How should a Christian respond when your party of choice
fails to achieve the electoral vote? As
a Christian you probably voted for the party that best represented your
values. You probably sought to see
leaders of integrity and great character form the government. You probably were deeply concerned about
issues that intersect very closely with your Christian values. But your party of choice failed to achieve
the results you desperately hoped for.
For the weeks up to the election day you prayed and held out
with great faith that “all
the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, and he does according to
his will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and
none can stay his hand or say to him, “What have you done?”” (Daniel 4:35, ESV). You are convinced that “… the Most High rules the kingdom of men and
gives it to whom he will and sets over it the lowliest of men.’” (Daniel 4:17b, ESV). It is your respected opinion that the wrong
party has been given power and you know that this power ultimately came from
the hand of your sovereign God. You say with Habakkuk, “You who are of purer eyes than to see evil and
cannot look at wrong . . . ” (Habakkuk 1:13a, ESV).
Habakkuk’s concern is yours: how can a holy righteous God ordain evil in
the accomplishment of His will?
A careful survey of the Bible is replete with examples of
God using wicked agents to accomplish His will. And in all that, He does not
sin, nor is He guilty of evil. Not only
will God use unrighteous people to accomplish His ends and His goals, He will
judge them in righteousness for their wickedness. God used the wicked nation of Assyria to
bring judgment on Israel. “Woe
to Assyria, the rod of my anger; the staff in their hands is my fury!”
(Isaiah 10:5, ESV). And He would judge Assyria after they had
done what He intended. “When
the Lord has finished all his work on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem, he will
punish the speech of the arrogant heart of the king of Assyria and the boastful
look in his eyes.” (Isaiah
10:12, ESV)
God has a purpose and a goal that is bigger than us when He
permits a government to lead a nation that is inherently unrighteousness. God says to the voters in any election, “For my thoughts are not your
thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are
my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:8–9, ESV)
So the first response of the Christian voter who is
disappointed in an election is to worship. That’s what Habakkuk did, recorded
in Chapter 3. More specifically he fell
to his knees and proclaimed:
“Though
the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the
olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and
there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in the God of my
salvation.” (Habakkuk
3:17–18, ESV)
The second response of the Christian voter is to “Fear God. Honor the emperor.”[1]
One should tremble in fear that they not malign the Sovereign of the
Universe who has displayed His will in the nation. And we should honor the new
leader. As the Apostle Paul would
entreat us, “I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and
thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high
positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in
every way.”[2]
Did you see that: Prayers, intercessions AND THANKSGIVINGS! Honor and respect for the new Prime Minister
of Canada would lead us not to passivity, but to respectful conversation. Honor to our authority leads us to speak
candidly on issues and speak politely. Never is there an example in the Bible, from
Daniel, to Jesus, to Paul who spoke to kings and rulers with dishonor and
disrespect. “Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths,
but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may
give grace to those who hear.” (Ephesians 4:29, ESV)
“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.”
(Romans 13:1, ESV)
Let us rejoice and be thankful that the will of our good and
sovereign God has been evidenced in this Canadian electoral process. And if the
result is mystifying and disappointing to the Christian voter, they can take
hope that “no purpose of Yours
can be thwarted.”[3]
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