If you live in America, and even if you don't, you know what is going to happen in November. Millions of people will line up outside of courthouses and city halls. They will cast their vote for the next leader of the United States. It's a pretty big deal. Which means that everyone has an opinion. I could write a thousand articles and still never begin to represent the variety of opinions on policies, laws, or candidates, so I'll just focus on one: The "Church's" opinion.
I do not claim to be the thirteenth apostle or the holiest believer. There are things I don't understand about God and areas where I need correction in my walk with Him. However, I am also not someone who types "God" in their bio and then does whatever they want. My husband and I actively serve the Lord and I am closer with Him now than I have ever been.
That being said, I do not agree with a lot of political opinions coming from the "church" right now. If you have sat through a preaching service in the last eight years, you have probably heard something along the lines of "America needs a God-fearing president" or "This country will never be the greatest in the world again until it's leaders turn back to God" or maybe even "If we had a Christian in office, this nation would be fixed."
Wrong.
You see, in 1776 when men like Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin declared independence from Britain, it was because they believed in freedom. One of the reasons behind the declaration was the vision of a nation whose citizens had the right to choose their religion. Or the right not to choose one at all.
So what am I saying? That I don't wish our president was a Christian? That I think Christians should stay out of office? Absolutely not. I would be elated to know that the person whom I chose to put in office served the same God I do. But I'm not going to spend time worrying about it.
America was never meant to be a Christian Nation.It was meant to be a free one. As Christians, we tend to rely on the government to do our job. We say that America will turn back to God when we have believers in office but that's just a way to take the responsibly off of ourselves.
In reality, if we spent time loving people, if we spent time praying for people, and if we spent time caring about people, that's when we would see a change. Billy Graham could be president and there would still be over 159 million people in American that don't know Christ.Just let that sink in.
When Jesus was on Earth, he didn't call high priests and powerful rulers to be his disciples. He called regular people. In 2016, nothing has changed about that. God doesn't call us to sit around and wait for a president or congressman to declare Christianity the national religion. He calls us to GO. To Do. To BE a light for Him.
Yes, if a Christian runs for office that has similar views to my own, I'll probably vote for them. But never in hopes that they will make my job as a Christian easier. If Christians were as concerned about the fate of their neighbor as they are about the fate of the nation, both would have a better outcome.
