The Answer isn't found at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue - Guest Post: Lewis Kiger

There always seems to be that “one guy.” That one person that just has to ruin it for everyone. The one who people wish would just go away. The one they call “party-pooper.” The old stick-in-the-mud, the killjoy, the wet blanket. And as much as it grieves me to be that guy … I am afraid I must.

I am sorry to rain on your parade but if you thought, for just one moment, that waking up to a new president-elect on November 9 was going to solve all of our problems and issues, you are sure to be disappointed. I hate to break it to you, but regardless of who received 270 electoral votes, our nation is still in a huge mess … fiscally, morally, and spiritually.  

It is my opinion – whether or not the person you voted for won – it is not a time for celebration. Oh, yes I know. Some who have relentlessly campaigned for their candidate will float happily around for a few days, skipping around on their party platform thinking that they have saved the day for America. Again, I am sorry to be “that guy,” but the hope for America (or for any nation for that matter) is not in who is governing from the capitol, but He who is ruling from the Heavenly Throne.

I realize that it matters who is elected. Full well do we acknowledge God’s Word which declares in Proverbs 29:2 that “when the righteous are in authority the people rejoice.” But friends, the righteous are not in authority. (And that is true, regardless of who the President-elect is.) The righteous are not governing in the White House, nor in the Congress, nor in the Senate. While there are some good God-fearing men and women who are serving our nation, they are the in the vast minority.

With that in mind, we need to consider the rest of that verse, for it holds true as well. It says, “when the wicked bear rule, the people mourn.” Rather than sending up high praise for answered prayer, we ought to be mourning that our nation has drifted so far from God, that we would celebrate the election of either of these two candidates.  

Folks, we as Americans need to face some hard truths.

As a nation, we still are responsible for the death of 3,300 children a day by abortion. We have watched the degeneration of the family, to the point where the most basic building block of society, the home, has been completely disfigured. The national debt we are handing down to our children and grandchildren is just criminal. Our nation is racially polarized. Our police officers are under attack. All the while, we are debating over whether or not grown men should be allowed in the ladies’ restroom!

We are told every four years that this is the “most important election of our lifetime.” So, for those of you who are heart-broken and mystified that your candidate was not chosen, I submit to you that it is not time for a pity party either. I hate to be a prude, but 270 Electoral College votes for the candidate of your choice was not the answer either.

God’s Word rightly says in Psalms 146:3 that we are not to put our hope in princes. In other words, our confidence should not be in men, but in God. The arm of flesh will always fail us. Trusting in politicians is the doorway to disappointment. If we are looking for politicians to make us Stronger Together, or Make America Great Again, we are sure to be disillusioned.

Our hope for this nation must be in God and in Him alone. The solution for all our woes will not come from man-made rules and laws. The answer for our afflictions will not be found by who occupies the West Wing. We will only find a cure in humble obedience to what God has declared in His Word. Earning 270 electoral votes is not the answer for what ails America. God is the answer. Rather than touting the praises of the ungodly, we should shout the gospel from the rooftops. Let us lovingly declare, by word and life, the atoning death and glorious resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ as the only hope for a sin-sick nation.

We need to pray for our leadership. Pray for our nation. Pray for the President-elect and yes, also pray for those who did not win. Yet our prayers should be first and foremost that all will come to a saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ – the righteous ruler in whom all should rejoice.

Pastor Lewis Kiger
Memorial Heights Baptist Church

svdbygrace2@roadrunner.com

-------------------------------

Editor's Note: Pastor Kiger did not suggest you are evil for voting for Trump or for being glad he beat Hillary. Will Trump be a good president? Who knows. I hope he is and am confident he will be much better that Hillary would have been. From a pure political perspective, this was the best of the possible outcomes of a terrible situation. Lewis' article is not addressing political solutions but spiritual problems.

I also want to point out that if you publicly campaigned for a candidate on social media, you shouldn't be upset if someone disagrees with you publicly about it. I'm afraid from what I have seen, people have broken fellowship and friendships have been harmed over a political opinion. 

Every situation is different. It didn't matter who I voted for because I live in West Virginia and the state was going Trump. If you lived in Ohio, Florida, Michigan, your vote did matter very much because the race was so close. Wisdom would require careful thought in each situation.

Hopefully we can all at least agree with what is written above, that our real problems can only be resolved by the gospel of grace, to which, I hope, dear reader, you believe. There is enough division among God's people over stupid things that we don't need to divide over a politician. I can go several weeks without thinking or caring what they say in New York City - I'm certainly not going to loose friends over it. 

Doug Newell