Elections matter, and today’s election is no exception. But Election Day also gives us an opportunity that rises well above politics.
By Daryl Crouch
The day is here. The political rhetoric has been at a fever pitch for weeks. And now we’ve cast our votes in the 60th United States presidential election. We’ve been doing this since 1789 when George Washington was elected with 69 electoral college votes.
In that first election, electoral votes were cast on February 4. President Washington received notice of his victory on April 16. The nation was fragile, the process was clumsy, and communication was slow.
In addition to those challenges, Christians of various denominations and other people of faith were concerned about threats to religious freedom. Pastors got involved in the public policy debate and petitioned President Washington to extend religious liberty protections to all people. All of this led to the eventual ratification of the First Amendment to the Constitution.
From our beginning, religious liberty and expressions of faith in the public square have been woven into the fabric of our nation. So, elections matter, and today’s election is no exception. What happens today will have a major impact on this generation and the ones to come.
Like pastors in Washington’s era, modern pastors play a significant role in influencing public policy. But Election Day also gives us an opportunity that rises well above politics. So, let’s consider four practices as we navigate today’s election:
1. Show gratitude for the privilege to vote
I voted a few days early, and the process was as easy as a Chick-fil-A drive through.
The opportunity to participate in a free and fair election cannot be taken for granted. In a constitutional republic, private citizens have a responsibility to the Lord and one another to participate in the political process. And this is a privilege many people around the world will never have.
The apostle Paul wrote, “Rejoice always, pray constantly, give thanks in everything; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, CSB).
About half of U.S. citizens will be unhappy with the election results, but rather than reacting as winners or losers, pastors can lead the way in showing gratitude for the privilege to participate in the process.
God has granted the United States a unique grace that must not be overlooked.
2. Trust the Lord with the election results
Jesus said to Pontus Pilate, “You would have no authority over me at all…if it hadn’t been given you from above” (John 19:11a, CSB).
God raises up rulers and puts them down. He superintends over every ballot, and no governing power exists outside of God’s authority. Beyond that, God never waits for election results. He is eternal, and He is not wringing His hands over any outcomes.
While one candidate will be inaugurated as President, Jesus Christ is King of kings, and no act of man will remove Jesus from His sovereign and eternal reign.
So, while many people will react to the election results, pastors can respond to God and communicate to others that they can trust God, especially today. If your candidate loses, all is not lost, and if your candidate wins, all is not won.
Presently and ultimately, it is in God we trust.
3. Shepherd people toward a kingdom hope
It’s debated how unprecedented this time in history is, but it seems apparent the level of anxiety and angst is as significant as it’s ever been in this generation. The accessibility to contentiousness on social media, a global pandemic, and increased secularism have accelerated despair.
Even in this election cycle, many of us are voting with a broken heart, believing the choices available to us are poor choices at best.
People have lost hope, but hope is not lost at all.
Pastors often focus on what is true (which is important), yet many around us are consumed with what feels true. So, in wins or losses, they are numb to the presence and work of God.
But this is the pastor’s shepherding moment to remind our church and community that the Jesus who loves us is also the victorious King, “by him all things hold together” (Colossians 1:17, CSB), and He is restoring everything sin has stolen.
Faithful pastors speak with clarity about public policy issues but refuse to take on the role of political pundit. Instead, we are dispensers of a hope that is not of this world.
Jesus is King, and He is undeterred in building His kingdom that will never end.
“Faithful pastors speak with clarity about public policy issues but refuse to take on the role of political pundit. Instead, we are dispensers of a hope that is not of this world.” — @darylcrouch Share on X4. Focus on the mission of God
Jesus also told Pilate, “My kingdom is not of this world…” (John 18:36a, CSB).
There is Election Day, but there is also tomorrow. We will roll out of bed the day after the election. And we will pick up where we left off the day before with a mandate to “seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness” (Matthew 6:33a, CSB).
Not only is our hope in Jesus, but our daily life and work are rooted in Jesus’s kingdom work. So, perhaps the greatest work of the pastor on Election Day is to lead those who will follow to align their lives to the kingdom reign of Christ.
Our willingness to listen and obey God expands our opportunity for a present and eternal impact. As we walk in step with the Holy Spirit, cultivate personal intimacy with God, share Jesus with evangelistic intentionality, and serve others in Jesus’s name, God works. Churches and everyday Christians become salt and light in society that, by God’s grace, transforms lives and moves our nation to return to God.
It’s unlikely we will have to wait months for the election results like they did in 1789. But as we wait on the Lord, trusting Him to act in perfect power, we will not grow weary, we will not faint, but we will renew our strength, we will run and not become weary, and we will walk and not become faint (Isaiah 40:31).
For permission to republish this article, contact Marissa Postell Sullivan.
Daryl Crouch
Daryl Crouch is the executive director of Everyone’s Wilson, a network of gospel-loving churches working together for the good of the community. Prior to this role, he pastored churches in Texas and Tennessee for 28 years. He and his wife Deborah have four children.
