Next week is the Presidential election in the United States. The past several months we have been inundated with commercials and news reports extolling the virtues of one candidate while lambasting the other. Religious leaders have made their endorsements, as have the elite of the business, entertainment, and academic worlds. The whole world is watching to see who will be the President of the United States over the next four years. As a citizen of the United States, I feel it is my duty and privilege to vote for the political leaders I believe will best serve the needs of this country in the future. But more importantly, as a servant of the King of the Universe, I realize that whoever wins this election ultimately does not affect my purpose in life or my mission on earth.
Followers of Christ have a unique dual citizenship. We are all citizens of the country in which we were born, or of a country we have willfully chosen to be our home. If we have chosen to devote our lives to Jesus, we are also citizens of His Kingdom. When it comes to declaring my devotion to one or the other, I’ll choose Jesus every time. I am grateful for the opportunities living in America has afforded me, and I am appreciative beyond words of those men and women who have gone before me sacrificing so much in order that I might live in the most free country ever known to man. If you live in the United States, I’m sure you share those sentiments.
It is important to remember, however, that America is not the hope of the world. Only Jesus can lay claim to that title. Only Christ can save people from living out eternity separated from their Creator. It is only through Jesus that we can find hope, peace, and restoration. We get in trouble when we begin to look at the United States as a “Christian” nation that carries out the will of God. One need only look at the atrocities of genocide, slavery, and immorality that fill this nation’s past to see that we are far from being a picture of God’s Kingdom. The United States is a country filled with imperfect and sinful people, just like every other country in the world.
This election cycle, I’d like to challenge each American to vote for the person they think is better equipped to lead our country politically. Don’t confuse that task with thinking you are voting for a spiritual leader. Our spiritual leader is Jesus Christ, and only He has the power to heal the sin in our land. Regardless of who wins the Presidency, it is our job as Kingdom citizens to break the chains of wickedness, to free the oppressed, to feed the hungry, and to clothe the poor (Isaiah 58:6). We are to live like Jesus no matter of who is running the nations of this world.
Our lives must not be dictated by the political whims of one party or another. Our purpose is to be about the mission of Christ and to do His will at all times. No earthly power can prevent us from serving God. I don’t care who you vote for to win the Presidency; I just pray that you remember what is truly important every second of your life here on earth. Place your vote for what matters. In everything you do, work to make God’s Kingdom a reality here on earth. With every breath you take and every step you make, vote Jesus.
What can you do to make your life a living vote for Jesus? Help encourage others by sharing your thoughts and leaving a comment below.