Every four years, this nation elects a political leader we call the President of the United States. This year’s election is fifty days away and there is both anticipation and anxiety as that day approaches. We go to the polls seeking to change the direction of the nation, or to stay the course because the circumstances of the nation are such that the majority is pleased with the direction the leadership has set. This year, we will not “stay the course” necessarily, for we elect a new president. Some people believe electing one particular candidate will, in essence, be staying the course, though that candidate has done much to draw distinctions between herself and her predecessor. Others believe electing another of the primary candidates will lead the nation in a new, more prosperous direction. And, so it goes…
It’s interesting to me to watch the reaction of people as this election cycle has progressed. I’m a bit of a political junkie myself. I don’t try to hide that fact. I don’t (well, not often anyways) make my political views known. You won’t see me posting political articles on social media, promoting particular candidates or particular parties. We’re all in this together and part of our problem is not being able, or willing, to put aside our differences in order to overcome the divisiveness our system finds itself in. This election cycle is an historic time for our nation. As in the election cycle of 2008 when we elected our nation’s first African-American president, we may this cycle, elect our nation’s first female president. Some say, “It’s been a long time coming,” while others say, “This is not the woman we need to elect.” And, so it goes…
The anxiety of the moment is heightened by the cultural circumstances we are experiencing as a nation. Consider these circumstances—a stock market, that while reaching new heights, its volatility is shown by the constant swings from one day to the next, a world economy that still languishes mostly in recession, job market volatility (CenturyLink announced this week layoffs that could impact as many as 3,500 employees nationwide), and when we factor in the shifts in cultural values over the past eight years, there’s no wonder anxiety is up. My generation is concerned whether Social Security will be around for our retirement. Healthcare costs, in spite of an overhaul of the system, continue to rise. We have 19.5 trillion dollars of debt as of this past Friday morning. We continue to fight a war on terror with an enemy that is hard to identify and even harder to trace, and we face aggressive nations having the capabilities of nuclear weapons. Do we believe a new president will change any of these circumstances? Perhaps that’s not the appropriate question. Perhaps the appropriate question is “Whom or what do we trust?” Is our trust in a political party? Is our trust in a candidate for president or the government? I am reminded of the words of King David (that’s right KING David) writing in Psalm 20:7—
Some trust in chariots and some in horses,
but we trust in the name of the Lord our God (Ps. 20:7 NIV).
As those who are called to follow Jesus Christ, our hope is in him and in him alone. We are citizens of the United States, but we are disciples of Jesus Christ, and if our hope is in the government or a political candidate, it is a misdirected hope.
When the nation of Israel left Egyptian bondage and became a nation, Moses and then Joshua was their national leader. They weren’t elected, but rather chosen by God for leadership of the nation. Afterward, God led with a group of judges over the people. There were twelve tribes with different leaders yet they were not united. They had problems working together. The leadership they did have was corrupt and made poor choices, so the people demanded that God give them a new leader. They wanted a king like all the other nations around them. In other words, when things were not going well, the people thought what they needed most was a change in leadership, a new administration, a new structure of government. The people thought:
“If we just get this new leader everything will be okay. He’ll solve all of our problems. He will protect us from our enemies, he will bring a sense of unity among our divided people (bipartisanship?), he will stabilize our economy, he will provide a new direction, he will provide the change we need.”
Sound familiar? Certainly! All the presidential candidates are promising it.
God had a response to the nation in those days. Listen to what God told the prophet Samuel, who was the judge of the nation at the time:
7 And the Lord told him: “Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king.8 As they have done from the day I brought them up out of Egypt until this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are doing to you.9 Now listen to them; but warn them solemnly and let them know what the king who will reign over them will claim as his rights. (1 Samuel 8: 7 – 9 NLT)
God was saying the reason the people put their hope in new leadership to solve their problems was because they had rejected God as their leader. They no longer looked to God as their hope. And, so it goes…for them…and, for us.
