By William F. Holland Jr. Ph.D.
Ordained/Licensed Christian minister
To be honest, I do not like politics, but at the same time I believe it’s my duty and opportunity to vote not the way a party says, but according to what God says. My thoughts about elections, especially presidential, is that it’s not one person governing the country. A president is a front person with thousands of power players in the background putting our fires and avoiding problems. The corrupt deals, kickbacks, and cover-ups that include lobbyists are filled with compromises and broken promises and of course an endless flow of money.
It’s obvious that politics are becoming more global every day. With the advancement of AI and the World Economic Forum uniting the nations together, we are heading toward a world government that some call the system of the beast. I believe there is coming a day when this snare trap will control every person, and strangely many cannot see we are somewhat caught in its web already. Yes, difficult times are coming, but as Christians, we must refrain from allowing politics to create animosity in our souls toward those who do not have our best interests in mind. When it comes to spiritual interpretations along with social and political views, we can easily fall into the “us versus them” mentality. When the infection of hatred controls our attitudes we dehumanize people and see them as the enemy.
It’s true our daily decisions include taking sides as we are called to stand for God’s truth. However, as we attempt to justify our dogmatic opinions, we can slowly substitute our call to love others with despising them. With technology now allowing us to know everyone’s views at the click of a button, this overload of information can take away our peace and replace it with anger and hostility. We can agree those who lie are deceptive, but secretly hating them is not only hurting our soul but also hindering God’s divine appointments with His gospel of salvation to save them.
Let’s listen to these words of Jesus found in Matthew chapter five and verses 43-45. “You have heard it said, you must love your neighbor, and hate your enemy. But I say to you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That you may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he makes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.” Have you noticed when we know what others believe that opposes our convictions, we avoid, judge, and condemn them? We refuse to communicate, debate, or even care about them because we are convinced they are a bad person. However, if we only love those who agree with us, is this the character of Christ? Jesus does not hate them and neither should we.
The passage in Matthew five continues, “For if you only love those that love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the traitors and cheaters do the same? And if you salute your brethren only, how does this make you better? Do not even the publicans do the same thing?” I John 3:14-15 says, “We know that we have passed from death to life because we love one another. Anyone who does not love remains in death. Anyone who hates a person is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life residing in him.” It’s true there are bad people who are manipulated by demons, and we pray against these principalities of darkness. However, we are careful not to allow this spiritual reality to cause us to despise them. They are in spiritual bondage and need the love of Christ to set them free.
Whether the election turns out as we hope or not, let us declare that God is still sovereign. As it says in Daniel 2:21, “He removes kings and sets up kings.” What does this mean? It means that God has a final say about everything. Whatever happens in this life, He has all authority and power to either stop it or allow it and always has a divine purpose and reason for doing both. As we go through what will likely be a tumultuous election cycle, it’s important that we hold fast to our faith and trust that God manages and controls everything according to His perfect plans.
Dr. Holland is a minister, chaplain, and Christian author. Read more about the Christian life at billyhollandministries.com
