the government nor do we want it that way. Our government is limited on purpose.
The Bible provides a simple role for human government: a protector from those who are evil. That’s it. God gave government authority to protect people from evil (Romans 13:1-7). Those we elect as the leaders of our government serve for our safeguard against those who would want to harm us. They also serve to punish those that do harm us. The government is for our good and is to act simply as a servant to us as its citizenry (v. 4).
In turn, as citizens, we pay taxes. Our taxes appropriately support the efforts of the government to protect us and pay salaries for those who are protecting us. Again, this is God’s plan (vv. 6-7).
The Problem of Government
There is one major problem with our government – its leaders. Those who are actually the servants of God for our good also happen to be sinners. They have the same problem we do. Self-interest. It is the natural response to life but is the opposite of what God desires most from us (Matthew 22:34-40).
Power corrupts. It seems that no matter how much power we get or how many things we get, we always want more. We are never satisfied (Ephesians 4:17-19).
As go the leaders, so goes the government.
“More. More. More. More.” Government is never satisfied and is continually growing because the leaders are never satisfied and always want more. The bigger government gets, the more power, control, and money the leaders have. It is a circular system where as long as the leaders are more interested in personal gain and power, and less interested in the people they are to serve and who elect them, then the government will continue to grow.
Your Responsibility Regardless the Outcome of the Election
So what are you to do?
Our primary responsibility is to pray for governmental leaders – regardless of who they are or their party affiliation (2 Timothy 2:1-4).
There may be other good and helpful things that you can do today, tomorrow, and over the next many days as we wait for the next election. But, the best thing you can do is obey the Bible which says to pray for your leaders. Our prayer begins with gratitude for God providing us protection through government and continues for the leaders that God would grant them wisdom and strength to do their job. We pray that God would protect the government as it seeks to protect us.
We also to live a life that honors God in whatever we do. As we live a God-honoring life, we seek to demonstrate godliness and respect. This both helps our communities as a whole and our neighbors individually. This is part of God’s plan for every Christ-follower (vv. 3-4).
Our Ultimate Hope
The ultimate hope is that all men everywhere have a personal relationship with Christ (1 Timothy 2:3-7). God desires all people to have experienced forgiveness of their sins through the death of Christ on the cross. Jesus willingly died to pay the penalty for sin. The Bible teaches that we are to be grateful for government because when it operates the way God planned, it provides us the opportunity to share the wonderful Gospel message of the death, burial, and resurrection. Therefore, government helps protect us as we share the good news of Jesus Christ – His love, mercy, forgiveness, and sacrifice.
So regardless of who wins this election, let’s keep our hope in Christ and focus on gratitude for the gift of government. Let’s also pray and hope that those elected in office will focus on serving people rather than being served, and on a limited government that fulfills God’s desire for protection.