The Election

Unless you are living under a rock (in which case I ask, how did you get reception down there? b/c I go into a basement of a building and I get nothing) you know that there was an election in the US recently. Also, unless you were living under a rock you probably were on social media at least once, and have seen the way that they exploded in response to Obama being reelected. Tweets/Status updates like the following appeared like a red light when you're late for work:

"I'm moving to Canada"
"America is going down the drain"
"What have we done?!"

then about a half hour later a new breed of "Christian" updates arrived:

"America needs Jesus. My hope is in him!"
"Let's pray for the president"
"Good thing my citizenship isn't of this world!"

Now while these last updates can be Christian and are good things to remember - that we need to pray for those in authority, we need to be missional, and we need to not be of the world - this is not how they were presented. It was only after our human attempts to "save" America (because was all know that Jesus was a Republican...) were thwarted, that we turned to God. We did not turn to God because we were seeking his will, and desiring his will to be done - we were turning to God because we had not gotten our way. (Before I continue, I want to give props to those people who put status' which stated that they voted, and that they were now praying for the process and whoever might win)

Now this isn't meant to be a political rant, nor is it supposed to be something that makes you angry. We complain about how all of a sudden politicians are religious every time they need to be elected - yet we only remember that God has calls us to remember those in authority and pray for them after our candidate does not make it. When we do this our prayers are not true prayers, but are prayers laced with toxins. We do not pray that God might be with our leaders and that he give them wisdom to lead our country in a wise and honorable way - we pray that God might be with our leader (because he really needs help) and that he be given wisdom (because my candidate would have been better) to lead our country in a wise and honorable way (because we all know that he intends to do none of these things, but is secretly a <insert favorite villain here> whose only goal is to ruin everything).

Let's pray for those who are in authority, regardless of their political affiliation. Let's show them a true respect, not one dripping with sarcasm. What sets us apart if we don't honor those in authority?

Do we need God in America again? Yes.
Is God a Democrat? No.
Is God a Republican? No.
Are we called to honor those in authority over us whether they are Republican or Democrat or a tyrannical ruler who is using the bodies of Christians to light his garden (yep...Obama doesn't look so bad now does he...)? Yes.

So let's pray for those who we have elected, not because "they" need God but because we all need God and we are called to do it.