I feel relatively certain Hilary Clinton or Donald Trump, or any of the other 32+ “official” candidates for the presidency (did you know there is a candidate named Joseph Maldonado whose name will appear on the ballot in Oklahoma as “Joe Exotic?) believe they will do their best to lead our nation through these challenging times. But, every one of the candidates is a human being, and that means they’re flawed…just like the rest of us. God told Samuel to make sure the people knew any leader they chose would have flaws. Did they ever!
The problem wasn’t with the leaders. The problem was with the people. As we survey the landscape of our nation, the problem is not the economy or the culture. The problem is not with terrorism or health care, with crime or poverty. The problem is sin. We can’t lay the problem at the door of the White House, or the state house. We can’t lay the problem at the door of the courthouse or the school house. We must lay the problem at the door of the church house, and at the door of our house. Simply put, the government can’t fix that problem.
Sin works itself out in many ways. Pride comes to mind. The government can’t fix pride. Self-centeredness comes to mind. The government can’t fix self-centeredness. Almost no one votes against self-interest. We elect representatives to represent OUR interests. We want representatives who will bring home the bacon to our district, never mind that the interests of our district may stand in direct opposition to the interests of a neighboring district. If they don’t bring home the bacon, we get new representatives.
The government can’t fix greed. We want more and bigger stuff. We mortgage the future to have stuff we want now. As one cliché states it, “We buy stuff we don’t need with money we don’t have to impress people we don’t like.” The government can’t fix that! Oh, the government can regulate the banks, but it can’t change the inner desire for more and bigger and better stuff.
The government can’t fix gluttony. We’re concerned about the escalating costs of health care, yet we continue to overindulge in every guilty pleasure, feasting on the abundance of rich, fatty foods. I’m preaching to myself now. I’ve told you before I don’t preach to you. I preach to myself, I just allow you to listen in every week. This week is no different. We make poor health choices, fail to exercise and live healthy lives and then want the government to deal with the obesity problem, and heart problems and circulation problems. Don’t shout me down when I’m preaching to you!
Oh! My friend, I love you, but the problem is not with the government. The problem is with us. Our problem is a spiritual problem. Sin comes when we reject God, when we do what is right in our own eyes. Let’s confess…we can rant and rave and express righteous indignation when Colin Kaepernick refuses to stand for the national anthem, but most of us will go home after we worship and turn on the Saints or, God forbid, the Cowboys, and we’ll cheer, and if our team wins, we’ll quickly forget how righteously indignant we were until we see the next post on social media that reminds us. The government can’t fix our idolatry.
I’ve painted a dark picture with a broad brush, haven’t I? I want you to know, though, there is hope. There is Good News for us! There is a prescription for what ails us. Every political party talks about the need for change, and promises change, but real change won’t happen with a new leader or new legislation. Real, lasting change will occur when God’s people choose to trust God and turn to Him.
We read a most famous Old Testament passage from 2 Chronicles this morning. At the time the passage was written Israel was at its zenith. They had just finished all of King Solomon’s building projects with the high point being the Temple in Jerusalem. It was a time of great prosperity and peace, and national pride was running high. It was during the dedication of the temple that God gives a warning. God said when the rain doesn’t fall and the locusts eat your crops—in other words—when the nation does into a downturn, this is what needs to happen:
14 “Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land.” (2 Chronicles 7:14 NLT)
The prescription the Chronicler offers is prayer. Pure and simple—prayer. The Temple was to be a reminder of God’s sacred presence among the people. Were we to read all of King Solomon’s prayer at the dedication of the Temple, we would discover the importance of the practice of prayer in maintaining the nation’s covenant relationship with God. Solomon, and later Isaiah understood the Temple was “a house of prayer for all nations” (Is. 56:7), and Jesus, himself echoed that sentiment when he drove the moneychangers from the Temple upon his entry into Jerusalem. Right relationship with God with God, whether in the Old or New Testament, is rooted in prayer. Understand though, that prayer is not effective because of our righteousness, but because of the power possessed by the One to whom prayer is offered.
