Elections offer a window into the heart condition of our nation better than anything this writer can readily pinpoint.
They provide an evaluation of our spiritual health as a people.
Reviewing election results are similar to receiving a report from one's doctor.
If you ask a physician to help you assess your body's health, they'll take a chest X-ray to see if your lungs are clear. They'll listen to your heart. They may also do some blood work.
They'll review their findings, telling you, "Your cholesterol is too high. Your vitamin D is too low. We're going to have to make some diet adjustments."
We're well aware that just visiting doctors alone doesn't make us healthier.
It simply makes us aware of a previously unacknowledged or unrecognized problems, or highlights behaviors we need to change so we can improve our overall health.
Similarly, elections don’t make us spiritually healthier.
Whether we're pleased with the results or not shouldn’t be based upon who's chosen for office. Instead, the emotions around the outcomes should have more to do with the "health report" they represent.
Elections reveal our nation's strengths and weaknesses. That's why our goal as Christians isn't to be political, but to engage the culture we live in with the truth of God so we can receive healthier reports. If we’ll do that, at some point we’ll see national referendums on issues where we can choose godliness, righteousness, holiness, and life.
How to Get a Better Result
For a long time, we’ve been admonished not to discuss politics and/or religion in polite company. Especially when that company is mixed.
At times, churches have been hesitant to speak out, saying, "We can't talk about that — it’s too political."
This writer strongly disagrees.
The church has to be able to discuss our culture, how we value children, our commitment to freedom and liberty, and which moral principles we’ll allow to hold authority over us.
Freedom and liberty come from God.
We can't ignore and disobey God and think our assignment on this earth to be one of sweetness and light, concurrently imagining we will have greater liberty and freedom.
Don’t be filled with despair over the portfolio of candidates or election outcomes — no matter where you are on the political spectrum.
Instead, pray about what election results reveal about the spiritual health of our nation.
Ask yourself questions like:
- How aware am I?
- How engaged am I?
- How committed to truth am I?
We'll have another assessment before too long; especially in 2024.
Most of us imagine that the nation would be better if someone or something would change. To this writer, the better questions point back to us as individuals:
How are you seeking the Lord differently than you were two years ago, when COVID-19 lockdowns and shutdowns were at their peak?
How are you serving the Lord differently than you did two years ago, and/or in 2021, and going into 2022?
How are you investing in the kingdom of God differently than in 2020, and/or in 2021, or an appreciable part of 2022?
How are you engaging people differently than in 2020 and/or 2021, or 2022 (now that the year is almost over) in the context of your faith?
I've been thinking about these questions myself. There are some adjustments I've made.
I intend to make some more.
As human beings, we tend to want to see broad, sweeping change.
We want Jesus welcomed in our schools; our college campuses to be open to the Gospel.
We want our doctors and judges to be praying people.
But are we doing anything differently to help bring about those changes?
Or, do we just want to keep doing what we’ve been doing — voting in a different candidate and asking them to make the changes, absent any effort on our part?
Nearly everyone has been to the doctor and received a less-than-perfect report back.
This year’s election outcomes similarly reveal some hard truths about our nation’s condition. It’s time for us to tell the truth. God is moving on Earth, and he's purifying his church.
We currently have the freedom and liberty to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ globally.
But . . . how long we'll we have such freedoms?
As long as we do, let’s determine to pray and look for opportunities to use the voices God gave us, no matter where we may find ourselves.
It’s the only pathway toward a nation that’s spiritually thriving, once again.
Allen Jackson is senior pastor of World Outreach Church, a congregation of 15,000. He is also founder of Allen Jackson Ministries, which broadcasts his biblical messages globally, on TV, radio and the internet. He is the author of "Intentional Faith," and his new book, "Big Trouble Ahead," just released from Thomas Nelson in August.