Election week wisdom

James Forsyth, pastor of McLean (Va.) Presbyterian Church, delivered a thought-provoking sermon Sunday offering practical election advice for Christians (see video below). Before considering his six takeaways, Pastor Forsyth said it’s important to remember two things:

First, don’t underestimate the importance of politics. Government and politics are good things. Don’t think of government as a necessary evil. God ordained politics (Romans 13) for the welfare of humanity, and believers should engage within the system to make it better. Don’t give up on it. There’s a tendency to become cynical to the point of disengaging, and we should push back against that tendency.

Secondly, don’t overestimate the importance of politics. Amid a heated election, we tend to think everything depends on the outcome, and that isn’t true. Politics and presidential elections matter, but other things matter more. This year’s election will not determine your love for God, or God’s love for you. Equality, liberty, and justice are good things, but the Bible is clear: This land is not our home. Those with saving faith in Jesus Christ are elect exiles, and it’s not because of the 2016 election. We’ve been strangers for 2,000 years. We can’t conflate our nation and the church.

Here are six things Forsyth said every believer should do this week:

1. Vote your conscience. God alone is Lord of the conscience. Know your issues and prayerfully prioritize them. Then vote for the candidate you think would be best for the nation—one candidate, the other, a third party, a write-in, or your conscience might even lead you to abstain.

2. Clothe yourself with temperance—perhaps our culture’s most neglected virtue. Don’t defend the indefensible. Don’t demonize the other candidates. Your candidate won’t lead us to the Promised Land, and another one won’t usher in the Apocalypse. Don’t demean those who vote for a different candidate. Thoughtful and faithful believers will make contrasting choices. Don’t act like those who vote differently are suffering from some moral or intellectual defect. Your political views were not delivered on stone tablets at Mount Sinai. The confluence of issues and the implications of them are far too complex for Christians to insist you must vote for so-and-so. To demand we all vote the same way accomplishes only one thing: division in the church.

3. Pray like it makes a difference. Pray for the winners, losers, yourself, and everything else. Pray that God’s will would be done in this election and in this nation. Pray that God would change our circumstances and our souls so that evil and injustice would be restrained and so that righteousness and justice would prosper. Many of us have said a word too many to our neighbor and a word too few to our Lord.

4. Live without fear. The Bible has a huge amount to say about fear, worry, and anxiety, and you can sum it all up in one word: don’t. There’s far too much fear in our politics—and in our pews. This election matters, but it’s just one chapter in God’s larger story. Perhaps He will use the candidate you think is worst to bring about the best kingdom result. God is not up in heaven wringing His hands about this election.

God is not up in heaven wringing His hands about this election.

5. Help heal our community. Polling shows the majority of Americans will disapprove of our next president, regardless of who wins this election. Many will be disillusioned and even angry. We should approach this as an opportunity, not to give in to fear and finger-wagging, but to be a disarming, calming, and productive presence in our communities. This is a time to be the salt and light Christ called us to be.

6. Behold your God. Jesus, our Emmanuel, God with us, is near, and His presence should make all the difference. He stands with you and all who have faith in Him. We don’t make messianic figures out of our politicians because we already have a Messiah. Maybe this election will have a silver lining: loosening our grip on false hopes and forcing us to cling tightly to the only One who is worthy of hope.