What was once true of a building in Jerusalem is now true of a body…the body of Christ, the Church. The Apostle Paul states it this way:
19 “Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? 20 For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.” (1 Corinthians 6:19 – 20 NLT)
We bring glory to God when we pray. We cannot pray without humility. Humility is nothing more than acknowledging our dependence upon God. F.B. Meyer said, “I used to think that God’s gifts were on shelves one above the other, and that the taller we grew in Christian character the easier we could reach them. I now find that God’s gifts are on shelves one beneath the other. It is not a question of growing taller, but of stooping down, to get His best gifts.” Humility brings us to God, and our coming gives Him glory.
There is no effective prayer without devotion. That’s what it means to “seek” God’s face. Worship, generosity and service…service to the body of Christ and service through the body of Christ are tangible ways we show our devotion. It also means seeking God’s will for every area of our lives, and passing the faith to our families and communities.
There also is no effective prayer without repentance. Both the Old and New Testament words for repentance mean “to turn.” It means a change of direction from sin and toward God—an about-face, if you will. Repentance is a faith response to God’s offer of forgiveness. We believe God will forgive, therefore we turn to him. When we repent of our sin—our pride, our self-centeredness, our greed, our gluttony and our idolatry—then, we’ll see the power of God revealed in Jesus Christ. We’ll find the help for which we search.
Prayer has the power to fix our problems because prayer brings us into the sacred presence of God Almighty, and it is God’s power in Jesus Christ that heals and forgives and reconciles all that is broken…in this nation…in every nation…
Here’s our challenge: Join me as we encircle this altar to humble ourselves before God, seek his face and repent of all that separates us from Him and from each other. Join me here as we pray for our nation, for the elections and those leaders who have offered themselves to lead us, and as we pray for the church.
Prayer for our nation and elections:
O Lord, great and awesome God, who stays faithful to Your covenant with those who love You and who strive to love others as ourselves. You made the heavens, and all their host, the earth and everything upon it, the seas and everything in them. You have blessed us with life, the most precious gift of eternal life through Your Son Jesus Christ, through whom we have been given all things.
You have given us this great nation, full of beauty and wonder. We see Your artistry and majesty. You have given us a land rich with natural resources, everything we need to live and prosper. You have blessed our nation with founding fathers and mothers who had the wisdom to acknowledge that we stand united under You as our sovereign guide and protector, because all things come from You.
O God, we are so grateful for Your provision and Your protection, for even in our most challenging times, Your presence gives us the courage we need to set aside our differences, to unite and rebuild, to reform and redefine, and to become even stronger in the process. You enable us to unite, despite our differences, to achieve great things and we strive to do this in return for all we have been given, because it pleases You.
But, we confess, O God, that often we have not kept Your commandments. We have not loved You with our whole hearts, and we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We have shunned the stranger, belittled those who are different from us, and turned away from those with whom we disagree, even among our friends and family, and we break Your heart by our unwillingness to love one another as You have loved us, just as we are. Forgive us, we pray.
Remind us that we are all Your children, that we who trust in You can be like great trees planted by the water, great trees that send their roots by the stream. When the heat comes, we will not fear for our leaves will remain green. When the drought comes, we will not be anxious and we will not cease to bear good fruit.
In our nation and in our world there are many who need to know Your love, Lord. We pray especially for the leaders of our nation, and those who offer themselves for leadership, that they may turn to You, that they may truly desire to serve Your people in justice and peace. May they realize their need for You. May they seek Your guidance as they make decisions, and may they boldly follow Your will. May they share Your passion for people, for truth, and for righteousness.
O God, bless and protect all who serve in the cause of our nation’s freedom. Comfort the families of those who have lost loved ones in service, and empower those who have served and are striving to make new lives back home. For all courageous men and women in uniform and all veterans, here and across the world, Lord, we are so grateful.
Thank you for our blessings of life and liberty. Thank You for shining Your face on us, for allowing us to live without fear as we place our trust in You, and You alone. Bless our great America. Heal it in its hurting places, protect it where it may be vulnerable, shower it with opportunity and prosperity in all things and for all people as we strive to be a beacon of light to the world.
These things we ask in the precious name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Amen.
