Perhaps you will forget tomorrow the kind words you say today, but the recipient may cherish them over a lifetime. – Dale Carnegie
As if politics weren’t already confusing enough, the American people and people worldwide saw something very disappointing and revealing last night. We saw two grown men attempting to see who could interrupt each other the most number of times while increasing the volume, rhetoric, and hatred coming from their speech. To say that Americans should be disappointed is an understatement.
I am not one who generally comments on political issues. I want to be careful how I handle the display of blatant disrespect I spiritually saw from each candidate because I believe it is that important.
I’ve heard many people say that we elect a president and not a pastor. I agree with that statement, but it would be helpful if both candidates for the highest office, perhaps in the world, would display a certain amount of respect, etiquette, and simple kindness toward each other. We even demand that of our two and three-year-olds who misbehave.
Evangelicals are often single-issue voters
As I see it, the first problem is modern-day evangelicalism attaches itself mainly to the Republican party and has often been single-issue voters. Maybe its abortion, planned parenthood, or some other issue about which you feel strongly. I’m not condemning anyone for their choice when it comes to voting in November. I’m just saying, as evangelicals, we may have a problem. Much of this is began with George W. Bush and then has continued with our current president. Are you a single-issue voter? What single issue will guide your vote in November? In the words of Anthony Evans, the evangelical Church should neither be entirely committed to either party. And last night left me wondering. It was just short of an MMA brawl. Seriously. So who do you attach yourself to when you go into the voting booth? I want to explore several aspects with you and hope that you will understand the spirit in which I’m writing.
Evangelicals are presented with a problem
The second problem is if the evangelical community decides to vote after last night, how do you determine the worthy or adequate candidate? The debate struck me as something far less than civil. In Galatians 5:22, Paul tells us to live by the Spirit and gives us those attributes. Whether a Catholic or a professed believer, none of this was present. Both candidates are striving and potentially pandering to secure votes from the evangelical community, but struggle to live in a way that demonstrates their commitment to Jesus and Scripture. Both candidates have mentioned their spiritual lives as something important to them. So how does the evangelical community quantify their statements and behaviors?
I’m not throwing stones, but only giving a perspective after watching the brawl. (I’m not upset, just extremely disappointed) What are the attributes Paul gives us? He said we should display love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. None of those were evident last night. It would have been incredibly refreshing to see kindness on display. Evangelicals should be more than confused in the heightened rhetoric last night. God gives each believer every fruit of the Spirit when he/she is saved. I know in my own life that it isn’t easy to continually display all of the fruit of the Spirit. It is a constant struggle. So I get it.
In a recent Pew Research report from March 12, 2020, “To the public overall, morality is more important in a president than strong religious beliefs” (https://www.pewforum.org/2020/03/12/white-evangelicals-see-trump-as-fighting-for-their-beliefs-though-many-have-mixed-feelings-about-his-personal-conduct/). This statement is interesting because our morality must come from somewhere. Good and bad are defined explicitly in Scripture and thus should be our guide to moral behavior. This same report said that 6 in 10 adults think it is “very important” to have a president who lives a moral and ethical life.
In this same Pew Research article, ‘Most evangelical protestants do not view the current President as a very religious, honest, or morally upstanding person.” So, where does all this research leave us? Modern-day evangelicals attach themselves to candidates who, at a minimum, stand up for their religious beliefs even if they are not religious themselves.
So once again, it leaves me confused as to what I saw last night. I’m sure the feeling will pass for most, but both candidates’ character was on display last night, and now evangelicals are left with a decision to make.
Evangelicals need to pray
As a group of people who love Jesus, it is essential more than ever that we commit to pray for our country and its leadership. There is a critical decision to be made in November. All I know is what Scripture says about people, and we must pray. Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct, let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom. But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial, and sincere (James 3:13-14, 17). God defines wisdom and leadership in different ways than we currently see in our country.
We lead by strength, but Jesus said we need to live lives of meekness (Matthew 5:5). This doesn’t mean giving up our strength, but it does mean to live a life of strength through humility.
While we don’t vote for a pastor, I think it is clear you cannot escape the truth that leadership must be accompanied by a set of moral beliefs that guide and instruct. Otherwise, the evangelical community embraces amoralism, which is an “anything goes” kind of morality. Moral and ethical leadership can’t be perfect because we all sin. So perfection is not the answer. However, candidates should attempt to live by some moral and ethical principles in their lives as they are examples to our children, young adults, and the world. My fear is that we are increasingly going down the path of amoralism, which will eventually damage the Church for generations.
Scripture is clear that what we show is what we know. Actions speak louder than words, but unwholesome words speak loudly as they did last night.
I saw one Twitter feed last night during the brawl that stated, “I’m so thankful to be politically homeless and that my citizenship is in Heaven, not America” (Rondell Trevino). Honestly, this is where most younger evangelicals camp today. It began with Abraham when God asked him to go to a place he would show him in Genesis 12. From that point on, Abraham was a sojourner and was considered a citizen of heaven. Moses was a sojourner.
Paul tells us in Philippians 3:20 that “our citizenship is in heaven, and from it, we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.” Isn’t that a fantastic feeling? It should be. This world is passing away, and we are but a small piece of history. But, our real citizenship is in heaven. That should guide all we do.
I’m not saying you should pack it up and fail to vote. I’m saying you should pray. Read God’s word and allow Him to guide you during this season. If you’re like me, you should have lots of questions after last night.